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What to Expect the First Year

by Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, Sandee Hathaway

3.66 · rating details · 4,118 ratings · 492 reviews

America's bestselling guide to caring for a baby is now better than ever: announcing a two-years-in-the-making, cover-to-cover, line-by-line revision and update of the 6.9-million-copy "What to Expect the First Year," the bible for taking care of a newborn through the milestone of his or her first birthday.
The Second Edition incorporates the most recent developm...more

Hardcover, 806 pages

Published July 8th 2009 by Workman Publishing (first published January 3rd 1989)

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Apr 06, 2009

Tracy rated it

· review of another edition

This book is good, and it's definitely the most popular baby guide. But, there are other books that are better, like the one from the American Academy of Pediatricians, Caring for Your Baby and Young Child. I felt this book included too many topics that were just hype. It also covers topics in an inflammatory way, and then more calmly states the actual facts at the very end of a topic.

For instance, it lists a number of foods not to give your child the first or even second year. ...more

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Nov 03, 2008

Kathrynn rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2004-and-earlier, own, nonfiction-parenting, favorites, reviewed

Another manual that should come home from the hospital with the newborn! I devoured this book and have a lot of highlights! A must have for new moms and dads. Nicely laid out.

I'm glad I got this book out of the shelf to add to GRs. I found a Mother's Day card to me inside it from my Grandmother! God rest her soul.

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Dec 29, 2010

Robin rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: no one

I always used What to Expect When You're Expecting to get me through my pregnancies and really liked the information and the approach they took with that book. So I was hoping I would find this book just as useful to get me through my baby's first year. I did not like this book at all. I find myself disagreeing all too often with their parenting methods. I understand there are many different methods out there and my preferred ones are not the only right ones. That is why this gets two stars inst...more

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Jul 26, 2009

Holyn rated it

· review of another edition

This was such a helpful book for me during the past year of Adeline's (and my) life. I appreciated the common sense and no nonsense information found within. It was good to review around Adeline's birthday as she began a new month of life but also proved helpful when unusual events came up during our day to day life. (By the way, I appreciated this book much more than the one about pregnancy.)

Each chapter is arranged in the same order. They begin with developmental milestones - o...more

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Aug 10, 2011

Smita Jha added it · review of another edition

I think like a lot of people who loved "What to Expect when you're Expecting' I have mixed feelings about this book.

It was helpful and had a lot of useful information organized by age. But I think the first year is more about time ranges for things to happen and some specific issues just occupy more of your time. I spent half my time trying to figure out nutrition for the baby (breastfeeding and then solids) and then dealing with teething. Colic wasn't much fun either. The development stuff...more

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Oct 23, 2011

stephanie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: grown-up-nonfic, parenting

It was no doubt helpful to this clueless first time mom, but I won't be investing in the Toddler Years edition. Most of what I need parenting advice-wise seems to be online. Plus, this series is bizarrely organized and not very user friendly.

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Jun 22, 2011

Robyn rated it

· review of another edition

I had a similar book passed on from a coworker and my pediatrician said it was probably fine, but as I read the book in the first month of my daughter's life, I didn't trust it. I think something it said contradicted what my pediatrician told me. So I went and bought this one too. And I love it. I love it so much that I read the first month even though we are past the first month. I read the parts that are written about before baby is born. This book anticipates my questions and concerns so well...more

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Jun 02, 2010

Heidi rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: parenting

This book is useful for new parents (like me!) as a good and reassuring reference book. It reassures me with some questions (is ____ normal?). However, the authors clearly have very strong parenting biases that show through in the writing. For example, they are very against pacifiers and mostly present evidence and reasons for not using pacifiers. Also, they are definitely against cloth diapering, presenting it as a non-viable option that won't save money (which isn't true!). So I feel like...more

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Jul 21, 2009

Christina rated it

· review of another edition

Very unhelpful and I found it to be a bit biased or maybe just one-sided. She definitely has opinions so if that is what you're looking for maybe you'll like it. I also hated the way it was organized by month rather than by topic. If your baby isn't on the exact same path as she expects them to be then you will have to leaf through looking for the info you want. Also the Q&A sections of each chapter are strange. I didn't really find any useful information in the book. I don't know if there...more

