These really work…but you might need to tape over the light., February 1, 2010

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Clara Allmond Zurn Belli (New Delhi, INDIA) – See all my reviews

  

My 13-month-old son was up for 3 nights in a row with stuffiness and coughing. I dug these out in desperation (I had forgotten about them), plugged one in and hoped for the best. And it worked! He took a 3 hour nap and I never heard him cough. I know he is still sick as during his waking time he is congested and coughing still but the last 3 days with the vapors in his room he has slept soundly. I do wish the vapors lasted more than 8 hours as a baby’s night is (hopefully!) longer than that. I could do without the nightlight. My son sleeps best in a dark room and this light is much too bright. I simply covered it with duct tape and problem solved.

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Great… except for the SCREAMING BLUE LIGHT!!!, February 22, 2009

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Corrina Milito (Indianapolis) – See all my reviews

  

As a general rule, I’m a big fan of these vapor plug-ins. But the ‘night light’ feature on this product is obnoxiously bright!!! If your child is a light sleeper, this is NOT the product for you!

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These Really Work!, February 20, 2008

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Jody Connolly “Benjaminna” (Ohio) – See all my reviews

  

These plug ins really work! I have used these for the babies when they have had colds and trouble breathing. After I plug one in and close the door – a few minutes later I go in and I can smell the Eucalyptus. It really helps you breath better.

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Finally some answers!, April 28, 2007

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K. Webb “klwebb99″ (Rockwall) – See all my reviews

  

With a five month old that seems to be in physical pain, crying real tears frequently, arching his back, feeding all of the time and gaining weight rapidly I know something isn’t quite right. He’s rarely happy, even after a feeding. Our doctor said he seems to be colicky, game me some literature and sent us home. I’ve since read Colic Solved and know something needs to be done. He has many of the symptoms of acid reflux, a gray-zone baby, and now I feel like I have the tools and knowledge to help my son feel better.

The book is very easy to read, and Dr. V puts all of the medical-ease into a layperson’s terms. It’s been invaluable as a resource in understanding what my son is going through right now. The book also has a chapter on things you can try at home while you’re in the process of dealing with doctors and waiting for answers. These are very helpful and easy to implement.

I also have a 2 1/2 year old who does have acid reflux and dysphagia. The book has also given me great insight into what he went through as a “colicky” baby. He wasn’t diagnosed with reflux or dysphagia until he was 15 months old – if only we’d had this book then we could have prevented some of his discomfort and probably some of his swallowing difficulties. Knowing what I know now from Colic Solved, I know without a doubt that something has to be done to get my 5 week old some comfort.

[...].

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a fussy infant!

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GREAT BOOK!, September 24, 2009

If you have an infant who cries constantly and you are at your wits end, you need to get this book! This book saved my sanity! My daughter started crying non-stop when she was about 2 weeks old. The doctor diagnosed her with reflux and put her on zantac….however, the crying persisted.It was only after I read this book that I discovered what was truely wrong with her. In the book he describes the correlation between reflux and milk allergy in infants. Low and behold, our daughter is allergic to milk, soy, and eggs. If it wasn’t for this book we would still be listening to her cry, believing it was just “colic.” After reading “The Happiest Baby on the Block,” I felt like such a failure….this book help me to realize that until you SOLVE the problem of painful reflux, or milk allergy, the 5 S’s won’t do a darn thing!!! PLEASE get this book if you are dealing with the same thing. Your infant deserves peace and so do you!

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For the Bottle Fed Infant, April 30, 2010

While this is a wonderful book and has a lot of information in it, it also seems to be geared more towards a bottle fed infant. Giving advice mostly for formula fed babies, not so much for the breastfed ones. In the beginning I thought my baby had GERD, then we thought it was a milk protein allergy (both are mentioned in the book) only to find that it was actually oversupply and easily managed after speaking with lactation consultants. The “problem” cleared up pretty fast once we had it figured out.

The moral of this … always talk with everyone involved in your childs care (including the lactation consultant) and then use your mommy instincts and your own knowledge in the treatment of your baby. This book would be a wonderful tool for any baby that actually does have GERD or a milk protein allergy, it describes them very well and is very articulate.

