Infants Books

As an English speaking parent in Switzerland, we liked the idea of ASL. The book is very comprehensive and well set up, the only negative for me is that the signs are not always super clear, and you have to guess a little sometimes.

Still, it is definatly reccommendable and I would buy it again

I love the Baby Signing Book. Love the games and songs in it, and I especially like that it's ASL, not "baby sign."

I am an RN, my daughter is 9 months old, I have been using this book in addition to the Signing Times DVD's , it is great, easy to understand, and well organized. It is actually based on ASL, not improvised signs, my baby already knows about 5 signs, and attempts her own versions of them too.My 6 year has taken an interest in teaching her baby sister as well

I love the DVD set Baby Signing Time by Rachel de Azevedo Coleman, but my daughter and I were ready for more words. Since there are only two DVDs out so far, we needed another resource. This book is great! The first third of this book is broken into the following chapters:
1. A Quick Course in Baby Signing
2. Sign Language Development
3. Signing with Your Young Baby (0-6 mos)
4. " (6-12 mos)
5. " (12-18 mos)
and so on through 3 years
Also included "Signing with Your Special Needs Child" and "How to Sign and Sing." (Classic songs like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider, "Old MacDonald" and "The Wheels on the Bus"; and ones that are put to classic songs but that help reinforce your sign-vocab like the "Change Your Diaper Song" put to "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain.")

The rest of the book is a picture dictionary of words you will want to use when communicating with your child. Pretty much every word I have looked up in order to sing nursery songs is there. Sometimes I look for a word and it isn't there, but this doesn't happen often. And these are usually words that are not specifically geared for the little guys. It makes me hopeful that there will be a part two one day.

The pictures are very helpful and clearly drawn and labeled. I keep it in my nursery and refer to it whenever I am talking to my daughter and don't have a "key word" in my sign language knowledge.

If you are looking to get started with sign language, I recommend the DVDs I mentioned at the beginning AND this book.

This is a great number book. I seem to have lost my copy - if I don't find it soon I'll have to get another one! Too bad this book is out of print - you may want to get it from a used-book merchant. The pictures of the babies are mesmerizing, and the objects they introduce are very relevant to babies and toddlers.

Bought this book for grandson and he loves it! Now passed on the his brother.

This has been a favorite of my 13month old daughter for several months now. The pictures in this book are so simple. One cake, two dogs, three balls, four chairs, five trucks, six blocks, seven dinosaurs, eight crayons, nine balloons, ten fingers, eleven hats, twelve apples. Each picture has a plain white background with the items surrounding a baby. The babies are all "normal" kids wearing cute outfits that could've been bought at WalMart; I like this realistic style. We made up motions/sounds for each page and now our daughter automatically does many of them. For example, when we get to the hat page I pat her head. Now she pats her head at other times when we are talking about hats! My only small complaint is I wish there were a bit more ethnic variety--10 of the 14 babies pictured are caucasian. I wish I could get my hands on all the Neil Ricklen books!

My nine month old has a stocked library in her room, but we could give all of those books away as long as we kept this one. She loves to look at the kids on every page. She talks to them and acts like she is reading. She plays with this book longer than any other possesion she has. We wish we could get our hands on all of the books by Neil Ricklen!!

Very easy to listen to, lovely songs and rhymes. You can easily play this every day and not get sick of it. One of a kind, as most recordings of this sort can be very irritating after a while, even if they are not initially. Excellent.

This CD has been in heavy rotation since deciding to teach our toddler son French. He was five months old when purchased and we didn't begin to play it until he was six months old. I wish we hadn't waited! The songs are sung beautifully by both the male and female singers. In addition to the adult singers, there is also a child that sings songs.

The CD comes with the lyrics for each song in both French and English which I find to be extremely helpful.

My favorite feature is the "Parentese." I am not fluent in French, but am learning, and I like that I am able to speak to my child in phrases other than the standard ones taught in a college course.

I wanted a foreign language CD for my 1 year old and purchased this after reading the reviews. The CD is very pleasant to listen to, even for adults. It has a variation of songs and rhymes, and different people singing/speaking them, so it doesn't seem repetitive the way some other children's CDs are. The sound quality is good and you can follow the words relatively well, which was important to me. I liked it so much I bought the Spanish version, which I'm still reserving decision on. So far I like the French version better.