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Mar 31, 2011

Louis rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: parenting

A book on baby parenting is trying to supplement two other sources. For your average baby, it supplements the advice that one used to get from a myriad of aunties and grandmas who were close at hand to benefit from the experience of raising children. For the not-so average event, it supplements the pediatrician, who benefits from the experience of working with hundreds or thousands of children. And so the 'What to Expect' book provides exactly what the title says. 'What to Expect'. But the ...moreA book on baby parenting is trying to supplement two other sources. For your average baby, it supplements the advice that one used to get from a myriad of aunties and grandmas who were close at hand to benefit from the experience of raising children. For the not-so average event, it supplements the pediatrician, who benefits from the experience of working with hundreds or thousands of children. And so the 'What to Expect' book provides exactly what the title says. 'What to Expect'. But the moment that an individual infant deviates from the average, it begins to fail.

What to expect is organized strictly on a month by month basis. Within each month there is a discussion of standard developmental milestones, and discussion of issues that are expected to arise in each month. The problem is, babies are highly variable. Like good baby books, What to expect acknowledges this basic fact. But because of its organization, you can't find information unless you are examining the 'correct' month. And at this point the usefulness of the book quickly drops.

Runner's have a saying, we are experiments of one. While it makes sense to talk of developmental milestones (especially since we can't ask babies about themselves and get useful answers so milestones, and appetite, are all we have to work with), there are a number of ways of deviating from the norm. Substantially. What to Expect explains the norm. Which is useful before the baby arrives. But when you have an actual baby, even by the first month there are ways babies vary from the majority. Basically, any condition that is described as "n% of babies are ____" will represent deviations from the norm. Two very common examples are colicky babies (~20%) and preemies (~12%) (we have a colicky baby). The book quickly has notes that such babies are different, and can even discuss it in a relavent section. The problem is that now everything else is off. But if you are going through the book month by month, this is not obvious. And month by month, every developmental milestone discussed is off when compared to the real, living, eating, crying, squirming example of a baby that is with you.

There are other ways of doing this. Sears' The Baby Book has a section that is month by month milestones, organized in three sections per month based on probability (probably is able, may be able, sometimes can). But other topics are approached separately from the timeline, encouraging readers to think of them outside the timeline. This approach is much better then the What to Expect approach that organizes everything on the timeline.

In summary, 'What to Expect' is useful, if you have the average baby. It can be useful before birth (which is the definition of 'expect'). But if your baby falls into any special category (even mundane specials like colic or premature), regular reading of 'What to Expect' will lead to madness.
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Oct 02, 2010

Carrie rated it

***I will preface my review by saying that, apparently, my parenting style is referred to as "Attachment Parenting" which I understand is an institutional term for "Damn Hippie". I simply do what feels natural and right for me and my baby. I have learned to trust my baby, listen to her pediatrician (with a discerning ear), and phooey on anyone that tells me I HAVE to do X-Y-Z to make sure she scores high on the S-A-T. (seriously, if she doesn't eat solids at 120 days old, s...more***I will preface my review by saying that, apparently, my parenting style is referred to as "Attachment Parenting" which I understand is an institutional term for "Damn Hippie". I simply do what feels natural and right for me and my baby. I have learned to trust my baby, listen to her pediatrician (with a discerning ear), and phooey on anyone that tells me I HAVE to do X-Y-Z to make sure she scores high on the S-A-T. (seriously, if she doesn't eat solids at 120 days old, she will still learn to eat with a spoon!).
If you are a control freak who thinks that nap times should be scheduled, or if Clorox is your BFF, than disregard everything I have said and will say in this book review***

This book is like the sequel to a movie. The first was good (What to Expect When You're Expecting), but the second installment exists because the producers know it will sell at the box office, no matter how good (or not) it is.
***Excepting, of course, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", which far exceeds its predecessor in every regard***

This book has some well thought out advice and handy information for the first time parent. However, I gave up on reading this cover to cover, as I did with the first book for nine months, and eventually only used "What to Expect" as a reference guide.

