Book Titles

Great Expectations: Pregnancy and Childbirth

The most empowering, informative, and reassuring pregnancy guide for moms-to-be is now thoroughly revised! This new edition of Great Expectations: Pregnancy and Childbirth still has everything moms loved about the first book, including the quick-reference format and appealing mom-to-mom voice. Prospective moms will find the most current and comprehensive week-to-week section and Internet resources, as well up-to-date advice on prenatal testing, weight and nutrition, pregnancy for older women; c-sections, and newborns. Great Expectations: Pregnancy and Childbirth gives readers the confidence they need to ask their obstetrician, midwife, or family practitioner the right questions at the right time.

Great Expectations: Pregnancy Journal and Planner

This invaluable book is sure to become a treasured keepsake and the best expectant mother’s helper ever! Written by the acclaimed mother-and-daughter team who brought us Great Expectations: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy & Childbirth, it features a week-by-week journal; checklists of things to do; pre-scripted interviews for meetings with potential healthcare and childcare providers; baby gear and maternity-wear lists; tidbits about baby’s development in utero; and guided fill-in space for writing down other important details, such as information from doctor appointments and directions to the birthing facility. A personal directory enables the mom-to-be keep all her pregnancy-related contact information in one easy-to-access place.

Great Expectations: Baby Sleep Guide

The newest title in the best-selling Great Expectations series tackles all aspects of a topic every new mom and dad is eager to master: getting baby to sleep! In their reassuring parent-to-parent voice, experts Sandy and Marcie Jones unravel the mysteries of how, when, and under what circumstances babies sleep in a clear and logical way that will comfort and sustain weary parents. They offer:

• An explanation of how a baby’s sleep differs from that of children and adults
• Advice on which sleep difficulties might indicate a medical problem
• Bulleted coping strategies for an array of issues
• Q&A sidebars in which Sandy and Marcie give answers to common questions
• Compelling “bites” of recent sleep research

Moms and dads suffering through sleepless nights with baby will especially appreciate the quotes and strategies from other parents who have gone through the experience. Plus: a review of the most effective sleep-related products; useful Web resources; and a comprehensive dictionary of medical and sleep terms.

Great Expectations: Baby’s First Year

Expectant mothers snapped up Great Expectations: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy & Childbirth (more than 150,000 copies sold), and reviewers praised it for its warm, reassuring voice of expertise. This is the logical follow-up, an innovative baby book that will guide and reassure new moms and dads through every nuance of the first 12 months of life with baby. Of course, it maintains all the design elements that are the signature of the Great Expectations series and have proven so appealing: innovative graphics; clear-cut, contemporary styling; and sensitive drawings of babies as they develop month-by-month. The text, too, continues that same friendly, supportive, parent-to-parent tone of the earlier book—but now with dads playing an integral role.

Inside, there’s a plethora of information on the nuts and bolts of feeding, diaper changing, and immunizations, as well as cutting-edge research on baby intelligence and development, nutrition and medical care, and insights into the dynamics of the parenting process. Checklists, bulleted sidebars, and quick-reference tables speed up the process of finding needed information. Unique tables in the extensive medical reference section will present the gamut of symptoms, so parents will have help distinguishing between common baby ailments and more serious emergencies that may require immediate attention.

Great Expectations: The Toddler Years: The Essential Guide to Your 1- to 3-Year-Old

Sterling’s newest book in the acclaimed Great Expectations series covers every challenge parents and children face in the transition from baby to toddler, from toilet training and teeth brushing to language skills and healthy sleep habits, plus discipline, socialization, and play. Special sections on nutrition and childcare enrich the mix, along with insights to help parents become more flexible, responsive, patient, and creative.

Great Expectations: Best Baby Gear

Not all high chairs and car seats are created equal: every year, product-related accidents send nearly 70,000 babies and toddlers to the hospital emergency room. To protect their children, parents need the facts. And that’s the mission of this comprehensive, evidence-based A-to-Z guide by Great Expectations authors Sandy and Marcie Jones. Here is the only book that gives moms and dads actual brand-by-brand comparisons of real merchandise to help them choose the very best, safest, and most comfortable bathtub, breast pump, crib, diaper bag, and all the other baby items in between. Starting from pregnancy and going right up to a child’s second birthday, it provides state-of-the-art information, along with tips on how to shop, pictures of the most popular brands, and “Blue Ribbon Awards” winners in each category. All the choices are unbiased and based on a wide range of sources: the authors’ own hands-on experiences; written reviews by nearly 1,000 parents; and reports from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and other major child safety organizations and agencies—as well as the findings of medical studies and injury prevention centers. Plus, it’s just the right size to tuck into a purse, backpack or diaper bag to take along to the store!