Oh Baby - Birth, Babies and Motherhood Uncensored product reviews

I'd thoroughly recommend this book to parents - particularly first-time parents. You can be overwhelmed by advice from friends, family, plunket (!) and others when you become a parent for the first time, and although there is not (and never will be!) a manual for raising children, Oh Baby is as close as you can get to a one-stop reference book for everything you may need to know about childbirth and breastfeeding, then transitioning your baby to solid foods, through to toilet training and much more, it's all here in the one book! In addition, Kathy Fray writes in a non-condescending, non-patronising way.

A lot of well-meaning advice can seem hard to swallow, negative or plain patronising when you get pregnant for the first time, and Fray is well aware that parents don't need to be talked down to or treated like idiots, but they do need to be treated with respect and sensitivity. She's also refreshingly honest about the tough parts of parenting but her tone is appropriate, knowledgeable about how the reader may be feeling and what possible insecurities the reader may have. It is not an off-putting tone, it's one that readers can relate to and feel comforted by.

Fray knows that parenthood is a roller coaster, and she helps the reader to enter the realm of parenthood with a little less anxiety and a lot more knowledge. It is definitely a book that all first-time parents should invest in.

I was given this Oh Baby book when I was pregnant with my first child as a baby shower gift. Initially I thought it would be like all the other books I had read about babies which are basically full of one specific persons opinions but this book is so much more! It given you advice and lets you know everything that could happen during pregnancy and childbirth and it also helps you to understand the newest member of your household.

This is one particular page that is written from the perspective of a newborn which I found particularly helpful in understanding what my baby wanted and why she was crying.

The author has done a great job with this book and doesn't insist you follow all her ideas but instead makes you aware of the different methods out there for you to choose what works best for you and your family. She also references other authors such as Tracy Hogg, the author of the Baby Whisperer,, and even shows you a sample routine of hers to try to get your baby into if you want to follow routines.

There is a whole chapter on helping baby sleep better. I pretty much spent every night while up feeding the baby reading this book trying to get my child to sleep longer (as most parents do when their baby isn't sleeping through the night yet) and am happy to say that by following her advice my first baby slept a good 12-13 hours at night from 3 months old.

Second time around I pulled out the book again when I got home from the hospital to refresh my sleep deprived memory and by the time my son was 8 weeks old he was sleeping a solid 8-10 hours a night which is fantastic!

All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is pregnant or has a new baby. From experience, it also makes a great baby shower gift!