I bought this as it looked like a well-suited option to help introduce French to my 6 month old twin girls... after having taken so many years of French, they were my inspiration to start them off right with it -- from the beginning. They had listened to this CD almost daily and continue to enjoy dancing to it occasionally as 2.5 year olds now. As soon as I put it in upon arrival, I was very pleased... the booklet explains in an hour's read how best to expose your children to another language and the CD is well-produced. The sound quailty is great, the male and female singers have pleasing voices that I (a 30 year old father) can handle... and they are native French speakers! All in all a nice blend of quick paced songs, calm songs, quick phoenetical rhymes -- I recommend it hands down.

This is the same thing as Baby's First Steps in French! Different title, same thing. It even says that customers who bought this, also bought 'First Steps,' so don't be misled... Amazon seriously needs to let customers know that this is a revised edition, so others don't make the same mistake I did, which is to make two purchases of the same item.

That said, my 4 and a half month old, seems to like listening to the songs, and I enjoy it, as well. :)

I bought this for my 5-yr-old son when we adopted a 2-yr-old. He loved it so much we bought it for his cousin when her parents added a baby when she was 7 yrs-old. She thought it was great also!

Outstanding......just what my neice wanted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am glad that you all had it.
Thanks, Amazon- I can always depend on you all for all things!!!

Sincerely,

AL Shuford
Charlotte,NC

My daughter became a big sister at age two. Seven months later she still begs me nearly every day to read this. She giggles endlessly the whole time! A must have when you're expecting a new baby!

My 3 and 5-year olds can't get enough of this book. The funny things that the older brother in the story calls his new baby brother have my kids rolling with laughter. We now give this to friends and family as a "big brother or sister" present when a new baby is born.

We bought this book for our 5 year old. Every night she loves to see what her little sister looks like, even if she is still in mommy's tummy! Of course there are some things that we skip over. Would be great for a first time mom also, to get to know her new little one.

I think this book is pretty good. The informaion presented is different from what you get in the 'what to expect' pregnancy books. The pictures, however, make me worry. I just somehow got the idea that maybe some of the pictures where taken of babies who were stillborn, or worse. As a person who is normally very sensitive to these types of things, being preganat, hormonal, and overly emotional, I can't look at the pictures when I read this book. Maybe I'm all wrong, and there is nothing to worry about, but still...

I gave this book to my wife when we found out she was pregnant. It enabled us to follow along each day with the changes that were occurring in our new baby. The book shows a picture of what she looked like, what physical changes were taking place and what she could do. There really is no other book like this. We really felt connected to our unborn child earlier.

This book (which concentrates on the baby) is the perfect complement to other pregnancy books (that focus on the mother). I gave this book as a gift to several of my expecting friends. It wasn't until I used for my own pregnancy that I realized how extraordinary it really is. I am a third of the way through my pregnancy and I feel totally 'connected' with my child! This book is great for a first, last or anywhere in-between pregnancy because it provides detailed information about my unborn baby's day-to-day development that I haven't seen anywhere else. I loved the way the information was presented...with adorable images and places for me to jot down notes about how I was feeling and what I was thinking. I use the book each day to see what has changed today in my baby and to jot questions that come up to take with me to the doctor's. This book makes a magical time even more real.

This book has such a wonderful approach to parenting. We have gained so much insight in not only how to meet the needs of our child now, but for the rest of her life.

I am excited to see that Dr. Christophersen has provided us with a new edition of Beyond Discipline. The impact this book has had on my interactions with my children has been considerable. As a pscyhologist working with kids, I have always understood the importance of consistency and discipline. However, Beoyond Discpline assisted me in helping my children develop self-quieting skills through touching them regularly and providing them with time in. Most parents that I work with in my private practice are excited and quickly understand the purpose and goals of Dr. Christophersen's suggestions.

Too often as adults we try and communicate with our children in ways similar to the ways we communicate with other adults, by talking. However, Dr. Christophersen's suggestions on communicaton have enriched my relationships with my children. Parents often ask me how to get their children to talk to them. I provide them with many of Dr. Christophersen's suggestions.

This book is helpful in addressing issues across the life span of a child. I recommend it highly.

Discipline does not always mean punishment. By closely following the techniques given in this book for "time-outs", I've been able to eliminate several of my toddler's tantrum behaviors (like banging his head on things when he's mad) within one to two days, WITHOUT punishing him. This very special and QUICK AND EASY-TO-READ book teaches parents to teach our kids self-quieting skills that are crucial to their survival in life. I think if all kids were taught to calm themselves down, our society and our world would be a lot more peaceful!

