Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate With Your Baby - Hardcover

Hogg, Tracy; Blau, Melinda

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0345440757 ISBN 13: 9780345440754

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2001

Synopsis

"GETTING ANY SLEEP?"

It's an insidious myth that all new parents must give up not only their sleep but their entire lives for the first year of a baby's life. Codswallop, says British-born Tracy Hogg. Having worked with more than five thousand babies over the past twenty years, and dubbed "The Baby Whisperer" by her grateful clientele, Tracy has the unique ability to understand a baby's every coo and cry. She can tell instantly whether a baby is hungry, tired, in real distress, or just in need of a little TLC. But her most amazing gift is her ability to teach parents how they too can "whisper" to their babies.

In this groundbreaking book, Tracy concentrates her vast knowledge (and huge doses of uncommon sense) into simple, accessible programs that parents can begin as early as the first weeks of a baby's life. With these programs you will learn

¸  E.A.S.Y.--how to get baby to eat, play, and sleep on a schedule that will make every member of the household's life easier and happier.
¸  S.L.O.W.--how to interpret what your baby is trying to tell you (so you don't try to feed him when he really wants a nap).
¸  How to identify which type of baby yours is--Angel, Textbook, Touchy, Spirited, or Grumpy--and then learn the best way to interact with that type.
¸  Tracy's Three Day Magic--how to change any and all bad habits (yours and the baby's) in just three days.

But perhaps the most important part of Tracy's philosophy is contained in one word: respect. Tracy advises treating your baby as you would any human being--think twice before shaking loud toys in a baby's face, lifting a baby's legs over her head with no advance warning, or even letting a baby cry it out. At the heart of Tracy's simple but profound message: treat the baby as you would like to be treated yourself.

Reassuring, down-to-earth, and often flying in the face of conventional wisdom, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer promises parents not only a healthier, happier baby but a more relaxed and happy household as well.

About this title

Review:

Overjoyed but exhausted? Perplexed but purring? Then you may just be a new parent. And if you're looking for practical reassurance and advice then Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect and Communicate with your Baby is for you.

Clearly a remarkable person, Tracy Hogg (the "baby whisperer") has an impressive ability to understand and relate to babies. Herself a mother, she is an experienced maternity nurse and has derived her approach from her dealings with countless babies and their families. Forgiving and sympathetic in style, her book is well written, immensely readable and is full of gems and shrewd observations that even the seasoned parent may not have worked out. She emphasises the importance of showing respect to your baby: "Just try to remember that this is a little human being in your arms, a person whose senses are alive, a tiny being who already knows your voice and even what you smell like." And so the parent is instructed to give the newly returned-home baby an explanatory commentary and friendly guided tour of his or her new home.

Those who enjoy personality quizzes will love the Know-Your-Baby Quiz in which you can "zero in" on your baby's type which, according to Ms Hogg could be "Angel", "Textbook", "Touchy", "Spirited" or "Grumpy". She then provides tips on the best way to handle each type of baby. Advocating a structured routine with the acronym EASY (Eat, Activity, Sleep, You) she then demonstrates how it works for the benefit of all the family. The book covers most topics from sex to weaning, but possibly the most helpful, even beautiful, section is where the Baby Whisperer divulges her secrets for interpreting your baby's body language, signals and cries.

If you find The Baby Whisperer helpful, you may well also be interested in Gina Ford's The Contented Little Baby Book, What to Expect: the First Year and the slightly higher brow Babyhood by Penelope Leach. --Rebecca Pickering

Review:

"Miracles are her business" (Jodie Foster)

"The honest truth is that Tracy Hogg has provided me with more insight into the things that matter than anyone else." (Alain de Botton Observer Review)

"She achieves what, to hard-pressed parents, seem like miracles." (Mail on Sunday)

"...in a different league than all other 'how to manage as a parent' books." (Daily Mail)

About this edition

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0345440757
• ISBN 13: 9780345440754
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 287