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Word mix more complex, but baby likes it anyway, July 6, 2001

We have the first three tapes in this series, and I play them interchangeably for our son, who is just over a year old. I found it frustrating that a complex term like "bulldozer" is included, while the baby is still working on learning the much simpler "truck." I mean, why are we getting into such complex distinctions of types of vehicles? I’d have preferred that the vocabulary list stick to words most likely to be needed — and reinforced — by everyday living. Only if the kid lives in a construction zone would "bulldozer" seem necessary. I felt the same way about "helicopter" — but then again, when my son watches the shot of the chopper taking off, he’s highly amused. So I have mixed feelings. The whole tape keeps his attention nonstop, and I like the way they break up the pattern of repetition so that the pacing is varied. I don’t know if my son will learn the word "bulldozer" etc., but the tape clearly stimulates him, so I would recommend it to parents who have the first two tapes and want more. Unfortunately, that looks like the end, too. Having looked at the word list for #4 and #5, I don’t think we’ll be getting them. Their word lists really seem to be too far afield for this age range. But I think this one (#3) is okay for babies in the early verbal stages. If you’re just starting out, go with #1 and #2.

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Bigger Words for Bigger Kids, June 9, 2001

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Andrea J. Kulka “SabresFanMom” (Buffalo, NY United States) – See all my reviews

  

I bought this video for my 16 month old daughter who absolutely loves tapes 1 & 2. After watching tape 3 just once, I don’t believe that my daughter is ready for words like "bulldozer" and "helicopter". While there are some easier words like "fish", "arm" and "wagon", I would not recommend this level unless your child has mastered at least most of the words on levels 1 and 2. Like the earlier tapes, level 3 features great classical music, live animal shots, bright objects and friendly children’s faces to hold your child’s attention, but don’t be in a rush to leave tapes 1 & 2 behind.

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And many years later, September 17, 2009

As a new mother I was keen to get it all right, and appreciating the occasional value of the distraction of TV (for us both) decided to try and make it useful and directed. This was before the Baby Einstein boom, which I really didn’t and haven’t investigated, but found that the videos that I bought as part of this range have obviously contributed to the end result. My daughter, now 7 has grown up to be a very eloquent and intellligent little girl, and I don’t believe you can start early enough. Unlike TV, these are focussed and deliberate lessons in language learning. Its all worth trying, for an early start.

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Amazon Saves Money, September 7, 2008

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Allyson L. Waters “awaters0515″ (Georgia) – See all my reviews

  

This book was a great value, amazon always saves me lots of money when it comes to buying textbooks and this is a wonderful book for learning about peds!

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Great Helper, February 17, 2010

I love this study guide, helped raise my grade by 10%

Easy to follow

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I was suprised, May 24, 2003

I was suprised how much I liked this book, since I didn’t like the What to Expect pregnancy guide. I consider myself a fairly intelligent person, with three sibilings I helped take care of and a I was a Red Cross certified babysitter for years. But, when I had my own baby, I realized how much I had forgotten or simply didn’t know. What is the normal body temperature for an infant? How many times a day should he have a bowel movement or a wet diaper, and why is that something important to know to keep track of baby’s health? When is it okay to begin feeding your baby rice cereal? When is it okay to start on solids? When can you begin giving him those “risk of allergy” foods, such as strawberries, nuts and wheat? I found this book a wonderful resource of imformation, since the doctor’s office is not open at 3 a.m., but I’m up taking care of the baby, wondering these things.
There are some very sensitive childraising issues which they present in this book. One of which is breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding. This book presents a non-biased view of the reasons behind each choice. If you are bottlefeeding, it contains information on how to do it safely and with love. If you are breastfeeding, you will need more information than is presented here, and I suggest you read up on books specifically covering breastfeeding and join the la leche league for support and to answer your questions.
The other huge issue in this book, is laying your baby down to “cry it out” and training your baby to sleep through the night. If you are a supporter of the family bed, just ignore the information on sleeping through the night and make use of the rest of the advice in the book.
This book DOES NOT accuse your baby of being manipulative, or accuse you of spoiling your baby by picking him up and holding him. This book also does not demand that you put your baby on a rigid schedule to supress their little will. A matter of fact, the book states specifically that you cannot spoil a baby by holding them, and tells you that it is medically necessary for the baby to wake you up in the middle of the night to eat during the first three months of life. What the authors are talking about when they talk about “crying it out” is that, babies will cry because they are tired or overstimulated, in which case they NEED to just lay down for 10 to 15 minutes so that he/she can go to sleep. If you believe differently, fine. You should raise your baby how you believe is right, not how ANY book tells you to. But, dismissing this book in entirety means missing out on a very useful informative source.