I never even knew that children had "self quieting" skills until I read Dr. C's book. He explains how, if left alone for awhile, most children will quiet down all by themselves, even when they're upset. That's just one of the great tips I learned from this book. In a humorous way, Dr. C points out that, although it may be hard at first to let your child cry out her frustration, no adult in the working world can get by for very long by throwing tantrums. It's this common sense approach to pareting and discipline that makes this book so worthwhile. The book explains how to use discipline appropriate for the age of your child, and what to do if the first suggestion doesn't work. In the back of the book, he's included free hand-outs that you can use to refresh your memory. If you think about it, what Dr. C. is recommending isn't DISCIPLINE at all. He's telling us how to treat our children right the first time, so that we can enjoy having our children around and av! oid actually having to discipline them.

Mind you, it has been over 13 years since I last read this book. I lent my copy out and lost track of it. I intend to replace it, however, because it is the single most empowering birth book I have encountered--and I've read many. Odent, through his own experience as a physician in Africa and France, developed a highly humble and respectful attitude toward a woman's inate ability to give birth--when supported and given an envirornment in which she is granted the space, saftey and integrity to deliver her child. It was his confidence in and reverence for women and the birth experience that mightily empowered me in my second delivery, which was a home birth. I recommend this book for every mother-to-be regardless of the place and format she has selected for her delivery. In fact, it should be required reading as a part of prenatal care worldwide.

This was the most important book I read on childbirth. Odent displays sensitivity and respect for women in this book. He sees himself and all physicians as facilitating a natural process, which ultimately empowers a woman to tap into her safest and most trusted self to experience the most intimate of all life's experiences. In addition to Odent's insights from years of groundbreaking experience, the book includes journal entries from women at his clinic. These writings provided me with a community of women who shared their experiences, giving me the peace of mind and confidence to gently bring my baby into this world. For us, this meant a home birth with a midwife. Anyone in the least bit nervous about childbirth would find support in these pages.

On the surface, Birth Reborn is a detailed description of the transformation in birthing practices that occurred at Pithiviers, a state run French hospital. Questioning conventional obstetrical wisdom, Dr. Michel Odent led this change at Pithiviers.

On a deeper level, Dr. Odent's experience is a profound message to birthing women and the professionals who work with them. For prospective parents, Dr. Odent's work at Pithiviers empowers women to believe in their ability to birth naturally with minimal intervention. Following their instincts, women naturally know what to do. They are the experts!

More importantly, for professionals who work with birthing women, Dr. Odent's book encourages one to question conventional obstetrical practice. Is birth really a disaster waiting to happen? Does interference in the process produce better results? Or, does it inevitably introduce new complications? Dr. Odent's work exemplifies that birth is indeed a natural process whose outcome is best when left untouched by modern medicine. Scientific evidence supports this premise. Intervention should be the exception, not the rule!

In sum, Birth Reborn is a good choice for prospective parents. Through it, a woman will develop a confidence in her instinctive, natural ability to give birth. Meanwhile, her partner gains insight into her experience and how he can assist her in the best manner possible. Though an excellent choice for parents, Birth Reborn should be required reading for those who work with prospective parents, particularly birth attendants. One should never be afraid to question commonly held beliefs. After all, that is how progress is made!

If you have never seen a woman give birth in a completely natural way, without interventions (and I hadn't when I first read it), this book will be very informative and, perhaps, surprising. When I chose to pursue childbirth in an out-of-hospital birth center, I wanted to buy this book again to remind myself of how birth should be. The book is moving, inspiring, and simply a wonderful documentation of the beauty of the birthing experience. I believe that any person interested in the miracle of birth should read this book. Especially, any woman who is planning a home birth or a birth center birth, or wants a non-medicated birth in a hospital should consider this book mandatory reading. The book is about natural, unmedicated childbirth - the attitudes and the emotions as well as some of the how-tos and some medical information. It contains many photographs of the birth process and of the center in France where the births take place. There's no other book like it, and I've read a lot of childbirth books.

I was scared to death about breastfeeding my second son(my first was bottle-fed). I had read so many horror stories and all the things that can go wrong. This book made my life so much better. Really!! The books gives great encouragement and advice. It also is a great reference if you do have a problem. The New Mom Journal is AWESOME. You can track your feedings and the babies output so you know the baby is getting enough. Definely get this book if you are even considering breastfeeding. It is really the only breastfeeding book you need.

