cover image How to Rock Your Baby: A Heartwarming, Back-to-Basics, Happy Baby Guide

How to Rock Your Baby: A Heartwarming, Back-to-Basics, Happy Baby Guide

Erin Bried. Hyperion, $14.99 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-4013-2459-9

Bried (How to Sew a Button) offers an eclectic mix of time-tested advice in this practical guide for new and expecting parents. Folk remedies, like eating pineapple or eggplant parmesan to induce labor, are included alongside more practical quotidian information, such as how to launder baby clothes and where to find parenting support. Bried's interviews with myriad moms (including Jonathan Safran Foer's mother, Esther; and Rachel Maddow's mom, Elaine) yield information that will guide parents through all the early stages: expecting, delivering, nourishing, comforting, surviving, remembering, and perhaps most importantly%E2%80%94enjoying. Each chapter is arranged into brief, manageable sections with charming titles (e.g., "Go Bananas: How to Make a Sock Monkey" and "Feel Kneaded: How to Give a Baby Massage"), and contains step-by-step instructions, as well as adages from moms who made it, including the author's own, Claire, who suggests that "If she falls, wait that split second. If her reaction is nothing, just say, %E2%80%98Oopsie!' If she did hurt herself, scoop her up, fix it, and kiss it." Though by no means a scholarly work, Bried's buoyant, conversational, and practical text will surely be a welcome addition to any family welcoming a newborn into the fold. (Apr.)