Healthy Living Books Books

Rating: - Beautiful Book-Great for the First months of a babys life
This book is fantastic!!! A well illustrated practical guide to the first year with your new baby. Do not have the preconception that this book will focus on routines. It doesnt what it focuses on is really helpful advice-a step by step picture of a nappy change (something we arent really told) how to burp your baby, and development milestones in the first year. Yes, it has fantastic sleep and feeding ideas by Gina but they are gently suggested not laid out in a routine, it suggests how to get baby into sleeping well outside of the house as well as inside-but again these are suggestions not routines laid out. The book suggests what toys your baby may like at 4 months for example and details baby massage techniques. In addition to all this the photos guide you through it. It is exactly what is needed for a new mum - I wish I would have had it and would buy it for any of my pregnant freinds. Brilliant Book.

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Rating: - Contented Baby's First Year: An excellent gift for a parent-to-be
This book covers what to expect from each of the first twelve months of a baby's life, written in a practical, simple way. It's easy reading but what I really like about it is that it gives information other books don't - how to prevent baby becoming over-tired and over-stimulated when small, how to encourage more sleep at night rather than day, how to tell if baby is getting enough milk. There is a lot of emphasis on making sure baby's needs are being met, and getting it right from day one to prevent sleepless nights further down the line. The book would make sense by itself to any reader, but it would also act as an ideal complement to the Contented Little Baby Book, for parents wishing to maintain structure and routine in their babies' lives.

The first two chapters (Newborn and 1 month) have excellent advice on breastfeeding; like all the advice it is very detailed and practical, right down to where to put this hand and that lip, and also gives details of further specialist breastfeeding help if things don't go to plan. There are loads of other great tips, like how to keep baby entertained with household objects instead of expensive toys, or getting rid of cradle cap without chemical solutions.

While every chapter contains information on feeding, sleeping, and development, there are also extra sections appropriate to age, e.g. dealing with teething or colds, preparing to return to work, getting baby ready for childcare etc.

Aesthetically the book is very attractive, with muted pastel colours on glossy paper, and lots of full-colour, full-page photographs. It's a book to dip into, rather than read from cover to cover, and overall it would make a wonderful gift, especially for someone about to become a parent for the first time.

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Rating: - Ultimate user-guide
Yes this really is the ultimate baby-user guide! Great colour pictures, clear and easy to understand, has great advice based on Gina Ford's Contented Little Baby book, but even for those not wishing to follow a structured routine it has excellent advice, would be a great present for any expectant mum (or dad), will set them on the road to confident parenting!

Definitely a must-have.

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Rating: - An excellent summary of the first year
I read this book when my baby was 9 months old and wished i had owned it from the start. Its a beautifully presented book with lots of colour photos. It takes you through your babys first year month by month, covering topics such as feeding, sleeping and development. It touches loosly on the concept of routine although isn't as dogmatic as some of her other books. Some of the info regarding settling to sleep and swaddling i found extremely interesting and wished i had known when my baby was a newborn. It discusses weaning from 6 months with helpful suggestions of what to introduce when. I think this book comes highly recommended as providing a little infomation about many topics - for further info about routines, weaning etc Gina has her own books. I am looking forward to rereading this in the future and would recommend it to others.

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Rating: - What to expect once you are no longer expecting!!!!!
Gina Ford's latest book, "The Contented Baby's First Year", gives a month by month guide to what you and your baby can expect to experience during the first year. The book is very well presented with lovely practical photos showing new parents basic stuff like, diffent ways to hold a baby, and how to swaddle a newborn. Each chapter covers a month and gives information relevant to the particular age group. Helpful tips on getting your baby to sleep, feeding, when to wean, developmental stages are all covered in the book. This book would be great for first time parents, I would have certainly appreciated it when I had my first child.