This book has been very helpful with answers to several questions. However, parents have to remember that even the Sears' are human beings and can't know everything--in particular YOUR baby.

For example, I love the idea of babywearing, but our baby girl hated the sling until about four months old (and I even bought the Dr. Sears model!). She became happier in it around five months; and now at almost seven months, she's at the point that I can wear her around when she's tired and she will fall asleep. Babies won't all "forget" to fuss just because they are in a sling.

We have co-slept since birth, and that works great (sometimes hard to sleep but mostly only if something is wrong with her, ie. gas, etc.--which actually makes it easier than trodding down the hall when she's screaming).

We breastfed exclusively to six months; tried babyfood for a couple weeks, realized how messy it really is, and have basically gone back to exclusive breastfeeding...I give her little tastes of things here and there.

The questions it didn't answer were about what their eyesight/vision is and when (we wanted specifics; it's too vague). Also, frequency of bathing between NB and toddler stages.

All the various books differ on some things slightly. And the "put them to sleep with a car ride"--even in this book--forget it for us. She despised her car seat for the first few months until I bought toys for it. For a while she was fine for the first ten minutes or so; now she's basically back to really not liking it. She'll tolerate it for a bit. One of us always sits back with her when we drive together.

Overall, I do recommend the book. It's been very helpful. Just remember, it is not the ultimate gospel on parenting: use the book as a resource, read your baby, enjoy him/her, and do the very best you can (don't just try to convince yourself you are doing the best you can or what's best for your child...really do it). The title should be "What You Need..." rather than "Everything You Need..." You can't put everything into one book.

Book arrived within 3 days of order and was exactly the way it was described when i ordered it. Will look for items from this person again in the future..

This was such an important part in helping me raise my son! I didn't agree with some of the "babywearing" methods and ideas, but the basic baby care was fantastic! It really helped me calm down when he was sick or hurt and figure out what to do. I give this book to all my pregnant friends too! Thank you so much!

Rcv'd this as a baby shower gift---one of the best. I definitely know what I'll get any other 1st time parents for future baby showers. This book is extremely resourceful because it covers so many topics/issues that you and your baby are bound to go through. There were chapters I avoided hoping that I wouldn't need to go there (fevers/colds...)---of course, I eventually did and it helped me and my husband deal with the stress 1st timers go through---I swear it's better than most advice your pediatrician will give you---it's like having one at home!

This book offers comprehensive information about babies and toddlers. A big help to the new mom. And it is written in an easy to read style. I felt well-prepared for starting my journey into motherhood.

I guess I'm this book's target audience. I am a breastfeeding, co-sleeping, baby wearing, stay at home mom. I have found great advice and support in this book. I never viewed my parenting method as radical, it's just the way I want my child raised. If you are already following an attachment parenting model this book is an excellent guide. If you are an absolute "traditional" parent this book probably isn't for you.

PROS:
we LOVE this book since it gives us the right balance between what the field of medicine has to offer with our more natural philosophy of living.
In other words, it gives the vaccination when needed, but also supports co-sleeping and wearing the baby.
So we can keep with our way of life, knowing that we do the responsible thing, giving the medication when needed.
It also has a bunch of advice on other issues such as good foods, pacifier vs. finger, etc.
CONS:
none.

Bought this book as I also believe in attachment parenting.I am still reading it as the book is extremely thick.It covers almost all areas. What I like most about this book as opposed to those "Schedule and Routine training books" is that it doesnt make you feel guilty about wanting to co-sleep with your baby. It felt natural to me and this book actually encourages it.A lot of the things like attending to your baby when he cries and carrying your baby when he wants to be held are encouraged. Other books usually tell you that you are spoiling a child but what does a new baby know about spoiling? They just want to feel loved and secure. I feel a lot more confident about my natural way of parenting.My baby is contented and so am I.Great book.Good buy. Worth every cent. The Dr.Sears website is also excellent.

It is an awesome book! It has everything you need to know and it's really easy to find the answers to your questions! I highly recommend it to new parents such as myself!

I recently purchased this book to give to a friend that just had her first baby. I bought this book for myself ten years ago when I gave birth to my very first baby. I referenced it with all of my babies and still found it to be the easiest to read with the most relevant information. This is why I have given it more than once as a baby gift to friends. This is what my friend just wrote to me: The Baby Book is one of my favorites -- very comprehensive and well-written -- also very sensible.

You can't go wrong with this one or anything written by Dr. Sears. My other favorite is The Discipline Book and he has an excellent one about nutrition.

