First-Time Parent: The honest guide to coping brilliantly and staying sane in your baby’s first year

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Mum-of-three Jenny Wonnacott is a Content Editor for Mumsnet, specialising in writing, editing and optimising pregnancy care and child play content. With a new edition published just last year, Your Baby & Child offers an up-to-date, in-depth guide to your child's psychological development from the newborn days to their first year at school. Widely regarded and respected as one of the world's leading writers on parenting, Penelope Leach combines expertise on child psychology with new scientific research, making this one of the best parenting books for authoritative advice and tips. Forget unrealistic childcare manuals - this is the book you really need to help you cope brilliantly with those first chaotic days and months ahead. Easy to read, like the realistic style and approach to 1st year of parenthood, lots of useful information and tips without getting too detailed but with lots of resources if you want to i.e. baby led weaning, breastfeeding... i also like that it covers the growing/developing stage by trimester rather than week by week or month by month which prevents you from comparing your baby to average and statistics and let it grow/develop at it's own pace. also it promotes a more relaxed and fun, for babies and parents, play-time approach rather than intellectual/over-stimulating one. in addition it covers the relationship of the couple after birth and how dads can participate in baby's life and assist newly moms. I definitely suggest for first time parent. Lucy Atkins and Frances Goodhart. 2011. The Cancer Survivor's Companion: Practical ways to cope with your feelings after cancer. 2011 Hachette UK. [12]

One of the best parenting books in terms of popularity on the Mumsnet forums, users love this book for its 'non-preachy' approach for first-timers. Written by health journalist and mum-of-three Lucy Atkins, First-Time Parent provides a comprehensive guide to all aspects of parenting in the first 12 months, from the heady first few hours to coping with holidays and making decisions on childcare. Frances Goodhart and Lucy Atkins. 2013. How to Feel Better: Practical ways to recover well from illness and injury. Few stages of early parenthood are as tough as potty training can be, so a parenting book which promises to make the whole process easier and faster can be worth its weight in gold. You need 'Oh crap! it’s Potty Training.' She is amazing. And fun. Her method totally works. She makes you commit."(Tried and tested by Mumsnetter PiratePetespajamas) Our verdict Philippa Perry has a fantastic book - it does cover all ages and only a section is devoted to teens- but her general advice and pointers really helped me."(Vetted by Mumsnet user Littlefiendsusan) Our verdictFull of reassuring advice, Your Baby Week by Week tells you what to expect before it happens so you needn't be unnecessarily alarmed. Written by paediatrician Dr Caroline Fertleman and health writer Simone Cave, it covers all the basics like sleep, feeding, washing, crying, play and development, as well as other topics including vaccinations and colic.

Lucy Atkins is an award-winning author and journalist. Her last novel, MAGPIE LANE, a literary mystery set in an Oxford College, was chosen as a Book of the Year by the Guardian, The Telegraph, Good Housekeeping magazine and Radio 4's Open Book. Lucy's third novel The Night Visitor, has been optioned for television, Her new novel, Windmill Hill has been described as 'a triumph' by Philip Pullman. With so many parenting books to choose from it can be hard to know where to start. Here’s some things to take into account when making your choice: THE MUMSNET BOOK IS THE BEST FOR GOD'S SAKE YOU HEATHENS"(Recommended by Mumsnet user LittleMouseWithCLogsOn) Our verdict Covering stages of parenthood from early pregnancy right through to the young adult 'all grown up' years, this is one of the best all-encompassing, big-picture parenting books available - and it's not hard to see why it crops up time and time again as one of the best parenting books on the Mumsnet forums. Offering a pyschological perspective on your child's development, pyschotherapist author Philippa Perry takes readers through all the key dos and don'ts of the parent-child relationship.Atkins is the daughter of the lexicographer B. T. S. Atkins and the niece of linguist John McHardy Sinclair. She teaches on the Creative Writing Master's degree at the University of Oxford. She is a literary critic for The Sunday Times and served as a judge for the 2017 Costa Book Awards [2] She has co-presented features about books on BBC Radio Oxford. [3] She has also written for UK other newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, The Times, The Sunday Times and The Telegraph. [4] Selected publications [ edit ] Fiction [ edit ] How to talk so little kids will listen. It's just fantastic and practical."(Tried and tested by Mumsnet user BertieBotts) Our verdict

I found it reassuring that consistency would eventually drip through and I'm (finally!) seeing it pay off now that my son is nearly 16."(Advice by Mumsnet user spiderlight) Our verdict When I was pregnant I was bought a copy of ‘First-Time Parent’ by Lucy Atkins. I avoided most baby books during my pregnancy because I expected to feel overwhelmed by the information in them and thought I would just google anything I wanted to know or ask friends and family. My mam kindly bought this for us so I thought I’d give it a go and I was so impressed. It’s a total idiots guide, it’s not too wordy or preachy, and best of all there’s no bulls**t. Atkins tells you what you need, what not to spend money on if you don’t want to, and all the things you probably would feel silly asking – like how to change a nappy. Let’s face it, these skills aren’t innate and if you don’t know many or any people with children, why the hell would you know how to look after a child? Forget unrealistic childcare manuals – this is the book you really need to help you cope brilliantly with those first chaotic days and months ahead. There are plenty of parenting books out there specifically for new dads but Rob Kemp's 'survival guide' is continuously recommended on the Mumsnet forums for being genuinely useful and the least patronising. See also: The New Dad's Survival Guide which we rank as one of the best parenting books for up to 18 months. A two-ebook edition of two best-selling and invaluable books for new parents: First Time Parent and Gem Babies’ Names.

Absolutely brilliant at preparing dads for pregnancy and child birth and lots of coaching on how to be a great birth partner - I also found it really helpful and will be rereading as due date approaches."(Recommended by Mumsnet user Raven83)