My attempt to read this chapter by chapter each month was met with several difficulties.
Firstly, Heidi Murkoff must be crazy, or Super Mom to think that any Mother of a newborn or infant has the time to read this monstrosity; it simply cannot be held in one hand while the other hand cradles a nursing baby, the weight of the book will possibly break the hand in such an attempt.
This coincides with my other difficulty with the book: there is just too much information for the average parent. This book covers so many topics, that much of the information was irrelevant to me, and only served to cause mild paranoia. Reading this book made me more paranoid than I had the right to be. I was worried about all of the rare and uncommon diseases, calculating my daughter's chance of SIDS, and being altogether too calculating about what to do the first year.

The useful part of this book is the first page of each chapter, the only part that actually tells you what to expect each month of the first year. What the common developmental milestones are, accompanied by a mild reassurance that every child develops at their own rate, and what to anticipate at the pediatric check up each month.

This book is better used as a reference. Instead of implanting worries into the mind of a new parent, the glossary at the end of this book can be a quick go to for questions like "Is my baby sleeping too much?", "What is nipple confusion?", "Is what my Mother in Law said REALLY true?!" and other ridiculous things every parent wonders and ends up calling the pediatrician's office about.

I have found that signing up for the whattoexpect.com email subscription to be a good way to get much of the information found in this book in a chronologically relevant manner to my inbox.(less)

· see review

Aug 12, 2010

jacky rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: baby-parenting, 2010

I figure this will be on the currently reading shelf for a while.

I started reading it before Natalie's birth, but a lot of the info was a repeat from What to Expect When You're Expecting or from other sources I'd read (like books just on breastfeeding for example). However, I did find the lists of items to get helpful - especially the toiletry / medicine type items.

After the birth, reading the chapter on month one was been comforting. It has provided us with a place...moreI figure this will be on the currently reading shelf for a while.

I started reading it before Natalie's birth, but a lot of the info was a repeat from What to Expect When You're Expecting or from other sources I'd read (like books just on breastfeeding for example). However, I did find the lists of items to get helpful - especially the toiletry / medicine type items.

After the birth, reading the chapter on month one was been comforting. It has provided us with a place to look up things quickly (like "should her umbilical stump have fallen off already?" or "is she cluster feeding like the doctor mentioned in the hospital?"). The section on crying also was nice because I was feeling anxious about that and it gave lots of possibilities while reinforcing that often you just have to keep doing your best because unstoppable / unexplainable crying from time to time is normal. Being the type of bookish person I am, seeing it in writing helped.

I continue to read the monthly chapters, but don't find myself coming back to this book like I did in the beginning or like I did What to Expect When You're Expecting. In the beginning, it was very comforting and valuable, but not so much after the first couple of months. Usually there is one or two things per month that are particularly useful, and the rest I read anyway. Examples would be starting using a cup and moving to the big bath tub.

By about half way through, I read the month chapters, but didn't gain too much from them. Probably the most important areas for me were on feeding, discipline, weaning, and stimulating your child through play and how to talk. Most of the monthly questions I knew enough not to worry about or didn't happen with Natalie.

I did read the some of the sections at the back of the book and wished that I had known they were there earlier. These included seasonal advise, such as what temperature baby's room should be, which we really wanted to know back in like December. There was also a section for mothers and fathers that I didn't know was there until most of the info was too late for us. (less)

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Apr 19, 2010

Annette rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction-self-help, parenting-and-childhood, reference, will-not-finish

I have a love-hate relationship with this book and it's prequel "What to Expect While You're Expecting." On the one hand, it is filled with reams of solid information, advice, comforting reassurances and milestones, and should probably be considered a must-have for new and experienced parents' bookshelves. On the other, the authors are proponents of a truly radical (by American standards) diet for both mother and baby. They believe sugar should be avoided all-but-entirely, along wit...more

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Jan 11, 2010

Jennie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, read-in-january

I actually started reading this book when our daughter, Sammie, was a few days old. It provided many answers to many questions we had from how much she should be eating as a week old baby to SIDS information. We found it to be a good interim resource when the pediatrician's office wasn't open or the question seemed too small for a nurse. The book is very heavy on breast feeding and has a lot of information on that throughout the months. Two things bothered me to the point of annoyance due to the...more

