Anne Krueger - Parenting Guide to Your Babys First Year

A Ballantine Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group

Copyright 1999 by P ARENTING Magazine

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published in slightly different form by The Random House Publishing Group in 1999.

Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

www.ballantinebooks.com

eBook ISBN: 978-0-307-82902-3
Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-0-345-41180-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Krueger, Anne.
Parenting guide to your babys first year / Anne Krueger with the editors of Parenting magazine.1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-345-41180-3 (alk. paper)
1. Infants. 2. InfantsCare. 3. InfantsDevelopment. 4. Child rearing. 5. Parenting. 6. Parenting and infant. I. Parenting (San Francisco, Calf.) II. Title.
HQ774.K78 1999
649.22dc21

98-21987
CIP

Cover photo Jim Craigmyle/Masterfile

Revised Edition: April 2000

v3.1

In memory of my mother, Jean Kemp Krueger

The information and advice presented in this book have been reviewed by a professional advisory board of medical doctors. They should not, however, substitute for the advice of your personal physician or other trained healthcare professionals. You are advised to consult with healthcare professionals with regard to all matters that may require medical attention or diagnosis and to check with a physician before administering or undertaking any course of treatment.

A Mothers View: This Isnt Sibling RivalryIts War

Good Advice: Fun Diaper Changes

As new moms and dads quickly discover, parenting is unpredictable, challenging, joyful, humbling, exhilarating, exhausting, and immensely satisfyingsometimes all those things in a single day, or hour!

Especially during the first weeks and months of your babys life, adjusting to things that youd expected to be simple, such as routine feedings (that are anything but routine), or sleep schedules (your infants and yours), can seem overwhelming. When my son, Jack, was born, I remember feeling that as soon as I was getting a grasp on mothering, something new would crop up. After he started eating solid food, for instance, he seemed interested only in orange foodsstrained carrots, squash, sweet potatoes. As soon as we stocked up on those, his interests turned elsewhere in the color spectrum.

Adjusting to the realities and mysteries of caring for a baby is probably more demanding than anything else in life. The good news, of course, is that its one of the most rewarding things well ever do. And the whole adjustment process can be much smoother if you have a helpful guide to turn tofor advice, to know that youre not alone, to see that theres an answer to whatever surprise your infant throws your way.

Thats where P ARENTING Guide to Your Babys First Year comes in. Just like P ARENTING magazine, its a clear, warm, easily accessible resource, with facts from experts as well as reality-tested advice from moms and dads around the country. Armed with essential information thats both practical and authoritative, youll find life with your babyfrom birth to the first birthdayall the more gratifying. Welcome to parenting!

Janet Chan
Editor in Chief
P ARENTING

A s with so many of the most rewarding things we do, this book was a group effort. Id like to thank P ARENTING magazine, especially editorial director Janet Chan, for supporting this project. P ARENTING franchise development editor Bruce Raskin deserves special thanks for his skilled and insightful editing and for his unflagging enthusiasm and friendship. It was Bruce who kept me on track and on time. This book is as much his as mine.

Thanks to my first Ballantine editor Elisa Wares, who had life with baby on her mind during this project; she delivered her second child in the midst of . My current Ballantine editor, Cathy Repetti, has deftly guided all of us through the latest revisions.