June's Book Review

"The Moms On Call Guide to Basic Baby Care: The First 6 Months" By Laura Hunter, LPN and Jennifer Walker, RN, BSN

http://www.momsoncall.com/

This book was a *gem* to find! I was at Faith Family Bookstore and checking out their sale section (what can I say I'm frugal) and found this book I bought one brought it home and read it. Then I went back 2 days later and bought up the rest of them (about 3). It's a great find and perfect for those parents who could just use a bit more encouragement with how to do things. Or need that *visual* reminder. That's right I said *visual* reminder. This book comes with a DVD! I love that feature.

This books chapters are a bit different than other books since this is in sections. Here's the Contents:

Section 1: The Basics
*General Shopping List
*Bathing
*Bowel Movements
*Eye Drainage
*Nail Clipping
*Skin Care
*Teething and Oral Care
*Twins

Section 2: Common Illnesses
*Overview
*Fever
*Common Colds
*Falls and Lacerations
*Otitis Media (Ear Infections)
*Vomiting
*Diarrhea
*Reactive Airway Disease/Bronchitis/Bronchiolitis
*Infant Nasal Congestion

Section 3: Routine Issues
*Breast-Feeding
*Formula-Feeding
*Spitting Up
*Starting Baby Foods and Solids
*Getting Your Baby to Sleep
*The Amazing Swaddle
*Crying
*The Three-Day Rule
*Frustration
*Typical Days

Section 4: Safety Issues
*Immunizations
*Childproofing and Safety
*Quick-Grab First Aid Kit
*Poisoning

Section 5: The Labyrinth of Health Care
*The Doctor's Office
*Scheduling Appointments
*Phone Triage
*Medical Insurance
*Who's Who at the Hospital
*The Emergency Room
*The Specialist's Office

I think what made me grab this book off the shelf wasn't the price (come on sales are good) but more so the chapter called "Three day Rule" Wow! Aside from my mom (who is smart enough to write a book) I have never heard anyone talk about the 3 days rule. Yes I am going to make you buy the book to know what it is but it's a great chapter! Something every parent should know about.

The authors of this book are both nurses so it's wonderful to have a medical background each time you flip a page. There are personal stories but by far a great resource is the "When To Seek Medical Care" they have in their chapters. It's a wonderful way to reassure the parents that after trying these things you can and should (in some situations) seek medical care.

While this book is not Canadian it is a wonderful book for any parent to read. This brings me to the DVD included. Really, how great is it to get a book but then a DVD! This DVD covers a few of the topics they cover in the book but they show you how! This is a huge plus for alot of us. Personally, I remember being told and shown how to bath the baby but I didn't remember it completely and had so many questions when I got home. If I had this DVD at the time it would be great!

That being said I didn't like parts of the DVD. The colour was off (I know not too important but still) and once you moved to the second menu screen it would flip back to the first after your clip was over. Aside from that I enjoyed it alot.

It's a great book and DVD combo. I really recommend it to people who need to see some of the information and who need an 'easy to find' information book. You can open to the contents and find just what you need and flip there so fast.



~~ If you know of any books you think I should read or add to my library please feel free to post in the comments section or shoot me off an e'mail and I'll be sure to pick them up as soon as I can.