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Jan 22, 2008

Elisa Bieg rated it

· review of another edition

I got this book after having my oldest was born, a little over 8 years ago. I started reading it, often going ahead of her age, curious of when my daughter would be doing certain things (the book is divided in chapters, by month, and each month you have a list of activities that your baby is likely to be doing at that specific age). I also read the end section of the book, which talks about illnesses and injuries. At times I wondered why I was reading all that stuff, as my daughter was very heal...moreI got this book after having my oldest was born, a little over 8 years ago. I started reading it, often going ahead of her age, curious of when my daughter would be doing certain things (the book is divided in chapters, by month, and each month you have a list of activities that your baby is likely to be doing at that specific age). I also read the end section of the book, which talks about illnesses and injuries. At times I wondered why I was reading all that stuff, as my daughter was very healthy and I was a very careful mo, and always at home with her, so it was not likely that she would get hurt. But eventually, I found out how true it is what the philospher L. Ron Hubbard wrote: "Be ready for emergencies, for if you are not, you will have emergencies". One day my daughter, who was about 9 months old at the time, was crying desperately, very odd thing for her. Thanks to the information gotten from this book, I was able to prompty "diagnose": she had an inguinal hernia. I called the children hospital and described the signs and symptoms (the book also teaches you what to take note of and what to describe when you call the emergency room, for speedy handling) and the doctor said it sounded like I was right and to bring her in. We did, and the matter got handled over the weekend, then I took my daughter home. When I brought her to her Pediatrician for a check of the area, a week later, he congratulated me for the way I handled it, and told me he was really proud of me being able to diagnose it correctly and getting it handled accordingly, saving my daughter a great deal of pain and complications. And all thanks to this book. Had it been one of the usual baby books, biased by one current of thought only and hard to read and understand, I wouldn't have read it! Instead it's very informative, easy to read and understand, and on many important issues (breastfeeding/bottle feeding, sleeping schedule and habits, etc) it offers several viewpoints and info on the various currents of thought. (less)

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Nov 06, 2008

Kelly rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: first time parents

my daughter's first year is almost up, so i'm officially moving this book off the currently reading shelf. truth is, i didn't quite finish it.

ideally, if you're someone who can retain information well enough, then read the whole thing in advance. i wish i had. it was a good safety net and i'm glad i had it, but as far as true usefulness? it falls a bit short. i tried reading it like i read the expecting book: a month or two ahead of the milestone so i knew what to expect. (hur, ...more

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Sep 25, 2007

Amanda rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: new moms and dads

I never finished this book. Much like What To Expect When You're Expecting, there were times when I felt inadequate as a mother because I wasn't doing EXACTLY as the book recommended. I know that every child is different and has individual wants and needs, and there were many good ideas to keep in mind. However, I think there were a few times in the book that I felt the authors were a little preachy about specific lifestyle/child-rearing choices. Also, the book kept giving me more reasons to...more

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Aug 18, 2011

Shalyn Pineda rated it

· review of another edition

A few things in this book seemed outdated and contrary to everything else I'd read, so I wondered where that information had come from. Otherwise,I found the book really helpful, especially advice about colic and setting good sleeping habits. I also liked the information about the stages of development. As long as you know that babies will develop on their own schedule and not to freak out, it's nice to know what to expect and how to help them develop and grow.

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Apr 20, 2010

Katina rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: parenting

I found this book to be very dated in some aspects and not as pro-breastfeeding as I would like. It's also unnecessarily preachy in places and the Q&A format can be kind of annoying. That said, it's practically the American child-rearing Bible. It's a good reference and if you want to see what milestones most kids are reaching in a given month, this is the place to turn... and freak out or boast, depending on your child's particular prowess.

· see review

Nov 12, 2009

Sera rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: New Parents

Shelves: parenting, own

Overall, a useful book but there are some organizational problems with it. Nothing major, though. I'm likely to purchase the next book in this series, because it gives nice examples of interactive activities that you can do with your child to work on development. Plus, it has recipes for those of us who like to make our own baby food, and it has FAQ throughout that in some instances, provides very useful and detailed information.

