First-time Parent

Forget unrealistic childcare manuals — this is the book you really need to help you cope brilliantly with those first chaotic days and months ahead. As a health journalist and mother-of-three, Lucy Atkins is familiar with both the medical aspects of childbirth and baby development, and the reality of day-to-day life as an exhausted first-time mum or dad. In her feisty, humorous style, she begins with that first mind-blowing day and addresses the issues unique to the first-time parent who stares at their newborn and thinks “Where are the instructions?” Anticipating the questions and concerns of all new mothers–Why does my baby cry so much? Will I ever lose all this weight? Am I a bad parent because!?–the book provides practical advice and level-headed reassurance. It addresses the needs of the baby and, very importantly, those of the parent during the first year of their baby’s life. Contents include: / Starter’s orders — the equipment and kit you really need, as opposed to what the department store tells you / Hello — how to cope with the first few hours / Start — coming home, bonding, how to survive the first few days / Sleep — for everyone!/