I HAVE GIVEN THIS BOOK TO NEW MOTHERS AT SEVERAL BABY SHOWERS. EVERY ONE OF THE NEW MOTHERS LOVED THE BOOK, AND FOUND IT VERY HELPFUL.

In Bon Appetit, Baby!, Elaine Moran has provided the new mother with a complete, reader friendly, breast feeding instruction guide in the form of a four-part book. Part 1 is "The Practical Breastfeeding Manual" which explains every aspect of breast feeding basics and helps new parents identify and appropriately manage early breast feeding difficulties and common newborn problems. Part 2 is "The Complete Nutrition and Weight Loss Guide" showing the nursing mother how to maintain her own good health and provide her baby with an optimal milk supply, while safely and naturally returning to her prepregnancy weight. Part 3 is "The Six-Week Nursing Diary with the Nurse-N-Track System", a two-part diary for easy monitoring of breast feeding progress during the first six weeks postpartum. Part 4 is "The New Mother's Journal" offering a place to record precious memories of the first days of motherhood with specific questions, ideas starters and inspirational quotations to inspire creative journal writing. Bon Appetit, Baby! is an ideal gift and "must" reading for anyone contemplating breast feeding their baby.

I bought this book mainly because the "Six Week Nursing Diary with the Nurse and Track System" seemed like a simple way to keep track of my newborn's feeding habits. Having successfully nursed my first child, I wasn't looking for another "how to" book on breastfeeding. However I found the info in this book was presented very clearly and concisely and wished I had bought it before the birth of my 1st child. It covers all the breastfeeding basics thus making it a good "refresher guide" for experienced moms and a good "getting started guide" for new moms. Plus the nursing diary is wonderful! I recommend buying this book for your basic breastfeeding needs and buying a more complete reference book for info pertaining to specific problems that may arise.

I didn't get this book until my daughter turned 14 months old. I wish I had it earlier then she would be introduced to more than just "Rock-a-Bye, Baby" for her first 14 months. Now, every night, I sing three of four different songs to her from this book. My favorites so far are "All the Pretty Little Horses," : All Through the Night," and "Huna Blentyn (Sleep, My Baby)." The music notation is great for me, a musician, to practice sight singing when trying to learn a new tune. I think this is a great book and I am looking forward to buy more song books from the First Steps series.

I can't read music and was just hoping for a book of simple songs to sing to my baby. This has a lot of lullabies from other countries and that I have never heard before the book. Since I can't read music, they don't do me a lot of good. If you can read music, this would be a beautiful book.

An almost comprehensive collection of lullabies from around most of the world. None from Native America or the Pacific Islands. Both music (the melody line) and lyrics are provided. This is a great book for those who wish to sing to their child Those interested in the lullaby as a music form, perhaps the earliest songs of humanity, will find this collection very useful, but information about the sources is lacking. I read music and can play most of these on Native American flutes, and I am sure the player of any instrument could play them as well. The chording is not indicated, but any musician can figure out what chords to play to accompany a singer or someone playing these simple tunes.

I love this collection of lullabys. It contained all the lullabys that I knew but didn't know the words to. It also contained several that I had never heard before but have since become part of our bedtime routine. It is beautifully notated and easy to read, however you should be able to read music to make use of this book.

Bounce Back Into Shape After Baby by physical therapist and exercise specialist Caroline C. Creager (Founder and CEO, Executive Physical Therapy, Inc., Berthoud, Colorado) is an energetic, authoritative health and workout guide designed specifically for new mothers. Individual chapters address exercise guidelines for mothers recovering from vaginal delivery, Cesarean delivery recovery, techniques for managing Cesarean scar tissue, ways to strengthen weakened abdominal muscles, balancing exercise with breast feeding, the value of working out on a ball, fitting exercise into a busy schedule and much more. Bounce Back Into Shape After Baby is a superbly presented and "user friendly" health and exercise guidebook and especially recommended for young mothers who may feel overwhelmed but don't want to neglect their physical well-being.

Finally an excercise program that is written by a mom who understands, that working out is not a priority. Caroline fully understands the time limitation of moms. This has been a great program to get me going again, I feel good about myself. I kept thinking I would start working out, tomorrow, next week, next month etc., but this program makes working out attainable by working it into my day. By starting out with just 10 minutes a day I felt like I was accomplising something, now I do it twice a day and feel like I can add more time. THANK YOU - this is the best and strongest I've felt in a long time!

