Dorothy Waide’s wonderful book ‘You simply can’t spoil a newborn’ is the absolute must-have parenting book for new Mums and Dads.
I’m liking
I should disclose my bias straight away. On the recommendation of a dear friend, my wife and I used Dorothy Waide as a sleep consultant. And she literally changed our lives.
If only this book had been around when we were new parents, we would have learnt all of the tips and tricks, and realised all the mistakes we were making! With our first child, you name it and we had it, silent reflux, colic/irritability, 2 bouts of mastitis, early teething… And with all of this came some very poor sleeping patterns.
Dorothy takes sleeping/settling to the next level. It’s all broken down for you from swaddling to resettling routines, that really work. This brings me to the photography in the book, which is awesome. The step by step how-to swaddle section for instance is shot really well. You can definitely learn how to do it from the images.
Of course it’s not all about sleeping. With tons of detail on nurturing and bonding with bubs, and a fantastic section on feeding (with all that crucial information on burping and mastitis we wish we had known!), as well as a lot of really good content for Mum on how to look after herself as well as baby, this book is well thought out and thorough. There’s practical information on medical issues, things Mum needs to get out of the house, and even stories from real parents.
Dorothy’s straight forward and breezy style of consulting totally comes through in this book. Instead of a how-to, or manual style of parenting book, you really feel like Dorothy is alongside you stepping you through the techniques.
Things that made me go hmmmm
There just isn’t much to dislike about this book. It’s the right length and has everything in it you’ll need to nuture bubs in the first 3 months. I guess the only thing that could be helpful is the addition of links to Dorothy’s video tutorials on her website. The videos might make a good visual addition to the book content.
The conclusion
Worth every cent, and every new parent should be given this book on the birth of their child. Honestly, my wife and I used to say, ‘why don’t they tell you about this important stuff before you have your baby?’. Well, Dorothy has gone and done just that.
You Simply Can’t Spoil a Newborn by Dorothy Waide, published by David Bateman Ltd, RRP $39.99