While this book can serve as a helpful reference, as a new father, I've found myself repeatedly insulted by the authors' assumption that (1) the reader is the mother, and (2) that fathers only interact with their babies as "backup" providers when mothers are too weary. Phrases like "when baby was in your womb," "now you're a mother," etc. get tiring to a Dad who is putting forth a lot of effort to connect with his new child.

This is all to say that it seems this book is a product of an earlier era that has not been sufficiently updated to reflect the desires of many new Dads to fully participate in the raising of their children.

My husband and I welcomed our first child in July, and I initially borrowed this book from a friend. But once I found how useful it is, I bought my own copy. It has tons of information in it, and helps you know what to expect when it comes to newborns, infants and children that you might not think of otherwise - especially as a first time parent! I haven't had time to read it cover to cover, but have read most of it and use it as a reference on an almost daily basis.

If you are obsessed about getting information to be the best mom you can be, if truly care about the health and nurturing of your newborn, this book is the BEST. From development and appearance to health and behavior issues, this is by far the most informative and thorough baby book I have ever read.

A lot of my friends tell me I'm a great mom, and this book is one of the reasons why.

I found this book at a baby store in town and decided to try and buy it cheaper on the internet, which I did. As I read through it in the store I realized that it had a lot of great info pertaining to babies, not just newborns either, it goes up to two years of age and thoroughly detailed everything from health problems that could arise to parenting issues one might struggle with (ie. sleeping arraingments). The only thing that you might not like is his personal opinion on parenting. While he is an excellent doctor you might not agree with everything he has to say.

I give it to everyone. I bought this when I was pregnant. I was given it as a gift from my neighbor too. I have bought 3 more times as gifts for mothers to be. I will buy more. It is a wonderful resource on literally everything. I found that it is not too opinionated. They do state their preference and their the other choices. It is not set up strictly according to age either. I highly recommend for any new parents.

I think this is the BEST book for any new or existing parent. I had the opportunity to use it as a reference at a friends house and LOVED it. Anything that I've ever needed an answer about has been covered so far in this book. I now purchase it for every expecting mom I know. I just think it's that important for everyone to have this book.

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.

The BEST book to give a new mother: as a shower gift or a MUST READ after her delivery!

This is a great resource book for new parents and caregivers. It gives the basics on childcare and what to expect at different stages in your baby's life. Dr.William Sears and his wife, Marth, a nurse, have had many children themselves, 8!. A hands-on approach to parenting. I use my book all the time. .

...parents who have alienated their kids from themselves from the get-go.

Mothers are mothers, fathers are fathers, and anyone demanding that human biology now conform to societal trends is in need of some basic critical-thinking skills. Well-supported ideas that you don't like hearing are not the fault of the author. Neither is it an author's job to arrange their ideas such that you won't feel guilty.

Grown-ups (including Dr. Sears himself) know that life is full of choices, trade-offs, and most people will find their own way implementing his ideas as they can and are able.

I am a father and don't feel the least bit marginalized by Dr. Sears approach or tone. I'm honestly scratching my head at where people find that in his work.

His ideas are not a formula, something Dr. Sears himself points out repeatedly. But they are profound, and far more important to the health of your child (and the world) than, say, the current presidential election.

Honestly, want to make the world a better place? Read this book.

I passed on my copy. At first I was very impressed by the AP concept. Once I had the baby I realized that a rigid approach like this doesn't work. My baby slept better on his own than in our bed. And he hated being worn the first three months. I held on to the book for factual information about growth and illness but found it too cumbersome to use a reference. I prefer the month by month format which is easier to look up.

The Sears have done an amazing job with this book. It's well organized, easy to read and FULL of important information.

They have shared their invaluable knowledge and experiences gained from their personal and professional lives. After raising eight children they present many different approaches to everyday tasks and focus on how to make those tasks bonding experiences.

I think the book is a must have for any mom-to-be. (My husband and I have read parts together, but overall he would be happier reading more of a manual.)

It's a great book, which provides tons of useful information and great tips for new parents. I would strongly recommend it to my friends. Although, during my child birth classes all nurses and pediatricians recommend that parents buy a book written by the American Academy of Pediatricians. They say it's the best book for parents.

Someone recommended this book to me. I thought it was a kinder, gentler book on taking care of your baby, so I bought it. Well, after having an unplanned caesarian, trouble breastfeeding, and some post-partum depression, I turned to my trusty book for some answers. I realized this book is nothing but Dr. Sears's opinion on parenting.

