Learning by Ava - Guide to buying for baby

by Martha Sears, R.N. and William Sears, M.D.

What a life-saving book for me! After I gave birth, they brought my little one to the NICU because she had a little bit of a temperature at delivery. She was fine but the hospital kept her there for two days (two excruciating long days) just to be sure. I had been very enthusiastic about breastfeeding when I was pregnant and through my readings, people have suggested that introducing the bottle and/or pacifier would make it more difficult to breastfeed, both of which the hospital nurses did, to make sure my daughter was getting enough fluids etc. I can’t tell you how livid I was when it started getting very challenging to breastfeed from my very engorged right breast, as I had a good first latch-on. That, on top of the fact that I was so exhausted from tracking back and forth from my hospital room to the NICU every two hours, sometime less, whenever the nurses called to let me know my baby was crying.

My dearest husband, being the problem-solver he is, went out to purchase this book for me, and reading it through tears of frustration and wailing baby helped me tremendously. The tone of the book was firm, and encourages patience and perseverance, even at the time when I was going to wring the next person who shoved a bottle under my nose for my baby to give me “some rest”. It had very specific and excellent instruction and suggestions, and very well-organized compared to the other multiple books I read.

Ladies, after about four or five days, breastfeeding went really well. It WAS possible after bottle introduction, and actually, the hospital-grade pacifiers facilitated the process. I found my quiet spot at home, held my hungry baby with this book next to my rocking chair, and it happened.

Negative: I read a few reviews that mentioned if you have The Baby Book by the same authors, this book will be a duplicate.

My ratings:   4.5 stars out of 5

Ratings from other websites:

Amazon.com  4 stars out of 5

Barnes&Noble  4.5 stars out of 5

goodreads 4.20

google books 4 stars out of 5

by Karin Knight and Tina Ruggiero

This is one of my favorite baby recipe books given to me by a very good friend and a fellow mom. If ever you find yourself asking, “Is it okay to give (insert food) to my (insert age) month old?”, there is a summary table of suitable foods for a quick look up. I do think it’s always best to check with your baby’s pediatrician anyway, as each baby is different and every culture has its own suggestions of what you can and should feed your little ones. From my experience, this book was not always accurate on what you CAN feed. Nevertheless, plenty of useful recipes and ideas for first-time moms. Especially good for moms who sometimes need a self-reassuring relief during brain-fog moments.

  Great gift!

My ratings:   4.5 stars out of 5

Ratings from other websites:

Amazon.com  4.5 stars out of 5

Barnes&Noble 5 stars out of 5

goodreads 4.07

google books 4.5 stars out of 5

Like most first-time moms and dads I know, I did an incredible amount of research on every single item I purchased for my daughter, Ava. And like most moms and dads, I found there were an intimidating amount of choices for almost every baby product possible and to further complicate matters, most had multiple good and bad reviews, thanks to the “inter-webs”.

I realize when reading reviews, I tend to find extreme polarized opinions. Either people were really upset about their buy and HAD to warn the world, or they were so happy to discover the new item after trying multiple disappointments. I find myself drawn to an opinion if the review seemed to have been written under relatively calm circumstances and wanting to know whether they would be a similar type of parent to what I achieve to be.

So, this is me, contributing to the problem, in blog form…. I’m reviewing items that I have bought, tried or really regretted not buying, and I am adding ratings from different popular websites. Read my blog if like me, you:

• travel A LOT either by planes, trains or automobiles,
• are very active and like to be outdoors all day with your child,
• have a dog,
• like to cook your own baby food but do occasionally love Ella’s pouches,
• like to think that there are many parenting styles but secretly take notes from the Tiger Mom,
• think your child is a genius