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Great Resource, July 16, 2001

First, I would like to tell that despite one objection I have against this book, I loved it and my husband loves it and we use it frequently.

This book will give you insight about various child-care issues (from first bath, through first feeding of solids, to the home safety issues parents of a baby need to be aware of), it will answer numerous questions new mothers have (sometimes even those you might be ashamed to ask because they seem like something you should know without asking), it will show you basics of baby CPR, help you decide when to call doctor (and how to select one). You will find there overview of basic baby illnesses as well as various recipes for your baby’s newly found taste for solids. It will show you how to stimulate your baby’s development and how to make the time you spend with your baby the "quality time". It will encourage you to hug and cuddle with your baby as well as gently teach your baby some basic behavioral lessons. The best thing is that it never makes a pressure (or guilt) on you as to which course of action to take when raising your baby; it leaves the decision up to you.

Readers should remember though, that they need to read the authors’ notes about the book and they should also check on any information they disagree with (in any book, website, or flier) instead of blindly taking for granted everything that’s on the paper. This would ease the frustration of many readers that doubted the worth of this book.

I’ve read the Sear’s Baby Book that many readers liked so much, and I must say that it is not really reasonable to follow for a family with average income and average work-schedule. I tried to follow advice in Sear’s book and only ended up exhausted, guilt-ridden (I could never do enough) with fussy baby. Then I switched to “What to expect…” and I’m still with this book. It’s great resource. My only one objection about this book as well as explanation why some readers might not have enjoyed it too much follows.

My only dislike about this book is the opinion that breastfeeding should be stopped at nine months. Few years ago, APA recommended that mothers should try breastfeed at least one year. This book needs new reviewed edition that reflects this recommendation.

About people’s comments: * First, realize that this book is not and can not be the "know-it-all-be-always-right" book about babies. The topic here is so broad that that you will for sure find yourself disagreeing on some items while liking other ones. Authors themselves say that there is not one "right" parenting style; you have to decide which parenting style you like and which one is therefore right for you. The style described in this book works for me great though — I spend lots of time with my baby, but I still manage the household tasks and help my husband pay the bills with my part-time job.

*Second, read and remember authors’ notes saying that babies develop in their own pace and the monthly-development guidelines are only approximate. I found this especially true. One big lesson parents get is that babies do new things when THEY are ready (gosh, it was hard to master concept though); you can help them, but at the end, it’s them who decides that it’s the right time. This book tries to teach you that. Therefore, do not get influenced by those readers that complain about the month-to-month develompment guidelines, they probably missed the note under those guidelines. Also, the books advises you to check with pediatrician when you are uncertain about your baby’s development — great advice that can save you lots of worries (and unfortunatelly, many baby books do not really try to work with pediatricians).

*Third, the question/answer format of references is great WHEN you use index in the back of the book (as is logical for book that offers such an amount of information about such wide topic). I easily found answer for most of my questions in this book and it saved me numerous trips to my doctor.

*Fourth, the "crying it out" concept is an option/suggestion from authors of the book. They do not say you have to do that, it is advice for somebody who is interested in opinion. If you are not interested in opinion, or if it frustrates you, do not read it and do not follow it. There can’t be right answer for everyone. As authors mention, there are many parenting styles and almost none of them are wrong. It’s up to you which one you choose. And whatever you choose, it’s right. Many critical comments about this book failed to see this principle and failed to be tolerant to other people’s parenting styles.