He recommends wearing your baby until the baby falls asleep. My daughter was so collicky she would cry the whole time. The bottle-feeding section will just make you feel bad about not breastfeeding, which is not so good when you have post-partum depression. I also tried co-sleeping with failure. I would wake up at the tiniest sound she made. After two weeks of co-sleeping, we put her in the crib, where she has stayed since then. Thank goodness because I had to go back to work in three months.

My daughter is now 3. She is independent, happy, healthy, smart, and active and she sleeps in her own bed every night thanks to the AAP childcare book and the Dr. Weissbluth sleep book.

Poor Mrs. Sears! She must be exhausted after having eight children!

I will be giving this book as a gift for every baby shower I go to from now on. The first month of my baby's life I spent constantly referring to the couple of books I had, and was frequently disappointed by the vague coverage of such basic topics as crying. My baby was fussy for hours at a time and it wasn't until I stumbled upon the AskDrSears.com website that I felt like I was getting very practical advice. I bought the book soon thereafter and it has been my primary resource ever since. I trust the experience, both as parents and children's health professionals, that the Sears family brings to the book, and I have had great success with attachment parenting.

Like everything else to do with parenting, your mileage may vary depending on your personality, and that of your child. But any parenting philosophy that emphasizes physical and emotional closeness with your baby can be generally relied upon to deliver happy results.

I never use this book. I really don't like it.
It is all attachment parenting based and not at all as I would like to approach caring for my baby.
It is all about never letting your baby cry, carrying them with you all the time, sleeping with them etc. Not my style at all.
Would not recommend it

I checked this book out of library when my first child was a baby. I now use AskDrSears.com website. This book is very comprehensive and a good reference book from attachment parenting perspective. I would also recommend to read about other perspectives.

If you need to go back to work then you may find that some ideas are not practical, but overall it is a good book. It talks a lot about breastfeeding, carrying your baby in a sling and co-sleeping. Sears don't tell you that you are a bad parent if you are not following all the ideas, they tell you to find what is best for your baby AND you. If offends you or makes you feel guilty to hear a lot about attachment parenting, then this book may not be for you.

This book is huge and written like a book, not questions and answers, but has valuable info. in it. I'd recommend it to first time parents. It's easy to find exact subjects and has come in handy many times already--my daughter is only 3 months old!

When my first son was born 4 1/2 years ago, I had read the "What to expect" series, and felt pretty prepared. After a LONG ten weeks of colic, my son settled down. At 4 months he started sleeping through the night in his own room (after a few nights of limited crying)and would happily play by himself on the floor for long periods of time, or sit quietly in his stroller while I went about my business. He weaned himself easily by age one and never seemd to miss the breast after that. I remember hearing about "attachment parenting" and thinking, those people must be CRAZY! I would NEVER have my baby in bed, or wear him all day in a sling, or breast-feed for more than a year! I felt very smug, like those people were just too "soft" or weird, or hippie-dippie, that you totally didn't need to do all that, just look at my son! He's doing great, without any of that stuff!

Flash forward four years, and my second son is born. Same parents, same techniques should work, right? The first few weeks were great, no colic! So we thought it would be a breeze, after all, we were experienced parents, we knew what we were doing this time, we'd done it all before. Well, I quickly found out that what worked for my first son just wasn't going to fly with my second. I got out my old "what to expect" books, and "The Baby Whisperer" which I'd found so helpful the first time. They were useless. This stuff just wasn't working with baby 2! He's a very different kid. After totally railing on attachment parenting for four years, I suddenly found myself doing it by default. Then my cousin gave me her copy of "The baby Book", and thank god! I suddenly realized that that's what this baby needed. He needs to be held all the time, needs to sleep near me (at first in a co-sleeper right next to my bed, now in his crib two feet from my bed, and usually at least for part of the night right in my bed) At 9 months old, he still wakes every 3 hrs to breast-feed, and gives no signs of wanting to stop. This book made sense, it seemed logical and really struck a chord with me. More importantly, it worked. Had I tried to follow the advice in the other books, I know we'd all be a lot worse off!

Do I do everything the book says and treat it as gospel? NO! DO I feel guilty when I don't agree with the book? NO! Am I tired? YES! Do I wish my son would sleep through the night? YES! But I know that letting him "cry it out" won't work, and forcing him to be independent too soon won't work either. I also now know that not all techniques work for all babies, and some babies just need MORE. I take the advice that works for me, tweak the other stuff to make it fit, and above all, trust myself to know what is best for my baby AND myself.

