cover image The Expectant Parents' Companion: Simplifying What to Do, Buy, or Borrow for an Easy Life with Baby

The Expectant Parents' Companion: Simplifying What to Do, Buy, or Borrow for an Easy Life with Baby

Kathleen Huggins. Harvard Common Press, $24.95 (157pp) ISBN 978-1-55832-333-9

This comprehensive guide walks new parents step by step through what they need to consider or buy at each stage of pregnancy and long after. A registered nurse, lactation consultant and the owner of a baby supplies shop, Higgins (The Nursing Mother's Companion) provides detailed advice on all the baby preparation fundamentals, from choosing a doctor to baby-proofing the home to writing thank you notes after a baby shower. Though Higgins can be thorough to a fault (like in her exhaustive sections on strollers and diaper styles), testing parents who are more than likely already overwhelmed, her guide is stocked with user-friendly checklists, clear instructions and an easy-to-follow structure. The book's 12 chapters are laid out in more-or-less chronological order, beginning with (among others) ""To Do and Get"" and ""Preparing for Your Baby's Birth,"" through ""Dressing and Grooming"" and ""Traveling with Your Baby,"" to ""Daycare Options."" Perfect for the organized, list making parent-to-be, this guide covers all the bases.