I read the Sears book in conjunction with this one, ...more

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Dec 28, 2008

Emily rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: parenting

I used this book's advice sparingly with my first child. The only thing I really liked was the parts about developmental milestones. As a first time mom with no clue whether crawling generally started at 3 months or 1 year, it was helpful. However, there are many better parenting books out there. Now that I know so much more about attachment parenting and health, I will not recommend this book to anyone.

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Mar 24, 2009

Aubri rated it

· review of another edition

I got this book because I had heard so much about "What to expect when you're expecting", but I didn't need that book because my kids were adopted. This book just gave me a lot to think about as far as how my kids were developing, and also helped when one of them woke up in the middle of the night with a high fever or something. The book just had LOTS of helpful information.

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Jun 24, 2011

Ceniza Akbar rated it

· review of another edition

Too bad I had this book when my son was already 10 months! I should have had this since he was born! The book is very systematic and informative about what happened during every milestones in the infancy period, including common illness and sickness, immunizations, fav odd recipes, basically everything. This book is very recommended for a new mother or parents/caretakers.

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Apr 13, 2011

Jen rated it

· review of another edition

Because experiences vary greatly, this book was not as life-saving for me as it's predecessor was. I did like the up-dates on milestones so that I knew what to help develop and what to look for next. I also liked the heads up on "normal behaviors". This way when my baby did something I found odd or worrisome, I was reassured that other babies were doing the same things.

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Nov 30, 2007

Anne rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

This book has some basic information that's useful, and tables for common OTC drugs based on weight and type of suspension at the back that are great for when internet access is out and you need to look them up. And this book helped teach my husband how to change a diaper.

However, some of the information is just not great. I would recommend skipping the whole section on breastfeeding and reading some better books on it instead. The growth, eating, sleep, and sibling sections have ...more

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Oct 06, 2011

Sarah rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: abandoned

Meh. I snagged this book because I really liked the "What to Expect When You're Expecting", and I like the way everything is laid out, so you could skip to wherever you wanted.

However, ALL the information about nursing/breastfeeding was COMPLETELY inaccurate, and after that I couldn't bring myself to trust anything else the author said in the rest of the book.

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Jan 02, 2011

Jenn rated it

· review of another edition

I think this book is a great reference guide for different things- how far can your baby see, can you use flash on the camera, do hiccups annoy, etc. It is not a book that will guide you with parenting or how to do much with baby other than look for milestones and when they should occur. I'm glad I have this book to reference but I do just that- I don't 'read' it.

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Sep 11, 2009

Louisa is currently reading it · review of another edition

I read the other book in this series "What to Expect when you are Expecting" and found it helpful. It is written in girly (sometimes annoyingly cheeky) language as if written by your girlfriend. It is a great resource, but the month-by-month descriptions aren't always relevant to your child at that particular time. You may spend a lot of time reading the index.

· see review

Sep 01, 2011

Lauren rated it

· review of another edition

I really liked this book. It is a great well rounded book overall. My only disappointment was that disposable diapers were presented as the best option, instead of the book giving a chance to cloth diapers as well. I felt there was a negative tone on cloth diapers. But that is only one tiny part of the book. I found the breastfeeding section very helpful!

· see review

Jul 23, 2010

Heather rated it

· review of another edition

I haven't found this to be as much as a resource as I had hoped. I wish it had been organized just like it's predecessor, what to expect when you're expecting, so that I could flip to the month I'm in and get some pretty accurate information. This has seemed to be more by topic than by what is happening each month. Oh well...it's probably just me!

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About Heidi Murkoff

Heidi Murkoff is the author of the What to Expect® series and author of Eating Well When You're Expecting, The What to Expect Pregnancy Journal & Organizer, What to Expect the First Year, The What to Expect Baby-Sitter's Handbook, and the What to Expect Kids series from HarperCollins. Her interactive website is www.whattoexpect.com, and she lives with her family in Los Angeles, California.

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What to Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting

The What to Expect When You're Expecting Pregnancy Organizer

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