I would like to buy a book that outlines the development milestones for babies. Something that is easy to read but has a lot of good information on what to expect each week as my baby grows. Any recommendations? Thanks!
What To Expect The First Year is great! It is set up by monthly milestones and includes listings the milestones categorized by what the baby "will probably be able to do, may possibly be able to do, and may even be able to do." It included height and weight charts too. It also has a section for mom, breastfeeding, and illnesses. There are lots of common parent questions throughout the book.
I would recommend "What to Expect in the First Year". It outlines what the development milestones are for average, and above average children. It also discusses each month of age, what issues or questions you might be facing with answers on how to handle it. I liked it so much that when my oldest turned two, I bought the next book "What to Expect in the Toddler Years".
What to expect the first year... from the same author as What to expect when you are expecting.
It helped me a lot... also go to the website babycenter.com, if you suscribe, which is free, they send you periodic emails of what to expect and the milestones from your pregnancy to the toddler years.
I really liked the What to Expect series. Great Expectations is good, too.
I really liked this series of books. They have one for pregnancy, breastfeeding, this one, toddler, etc. You can get a used one on Amazon for around $10.
"The Everything Baby's First Year Book: Complete Practical Advice to Get You and Baby Through the First 12 Months"
I am a book junkie, but I definitely liked the balanced information this series provided. You already have a child, so I'm sure you've already realized that every child develops at different rates. Just remember not to lose sight of that!
Have you also read the Sears book, "Healthiest Kid on the Block"? If not, I am sure you would find it interesting.
Good luck!
Dr. Sears' Baby Book
Really liked the What to Expect series.
My all-time favorites are old as the hills but full of tons of information (ignore some of the first pages with info on hospital protocol for newborns as it's out of date). The strength of the books is the developmental milestones determined by years of observation and research by the authors who absolutely LOVE children. Includes monthly charts, over 150 photographs (depending on the book), and helpful ideas and detailed chapters if you want more than what's in the easy-to-read charts. Interesting! They are:
The First Twelve Months of Life/OR/The Second Twelve Months of Life/OR/The Toddler Years (or something like that, maybe Your 24-48-Mo. Old). By Frank and Theresa Caplan. The Princeton Center for Infancy and Early Childhood. Perigree Books/Putnam.
What to Expect During the First Year is a wonderful book - we used it like it was an encyclopedia - there is another one that follows up behind it for the next several years.
I just pulled mine down from the bookshelf today and am giving it to another soon to be mom.
I really liked Baby 411 when my daughter was under a year. For me it was the easiest to read and the most informative.
what to expect in the first year and baby super foods. are both books that i often reached for. i read the chapter for the month of their age and usually worked on things that i thought my son wasnt picking up on. usually these things were the same questions that the doctors would ask. i dont have one for the second year and have not been keeping up with his development. nurse asked if he knew some of his body parts ( head, nose, ears, ) which i was supprised that the did not. so we started working on them and he knows them now. The song head sholders knees and toes really helped. Good luck.
My favorite child development book is Touchpoints by T. Berry Brazelton. I saw a copy at Half Price Books off of Isom yesterday. Enjoy!
Take a look at Growing Child - they have weekly updates - emails or print versions - been around for 30 + years. Check out their website.
When I had my first baby, someone gave me the book, "What to Expect the First Year". This was 8 years ago, but I seem to remember it is organized into weekly sections and is very easy to follow. I'm sure there are many good options out there now. You might try your local library to narrow down the choices and decide on one to purchase.
You have received a lot of good suggestions. I would just warn you that you shouldn't do lots of comparisons and judgements with books and your child. All kids are different. When we start reading things in books (too much) we sometimes think things are wrong, or delayed, when they are not.
You will see this website full of questions about 2 1/2 year olds not potty trained, one year olds still using binkies...all kinds of things parents stress over.
So use any book as a rough guide, is my suggestion.
