Product Description

With tips on everything from finding the perfect obstetrician to choosing the right baby gear, this journal will ease first-time mothers from pregnancy to birth and beyond. An information guide, organizer, and record book all in one, everything a mother-to-be needs is stashed in this handy and portable planner. Here are just a few of the features you'll find in Getting Ready for Baby: The Ultimate Organizer for the Mom-to-Be. - A master to-do list for pregnancy and beyond - The most detailed baby gear checklist, with "lingo" explained and hundreds of shopping tips, as well as specific advice for those expecting twins - A comprehensive and updated list of resources, featuring books, magazines, catalogs, Web sites, and organizations - A complete system for finding the best doctors and childcare, including detailed interview questionnaires - Record sheets for doctor visits, insurance payments, borrowed items, baby feedings, and more - An extensive checklist for babyproofing the home - Countless "real mom tips" from recent first-time mothers

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #111006 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Spiral-bound
• 200 pages

Big Apple Parent, October 2001
This book "may just become the most important item in your life; every section gives helpful hints followed by checklists?"

Nashville Parent, October 2001
This book is "loaded with the details that concern new moms like prenatal care, delivery and all matters in between"

From the Author
When I became pregnant with our twin daughters, I felt elated and quickly headed to the bookstore to buy books on pregnancy, baby care, you name it. What I didn't buy were pregnancy planners. I was disappointed with their meager lists, disorganized format, and lack of practical usefulness. As I read books and parenting magazines, checked out baby catalogs and store shelves, and asked a million questions of my Mom friends, I developed my own system for getting myself organized. I created easy-to-use charts and checklists loaded with the advice and recommendations I gathered. I started lending out my lists to other confused first-time Moms and was greeted with sighs of relief as well as genuine enthusiasm. In time, I realized I had the beginnings of a book here. My desire to help reach a wider audience and find a more flexible career sent me on a new journey which has culminated in the writing and publication of this book. I was fortunate to find a publisher who shared my vision of a practical, informative, easy-to-carry, and hip book for today's woman and am thrilled with the results! I hope my book helps relieve some of your first-time jitters and eases your journey into motherhood. Congratulations!

Customer Reviews

Incredibly Thorough!
I love this organizer! I bought this one and another pregnany organizer, and found this one to be the "keeper." The other one just offered the obvious stuff. I am a real planner and very organized person, yet this one had suggestions for things I hadn't even thought of! Well organized, attractive & colorful pages. A very useful tool to pull a lot of information together. Highly recommend it! I will give it to friends who are pregnant too.

Great, but needs tabs.
This is a very helpful book, esp. for first time parents trying to keep track of what you truly need for baby and what isn't crucial.

My only complaint with it is that it needs tabs so you can flip to the chapters more quickly. I'm planning on sticking self-adhesive index tabs into my copy. Tape along the edges of the front and back cover flaps turns them into handy pockets for ultrasounds scans, receipts, prescriptions, etc. In future editions it would have been nice if the publisher though of these things so you don't have to modify it yourself. It is nice that it is spiral bound and you can stick a pen into the spiral. It is small enough to fit into a purse if need be.

The chapters covered are:

Introduction
Key Contacts
Things to Do
Healthcare for Mom
Shopping For Mom
Shopping for Baby
Baby Shower and Gifts
Labor and Delivery
Back Home
Healthcare For Baby
Childcare
Resources

Each chapter offers tips about that particular subject, checklists, advice, space for notes, etc. I found the checklists super thorough -- but don't feel you have to get everything listed. It's just to help you. Don't feel obligated to buy every single thing before the baby comes either.

You can expect to use it through the pregnancy for sure and into part of baby's first year by tracking the pediatrician appts and notes in the "Baby Health" section.

I would have liked a chapter for birthing class -- perhaps what types are available (Lamaze, Bradley, Hypnobirthing, etc.) and a place for me to take notes in when I went to class. Even just more blank pages at the very end would have been good for that -- there's only 1 page back there.

I took it with me when I gave birth to our daughter and it kept all our info at our fingertips. The medical staff was impressed with how organized I was when they were asking me to fill out her paperwork and when they saw my book wished that more mothers would get one!

I would def. buy another copy for a second pregnancy and would recc. this product to friends and family.

Dan's Girl Review
Here's the fastest way to get organized for pregnancy, childbirth, and new baby care. Busy expectant parents love the checklists, charts, and hints in this book becasue they make getting ready so much easier. I used it when my son, Lucas and my daughter, Skylar were born. I love it.