I highly recommend this book! As a middle-aged grandma, I was initially interested in this book for myself, as I will soon have an abdominal hysterectomy, and will be needing some gentle, yet effective post-op abdominal exercises. I am also an RN/certified fitness trainer, so I have used Caroline Creager's books in the past. I am finding this book to be an excellent source for my clients, especially new moms, and people like myself, needing strengthening after surgery. The section on diaphragmatic breathing is essential for the post-op period. Although this is a postpartum program, most exercises could apply to anyone, as they emphasize strengthening the core, which is fundamental in beginning an exercise program. The exercises and stretches using the Swiss ball would benefit anyone, young and old, as they are safe, functional, and help to improve posture and balance.

But first and foremost, this book is a must for the new mother, full of fun, energy-efficient workouts,demonstrated by Caroline and her baby. There is emphasis on posture, as well as the proper body mechanics in lifting and carrying baby to support your back and prevent injury. The exercises are beneficial to baby as well, aiding sleep, improving strength, balance and socialization. What a great way to interact and bond with your baby! This would be a unique and much appreciated gift for mom and baby.

This is a gentle, flexible exercise routine that begins with exercise routines suitable 24 hours after birth that start off with 5 minutes of floor exercises (with no balance ball or other equipment at this point) and 5 minutes of walking.

The goal for the first level of exercises is not to lose weight but to enhance the mothers' physical condition and to enhance recovery after childbirth. There are special exercises to help heal c-section incision area and simple things to do to help prevent c-section scar adhesions. Other exercises help episiotomy site healing, separation of diastasis recti (abdominal muscles) due to pregnancy and exercises for recovering from urinary incontinence and fecal incontinence (which has been linked in a study to be caused by episiotomies).

Another important focus of the book is the goal of not having back pain. The book teaches prevention of back and shoulder injury by teaching proper positions for holding baby, breastfeeding, and lifting baby up, such as when lifting out of crib. Using a stroller is discouraged if the woman has carpal tunnel syndrome due to pregnancy as pushing the stroller can further aggravate the pain and the condition. Use of a front pack baby carrier is recommended as a back-healthy way to carry baby and proper usage of it (so it is comfortable and doesn't cause back pain) is outlined by the author. I have witnessed many people wearning their baby carriers in a way that causes back pain, I encourage everyone to read the manufacturers directions and this authors' directions so using this style baby carrier doesn't cause you pain!

The program progresses in stages up to a 5-star difficulty rating, as the woman desires to get into physical shape with increased aerobic activity designed for fat burning, weight loss and increased muscle strength.

The book features cutout one-sided pages that illustrate an entire workout by name, order, and illustration so the mother can carry it with her for reference rather than propping up the book and trying to keep the book open during the workout. Later in the book are the longer, detailed instructions for each exercise.

There are loads of references to studies on everything from why a vaginal birth is easier on a woman's body to why an episiotomy can cause a woman physical problems to why breastfeeding is beneficial. I was surprised to see so many studies cited throughout the text and in side bar quotes.

Other than some stretching exercises, breathing and abdominal exercies, the baby is incorporated into the routine (but it looks to me that this is only possible when the baby can strongly hold up his/her neck), which is great because doing the exercises won't require mother and baby separation. The exercises can be done in short segments multiple times during the day when the busy mother can carve out these small time segments.

Breastfeeding is portrayed in a positive light, including a photo of the author breastfeeding and with tidbits of positive research about breastfeeding's health benefits and personal opinions of the author about enhancing bonding between mother and baby.

An attitude and emphasis on the woman being the expert of her body is throughout. It begins with self-tests for separation of abdominal exercises, Kegel muscle self tests, etc. and urges the woman to listen to her own body. Using the information in this book the woman can design her own workout schedule and assess her own body's strengths, weaknesses and areas that would benefit from exercising. This book does not promote reliance on exercise clubs, gyms, etc. so this is a low-expense workout. The balance ball that is used in later parts of the text costs about $30 and can be used in the home (which is far less money than most exercise shoes cost).

I especially appreciated that this book does not portray pregnancy or childbirth in a negative light. It is not like other books that almost treat pregnancy as a bad thing for making the woman gain weight and other body changes occur that are negative. It does *not* have the attitude that as soon as the baby is born a mission must begin to get in shape and lose fat. There is no negative language about the physical appearance of the body while pregnant or after the baby is born. The book is more focused on feeling good, developing strong core muscles, and being able to live pain-free.

This is not a killer-workout that requires huge amounts of time and energy; it is definitely do-able at all the stages of difficulty, and will definitely help any mother who uses it.