*Fifth, you should not taky any book as you exclusive source of information. Always talk to your pediatrition about your concerns, search the internet, talk to other mothers. Pick what you think is best. It may be something else than this or other book says, but hey, if you think it’s the best, it probably…

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I like it, but it has some flaws, January 9, 2007

I absolutely hated What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Hated it. So when a friend gave me this book as a gift when I was pregnant, I kind of put it to the side, never expecting to use it.

Well, I surprised myself. I actually refer to this book a lot in caring for my now almost-6-month-old son.

What I like about the book is that the questions that it addresses are very much like real-life questions people ask about their babies. Some of the questions are word-for-word questions my husband and I have asked each other. That makes the information very accessible and I think, reassuring. You get a sense that “Oh good, my five-month-old is not the only one in the world who seems to be coughing just to get my attention.”

There’s a really comprehensive amount of information about nearly every parenting topic you can think of. In particular, the section about infant illness is invaluable. Great charts of symptoms and treatments for those symptoms, explanations about how to do home treatments, etc. My son has gotten a couple of colds, one of which brought on a croupy cough, and the book’s advice about steam treatments and a quick trip outside helping were right-on, and exactly what my mom and grandma had told me worked to help croup. Without the book’s specific description of what croup and stridor sound like, and how to treat it, I probably would have ended up in the emergency room with my son.

That being said, here are the things I don’t like about this book.

- The information is supposedly unbiased, but the author comes down firmly on the pro or con side of an issue and there’s not a lot of doubt about what the author feels you “should” or “should not” do. The author is against pacifiers, against co-sleeping, is much too cautionary about babywearing, and advocates CIO as a way to get a baby to sleep – there’s a whole section about how to do CIO in the six-month chapter. The book is also very, VERY pro-breastfeeding. I breastfeed, so it didn’t “bother” me, per se, but if a mom has to or chooses to formula feed, the constant references to breastfeeding and questions about breastfeeding that are found over and over and OVER in the book’s pages would probably be a big turnoff. There’s some lip service paid to “well, formula feeding is an OK choice” but there’s a VERY clear and VERY strong message that you should breastfeed until your child is a year old, period. I know a lot of women who tried valiantly to breastfeed and just could not, and I have had my own challenges with it. I am all for breastfeeding advocacy and I consider myself an advocate for breastfeeding, but the tone and the repeated admonishments to breastfeed for a year were over-the-top even for me.

- The aforementioned section about CIO was pretty terrible. There were no discussions about ways to avoid CIO other than extended family bedsharing (which the author was lukewarm about recommending, at best), and there is a middle ground between the two. There was also no discussion about the fact that CIO doesn’t work for all children – some kids are crying escalators, they don’t calm down after crying for an extended period but instead get more upset, and trying CIO with a baby like that is going to be traumatizing for all involved. There’s a pretty terrifying section that talks about how to deal with the noise of CIO, by notifying your neighbors, trying to muffle sound, etc. I just have to say, if your baby is crying that loud, that piercingly, and that long when you try CIO, you should consider the possibility that CIO is not working and is actually scaring or harming your child. CIO is a great tool for some kids, but not for all kids, and the book treats CIO like it is the cure-all for sleep problems. You get a sense, reading that section, that there really is no alternative to CIO other than having your baby sleep with you until they’re 10, and there are other options (the No Cry Sleep Solution has some great suggestions about the sleep issue). There’s also no discussion of the idea that nightwaking, especially for breastfed babies, is a developmentally normal and appropriate thing and will get better with time even without resorting to sleep training measures.

- The developmental milestones are treated as gospel truth and there is some alarmist information about “if your kid doesn’t do X by Y month there could be a BIG PROBLEM.” There’s no discussion about what developmental milestones really mean in terms of development or the idea that babies can have developmental strengths in one area and weaknesses in another. My baby has always been WAY ahead in his gross motor development and lagging in his fine motor, which is a totally normal thing. But there’s really no allowance for that, or explanation for why that would happen, in this book.

Overall I think this book is good and I don’t think it’s nearly as guilt- or panic-inducing as the Expecting book, or the Sears…

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