The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition)

What I have noticed about all childrearing advice they never take into account what works for the child. Each baby is different so if one way doesn't work then try another. The advice about comforting a colicky baby is very helpful. As a first time mom to a colic baby I was bewildered.
The advice to talk to my pediatrician helped me to get my baby the help he needed. I thought that there was nothing that could be done but it ended up he has acid reflux. As for the co sleeping and holding all the time. Sometimes my son just wants to be put down and to be on his own. There have been nights where I tried to comfort him to sleep and in desperation put him down and he fell asleep. I bought a co sleeper that goes in the bed and he likes that a lot. When he is six months we will start to put him in his own crib in his own room. But for me he is too little to be out of our room. So he sleeps in his car seat or his co sleeper whichever one he wants too. I need my sleep also!
I like the book and he has some good advice but I am going with my instincts and whatever works for my son.

I purchased this book when i was pregnant with my first and boy am i glad i did! When you are pregnant or a new mom you're still discovering things and haven't chosen a particular parenting style. I always wished to parent from the heart, which i feel is the same as attachment parenting. (i was surprised when i realised that this was actually a parenting 'style')
Dr sears gave a great introduction to baby wearing and I can really say today that the reason i started babywearing(which is the best thing ever!) is because of the chapter in this book which linked to a great website offering tips and where to buy these items. There are great chapters on co-sleeping and breastfeeding.
Dr. sears supports a very gentle way of parenting, where you adapt to your child and listen to their cues. If you prefer a more strict parenting style where the baby adapts to you then I don't think you'll like this book.
For me, I loved it!

I'm 35 and have always been pretty much good at things. I did well in college, have a successful career, and a happy relationship. We chose to get pregnant last year and I thought that I could be a good parent by reading. After all-reading things has always been my way to success. I got "The Baby Book" because it looked extremely comprehensive. I had heard wonderful things about William Sears. In fact how could attachment parenting be a bad thing?

In theory everything was great. When I was pregnant I thought yup I will do all that. Of course I would breastfeed, of course I would babywear (the slings are so cute!), co-sleeping seemed just the right thing to do-I would do this and have a happy attached baby. I should have known after reading the section on being a working mother that maybe this book was not for me.

My son is 8 months old. Since he was born it has killed me that I work. I work because I have a mortgage to pay, but I also (gulp) love my career. I however felt horribly guilty because I had to work-until I realized that having a mom who was happy and fulfilled is better for my son than being a mom who stays home and is depressed and mentally stimulated with playgroups and Oprah. (Failure number 1)

Then while I tried really hard to have a natural birth-it didn't work. I ended up needing a C-section after 3 hours of pushing. Not good for bonding according to Dr. Sears-and he was taken away from me and I did not see him for 2 hours. I figured it was better to have a C-section and a healthy child, vs a natural birth and push for God knows how long (AP failure number 2).

I wanted to breastfeed I really did. I knew I might have problems due to past surgery but I tried anyway. I simply did not produce enough milk. A lactation consultant told me I could nurse for comfort-I just couldn't do it. There was no way I would allow my child to suck on my boob if no milk was coming out. Sorry-it was creepy. I did try to nurse with a supplemental nurser-that thing was awful. But either way I was still a sub-par mother because I gave my child formula either at my boob or in the bottle. According to Sears my son won't thrive because his food is dead. (Failure number 3)

The good stuff:

Babywearing-it does calm a fussy baby. Sears recommends doing it 4 hours a day. For me it was impossible due to working but it also hurts! I don't care how good the carrier is 20 pounds on your back, on your front, in a sling eventually starts to hurt! Also-it's really hard to pee with a baby in a carrier-I tried I really tried. However wearing your baby when he/she is fussy does calm them until you are able to attend to them (getting them to sleep). BTW_Sears recommends wearing your baby to sleep-yes you can do it-however he fails to mention that they scream bloody murder upon the transfer from carrier to crib. (I think I get a D in babywearing).

Co-sleeping-I do like this. However my 25 pound 8 month old kicks alot and likes sleeping horizontally. It was nice to get support for what I like to do. I also think that if you choose not to co-sleep that it's OK too. This sort of works for us-however it makes sex kind of hard. You also have to be careful-my little one fell off the bed this morning.

The stuff on first aid is wonderful I also like the development stuff. he seems like a good doctor.

So bottom line-take the parenting advice from parenting experts (child psychologists, people trained in infant development not a pediatrician). Go to the pediatrician for advice on medical stuff.

This is a wonderful book for new parents. I am pregnant with my 2nd baby and wish I had this book the first time around. If you disagree with attachment parenting, you might not like this book; but if you plan on using babywearing, sleepsharing, and similar techniques to soothe your baby, this is a wonderful resource to have on your bookshelf.

This book is huge! Everything you can think of about a baby is in here! I rented it from the library but soon realized it would take me longer than the rental time I had to read it so I decided to buy it! Its a good investment for you and your baby! I highly recommend this book plus many others by the same authors.