Product reviews

After purchasing a veritable mountain of pregnancy books I found the "What to Expect" pregnancy book was by far the most informative. I wanted fact not full page drawings, diagrams and pictures. On that basis I purchased my second "What to Expect" tome, this time "What to Expect - The First Year"

... and left it in the nursery unopened waiting for the big day ......

I didn't actually open it until the evening after I arrived home from hospital and I had a crying baby in my arms and couldn't soothe her ... how was I surpos9sed to know babies do cry for up to three hours during a 24 hour period at that age! I hadn't even read the first chapter.

In hindsight I should have read at least the first sections before the big day!

I found 'What to Expect...' well written and well thought out. This book reassured me and provided sound advice and tips, and calmed me down when I thought I was going mad with 'what if' worry. At first I often read this whilst breast feeding but after a few days I found myself avidly reading every word, about a month in advance. After about six months as my confidence grew, I tended to dip in and out, rather than hanging onto it as a "How To" lifeline.

I tended to read the months either side of my baby's age as all baby's develop at differing rates.

The information on illnesses is good, and does not pretend to be a substitute for seeing a doctor. As an indicator of what to look out for and whether or not you should be concerned, it is great. For this reason, it does cover scary illnesses (don't dip in and out of this section unless you need to - you'll never sleep again!). Being a new mum is pretty scary never mind reading the illness section.

"What to Expect..." tries to be measured and calm, whilst pressing that if you think your baby is ill, however trivial, then call a doctor.

I'm so glad I bought it, it was fantastic support and has been read cover to cover, dipped in and out of, but strangely it was only fleetingly referred to second time around.

I could have managed without it, but life was much more rewarding with printed support at hand day and night!

Very practical, useful, balanced in view and factual. Ideal if you just want the information and not someone else's point of view on bringing up a baby. Handy for dipping into.

I found this book good as i had a prem baby and so always refered back a couple of months to his adjusted age to see what he should or shouldn't be up to! There is a slight pressure to meet some of the targets but they may just be me!!!! Found the first aid and sickness sections excellent

This is a very comprehensive guide and has a clear layout. However, I felt that some of the expectations (what your child might be doing at the end of each month) were a bit ambitious and this could worry some parents. Also the illness part is quite frightening - I became convinced my ds had several life threatening illnesses once!

I found this book really helpful when pregnant with my first child. I lived away from my family, and didn't have much support, so it was a reassuring read. Now I have more experience as a parent, I would perhaps question some of the advice, but the book served me well at the time.