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Baby 411
Clear Answers & Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year
by Ari Brown, Denise Fields |
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| When I first started reading this book, I was hoping I would like it, since our web site is favorably mentioned in it several times. And getting through a few chapters, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed. Baby 411 is well written, easy to read, and very thorough, providing everything a new parent needs to know in the first year of their baby's first year.
In addition to 'helpful info about health, sleep, and nutrition', Baby 411 includes a lot of practical 'insider' tips and facts that you don't get in other books that simply cover what you should expect each month. You will likely even learn things that your own Pediatrician hasn't told you. And I bet that new parents who read this book will need to call and see their Pediatrician less often than other newbie Parents.
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These 'Insider Tips' and 'Reality Check' sections include useful information, like:
- when's the best time to schedule an appointment with your Pediatrician for checkups
- that yellow, green, or brown stools can all be normal
- how well newborns can see
- that 'drool is not a reliable indicator of teething'
- that cradle cap won't bother your baby
- and that you should consider medicines like Tylenol and Motrin or Advil fever reducers and not fever eliminators. So you wouldn't always expect a 104 temperature to go away with a single dose, and you might have to be satisfied with only getting down to 102, as long as your baby feels better.
Baby 411 also debunks many old wives tales and includes information on first aid, vaccinations, common diseases and infections, growth and development. Although it may be a little too detailed for some parents, the sections on medications and lab tests, make Baby 411 a truly complete guide to your baby.
Another very nice feature is how Baby 411 compares and grades different experts and their books, such as the sleep experts Dr. Ferber, Dr. Sears, Dr. Weissbluth, Tracey Hogg (The Baby Whisperer), and Elizabeth Pantley (The No-Cry Sleep Solution). If you need extra help, the summaries of these authors opinions and advice will help you choose which one of their books to read for more help.
It is important to keep in mind that this book really represents one Pediatrician's recommendations for doing things, and just because your own Pediatrician gives different advice, that doesn't mean that either one is right or wrong. For example, I disagreed with Dr. B's advice against using nasal aspirators for congested babies, regular baths for infants with eczema, and OTC cold medications. I find all helpful, as long as parents understand the risks and benefits. If your own Pediatrician offers different advice, try to find out why, and then choose which method works best for you and your baby.
A lot of the information presented in the book is standard advice though, just like that recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
There were some specific parts of the book that I thought were wrong and should be changed in a future edition. Although written for baby's first year, there is some information that is more appropriate for toddler age children and which will confuse some parents. For example, there is a section on the Calcium content of foods which mentions that 'if your child has a milk intolerance or allergy, try calcium fortified orange juice, broccoli, rhubarb, or tofu as alternative calcium choices.' Now that is appropriate advice for an older child, but for an infant with a milk intolerance or allergy, a soy or elemental formula would be a safer choice.
And in a section on 'Avoiding Obesity', Baby 411 states that you should 'offer appropriate serving sizes' starting 'with two tablespoons per serving' and 'offer seconds on fruit and vegetables.' Parents who read that and think it applies to their infant's feeding habits and begin limiting calories can quickly have a malnourished baby on their hands.
I also think the authors misinterpreted the AAP's recommendations on sunscreen, which does now say that you can use sunscreen on infants under six months of age, but I think that it is more as a last resort. The AAP states that younger infants should avoid sun exposure and that parents can 'apply a minimal amount of suncreen to small areas, such as the infant's face and the back of the hands' when they can't be covered by 'adequate clothing and shade'. Translating that into 'use the sunscreen on that baby', especially when it is followed by statements that say to keeping your baby out of the sun from 10am to 3pm and reapplying sunscreen every two hours, makes it seem like you can keep your baby in the sun for hours at a time, which wouldn't be safe.
Rating: 4 stars
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