great book for parenting from the heart...
Customer Rating: 
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 am an Attachment Parenting failure AKA Doctors should stick with being doctors-not trying to be parenting experts.
Customer Rating: 
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.
