Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child from Birth Through Weaning

While I was pregnant, I bought 3 books on breastfeeding. I read this one first from cover to cover. I was very pro breastfeeding and very anti bottle after reading this book. I had every intention of breastfeeding my first child... This book has you so dead set against any bottles (at all) that when the nurse said they could give him a supplemental bottle just once and then I could try again after that, I thought it was over. This book has made me feel guilty from the moment my baby got that first bottle. I'll always wonder -- If I had never read this book, I wouldn't have been so hard on myself and I wouldn't have thought that formula was evil and I would have had more success at breastfeeding. Not to mention this book gives very unrealistic ideals that no mother, or maybe I should say no WORKING mother, could live up to. I wish I had never read this book.

I started reading this book during my nursing sessions shortly after the baby was born. It was SUPER helpful and I still refer to it often (my daughter is almost 3 months now). The book is easy to read and is well organized - you can quickly flip to the chapter/section you need. This book really helped me.

This book is very detailed and provides all the pertinent information you need for breastfeeding. The photos are extremely helpful and demonstrate clearly how you should position the baby. I have looked at many breastfeeding books and found this one to be the most helpful.

Breastfeeding was very very challenging for me and this book gave me all the information I needed to thrive, now my baby is 2 months old and I can say I am enjoying nursing, what I doubted the first 5 weeks. I highly recommend this to everyone, but try to read it before you have your baby so you get all the valuable information in advance.

This book has some REALLY good info on why breastfeeding is best. However, if you don't subscribe to the author's way of parenting (attachment parenting) than you're better off reading another breastfeedng book that is soley about breastfeeding and not about pushing a way of parenting on to you that you may or may not agree with. Especially if you do plan on returning to work.

People! People! People!
I am rather disturbed after reading some of the reviews.
Let's use some commonsense and be objective, please!!!
Breast-feeding is a wonderful thing.
However, please do not let 1 book become your sole reference (or make you cry for that matter) for what is potentially 1 of the most important decisions during your child's life.
Please read other references.
Please consultant your doctor, nurse or lactation consultant (who generally offer free advice), and other women who have breastfed successfully.
Pro's:Overall Content Good
General Problem Solving are Good
Con's:Everything in this book can be found
in "The Baby Book" by Martha Sears R.N., William Sears M.D.
Problems can better be resolved by doctor, nurse/lactation consultant
(I also suggest reading: "The Nursing Mother's Problem Solver" by Claire Martin)

I have battled with:
1. Jaundice when my child was first born. (I supplemented using a bottle and continued to breastfeed).
2. Not feeling as though she was getting enough to eat (she seemed as if she cried none stop)
3. Sleepless nights (this was resolved once I learned how to nurse at night, which wasn't easy at first because she was so tiny)
4. Growth Spurts (Nursing around the clock)
5. Refusing a bottle (Even though she has had 1 since birth)
6. General overall tiredness (Which can reduce your supply, so ask for help around the house and relax a little)
7. Returning to Work (and continuing to breastfeed, while pumping when away)
Through it all, I keep reading and asking questions.
Never letting any 1 source deter me from my goal.
And ultimately doing what is best for our family in any given situation.

I bought this book when I was having problems breastfeeding after getting mastitis. My production almost stopped.
This wasn't a good book to buy when I was already that close to stopping breastfeeding. As my supply continued to diminish, I felt like more and more of a failure.
If you stay home and are able to feed your baby and not worry about needing to pump, the book is fine.
If you work and are having any problems, this book will make you feel awful. After all, adoptive mothers can build a milk supply - if you just had a baby, what's wrong with you that you can't - FAILURE!
The Sears family needs to realize that some people just can't breastfeed and need to be a little kinder to those who can't. I can understand wanting people to breastfeed, but they need to realize that people who buy the book don't need to be convinced to breastfeed; they probably already are but are having problems.

I share the same sentiments as "GadgetChick" does in her review. Be prepared for a guilt trip when you read this one. However, if you can cast all that aside, then it does provide you with some useful practical information (which is why I did give it 3 stars) - but a lot of that information you can alson find for free online and in pamphlets provided by various organizations. I would not buy spend money on this book if I had to do it all over, but it would be worth a borrow, or if you could find it used for relatively cheap.