Author(s): Lucy Atkins

Health & Well-being

Forget unrealistic childcare manuals -- this is the book you really need to help you cope brilliantly with those first chaotic days and months ahead. As a health journalist and mother-of-three, Lucy Atkins is familiar with both the medical aspects of childbirth and baby development, and the reality of day-to-day life as an exhausted first-time mum or dad. In her feisty, humorous style, she begins with that first mind-blowing day and addresses the issues unique to the first-time parent who stares at their newborn and thinks "Where are the instructions?" Anticipating the questions and concerns of all new mothers--Why does my baby cry so much? Will I ever lose all this weight? Am I a bad parent because!?--the book provides practical advice and level-headed reassurance. It addresses the needs of the baby and, very importantly, those of the parent during the first year of their baby's life. Contents include: / Starter's orders -- the equipment and kit you really need, as opposed to what the department store tells you / Hello -- how to cope with the first few hours / Start -- coming home, bonding, how to survive the first few days / Sleep -- for everyone!/