Being a new mum can be really daunting and there seems to be a landslide of well-intentioned advice coming from every direction.
‘Hold baby this way…Feed baby this many times a day…We didn’t do it like that in my day.’
You sometimes feel as if your head could explode with it all!
There are no shortcuts to getting to grips with parenthood and the only way to really learn is to go through all the ups and down you come across on a daily basis.
That said, there are some fantastic baby care books out there to give you a helping hand in taking on the most important job in the world.
Baby Love by Robin Barker
The author of this book is a registered nurse, midwife and early childhood nurse with nearly 30 years experience with families and babies. Baby Love is full of advice for your little one’s first year including breastfeeding, baby’s nutrition and an extensive selection of nutritious recipes to tempt the fussiest eaters.
What’s Going on in There? By Lise Eliot
This neuroscientist and mum takes us on a journey through the development of sight, smell, taste, vision, emotion, language, and memory, from conception to the end of preschool.
What to Expect the First Year by Arlene Eisenberg
For every parent of a newborn baby, the first rush of unconditional love is quickly followed by the first rush of concern. How will I cope? Why is he or she crying? What if he or she is sick? Even if the worrying never stops, the first twelve months can be made much easier with What to Expect the First Year, which includes information on safety, childhood illnesses and much more.
Sleeping Through the Night by Jodi Mindell
This book is a guide on baby sleep from the associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. It is an in-depth, easy-to-use guide for helping babies (and parents) sleep. The author is a leading expert on paediatric sleep disorders, and her clinical expertise really comes through
The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp
This book is a guide to soothing fussy babies, with an emphasis on newborns. Karp’s ‘5 Ss’ tips are said to have helped countless parents soothe their babies and deal with the stress and confusion of the newborn months. His survival techniques for the first four months have been praised for being invaluable.
