Oh, Baby!: 7 Ways a Baby Will Change Your Life the First Year

by Bettie B. Youngs, Susan M. Heim, Jennifer L. Youngs

Are you ever really prepared for your first child? Or even the second or third? Sure, you've got the nursery set up, the diapers bought, and the pediatrician selected, but you may be shocked, despite... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1571745033
• ISBN13: 9781571745033
• Release Date: June 2006
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing Company
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Oh, Baby!

One might think I know all there is to know about a baby's first year, just having my third child. Wrong! Reading through Oh, Baby, I found myself agreeing with others as they described the various feelings you experience during this first year. I also found myself remembering the first years of my first two children and some of the hurdles my husband and I faced, and I realized that many other couples face the same things. The authors do a wonderful job addressing the emotional and physical demands of having a child under the age of one in your house. They break the book up into seven chapters, discussing not only the challenges, but the ways a baby will enhance your life and your relationships with others. One chapter deals with how a baby will cause you to examine your beliefs and question your faith, while another addresses how to survive and thrive as a couple. Scattered through the book are wonderful quotes on parenthood, marriage, and babies. Each section ends with wonderful discussion questions to help you examine your thoughts and feelings. The "Take Action" boxes sprinkled throughout provide great ways in which you may apply what you have read to your life. Oh, Baby was an easy read, and I enjoyed all the anecdotes collected from various couples. I could identify with so many of their stories. Whether sharing the first year of life with your first child or your third, you will appreciate this delightful book. It offers something for all parents. by Kara Flathouse for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

You're not alone!

Reviewed by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (1/07) Few parenting books tackle the emotional and relationship impacts of becoming a parent. "Oh, Baby!" does an amazing job describing the entirely new level of love you experience with your baby, the enormous sense of responsibility, and the many challenges you will face in various aspect of your new role as parent. Focusing on "7 Ways a Baby Will Change YOUR Life in the First Year," the book is separated into seven aspects of your life that will be impacted with the birth of a baby. However, each section is further broken down into four to six subsections giving the reader sixty-seven ways a baby will potentially change your life! Each subsection includes questions to help stimulate thoughts and invoke discussion to help the reader assess the emotional and logistical challenges they have encountered and/or overcome. Suggestions are provided to encourage the new parent to become creative in overcoming straining relationships, internal and external conflicts, and spirituality. The seven sections covered throughout the book include: A Baby Will Open Your Heart Like No Other Can or Ever Will A Child Helps You Develop a Durable, Reliable -and Authentic- Sense of Self Love, Marriage, and a Baby Carriage: Surviving and Thriving as a Couple Making a Living and Raising a Child, A Baby Will Change your Views -and Goals- on Both A Baby Creates Family Ties -and Bonds That Bind A Baby Will Cause You to Examine Your Beliefs - and Question Your Faith Friends and Your Baby: You'll Make Many Friends and Lose a Few! While it is easy to plan for and adjust to the logistical implications of being a parent, the emotional impact can be a shocking new discovery to parents. "Oh, Baby!" is not only a tool to help prepare the new parent for the challenges to come, it is an excellence source to revisit as you face each situation and are looking for guidance and understanding, or even just the reassurance that you are not alone in it. An excellent resource for new and pending parents and especially useful for parenting groups!

A Must-Read For New Parents

'Oh Baby!' should be mandatory reading for pregnant or brand new parents. This practical and realistic manual (riddled with true life accounts) helps prepare new parents for the challenges and delights of parenthood. 'Oh Baby!' covers how a baby will change you, affect your relationship, your career, your family, your social life, and your spirituality. The book is for both Mom and Dad and is very interactive with 'Questions for Discussions' sections strewn throughout the book, where both partners can discuss and write about what they've just read. Parenthood is something that has to be experienced to fully understand, but 'Oh Baby!' does a splendid job getting new parents prepared for what's to come, minimizing the inevitable shock.

How to think about parenthood

There is an amazing amount of information and thought packed into just over 200 pages here. The three authors have essentially created a long list of all the ways having a baby will change your life, then grouped the ideas into seven general categories, and then written explanations of each item on the list. Sounds pretty basic, right? Actually: anything but! The level of detail and perception and the degree of helpfulness are amazingly high. They not only describe the way the baby will change you or your life; they then give advice on how to prepare for that change, and how to make the change easier to go through, or how to fight the change, and/or how to get through it with your partner--all kinds of strategies and techniques for coping and transitioning. Really liked this book quite a lot.

my favorite pregnancy book

Fantastic book. It was a great read for my first pregnancy, providing me with a realistic view about the many ways a baby will impact my life. The authors address the challenges and joys that new parents will experience. I definitely feel prepared to become a mother and highly recommend this book to all expectant moms!