While the Drs. Sears do advocate the mother's role over the father's, and strongly indicate she should not work, (which I can see might be off-putting to some) don't be so quick to assume it is biased or old-fashioned. While I completely support women being able work (something they couldn't have done 50 yrs ago) and think that for some women it's the right choice, the biological fact is that (for now anyway), women are the only ones who can physically bear children, and as such have also have the inherent ability to know how to care for them. For me the biggest point this book makes is that maternal instincts are REAL, and there for a good reason, and should be listened to over what anyone (even themselves) says in a book. Babies are only babies for a short time, and their needs are real and deserve to be met. They are not something that should be forced into what is convienient for parents. Everything they suggest in their book is natural and makes logical (if not always practical) sense.

Sadly, our society these days seems to be out of touch with these basic facts, and I think that the people who criticize the Sears' ideas and "attachment parenting" concept (myself included back then) are doing so as a defense mechanism, because deep down we know, under all the women's lib and equal opportunity fathering, that it really is the ideal way to parent. The fact so many people who gave it poor reviews because it made them feel "guilty" should speak volumes to this. Also, if you look at our country's family leave plans, you'll find them shockingly shorter than just about every other first-world country. The same goes for supporting mothers who do choose to be full-time moms. Or stay-at-home dads, for that matter. With work being a more than full-time job for just about everyone these days, and a society that increasingly places little value on family time (check our gov't holidays and average vacation times and work hours next to Europe's and you'll see what I mean) I know that to many this book might seem totally impractical or even ridiculous. But maybe instead condeming it as such, we should recognize it as an ideal to strive for, and do what we can to be better parents, not at the total expense of ourselves, of course, but fully realizing that parenting IS a sacrifice, that our babies and young children count on us to care for them, and despite the pressures of society and work, we need to find a way to make it a real priority, and not an after-thought. This book can help steer you in the right direction, and give you a lot to think about beyond just the valuable info on basic baby care and milestones, by providing a philosophy and practice that gets back to the real root of what it means to be a parent.

The has been our go-to reference in the first year of our daughter's life. My natural instincts told me that the "cry it out" method was not for me, and this book was very affirming. The beauty of Dr. Sears is that he approaches childrearing from a holistic perspective - find what's best for you and works for your family. And don't worry about what anyone else says! In 12 months, we have lost maybe a total of 10 hours of sleep following the advice in this book - and that's after our baby was (mis)diagnosed with colic at 2 months. We have a happy, healthy, baby who rarely cries, and is a great sleeper and great eater. I recommend it to all my friends who are having children.

Its not that think the information in this book is bad. Actually i agree with a good amount of the "attachment parenting" (god I HATE that phrase) practices. I just don't think it should be called a "philosophy". I did breastfeed (although not exclusively because my son was in the NICU for his first week and I my milk didn't come in for about 4 or 5 days) so technically he had formula for his first week and breastfed until about 9 months after that until I got pregnant again and my milk dried up. We did co-sleep until he was about 4 or 5 months.....at which point he got VERY wiggly, we moved him to a crib and we ALL started getting better sleep. I certainly didn't carry him around in a sling all the time when he was an infant...it was too damned hot. But I have a couple of different types of carriers which I am still using (he is 1) and we both love. He didn't love them so much when he was tiny. He mostly wanted to be carried by his Dad in the bjorn. Not by me. Having said that...I'm not against strollers (I LOVE ours), bottles (yes I workd) OR daycare..or working, or formula (if you need it or just want to use it, go for it. Its a CHOICE people).

So don't get me wrong. I don't disagree with their ideas....what I HATE is the way they are presented. It makes me want to NOT do anything of the things they suggest because they are so damned obnoxious. I would feel much better about all the things I do if I hadn't read this book. I LOVE my sling...but I feel self conscious about using it because I just know that people think I'm some obnoxious, "attachment parenting" breastfeeding nazi.....

I'm sure there is good information in this book that I haven't even picked up on because IT MAKES ME SO MAD when I read it. And yes...I feel that way about all their other books too.

I have babies. I don't have a "philosophy" about how to raise them. They are who they are and I'm doing the best I can to figure out what kind of person my baby is and how best to parent him. I'm a mother - what I need is information. I'm an intelligent thinking person...I can interpret the information all by myself thank you. What I do NOT need is a 600 page guilt trip that tells me I shouldn't part myself from my baby until he is 3 and that my husband should just disappear for the first year except for doing the laundry or whatever ridiculous advice they give.

My mother (whom I love and ADORE) who breastfed ALL of her kids even when it wasn't the done thing, who was a fabulous, loving mother thinks it is the most ridiculous book ever written. That's enough for me!

And for overly anxious new parents who lean towards self-inflicted guilt-trips, this could be borderline dangerous.