book from cover to cover and was cracking up all the way through. It is choc full of helpful descriptions and lay person explanations of common ailments and how we should deal with them, in a manner that does NOT require a trip to the ER.
I do wish I had this book as a resource to read BEFORE I had my first child. I vividly recall a moment when we had just come home with our first kid and out of the blue, he started to cry uncontrollably, turning red. I hopped all over the place, yelling at the hubby to warm up the car, unwrapped my head scarf off my locks and was heading to the ER for sure. All the fuss and ruckus to get the kid help induced the baby to burp. *Belch* …And then he was fine again. Womp Womp Wooomp! It was only gas!
So what Dr. Zibners does in this book is break down the anatomy of the infant, toddler and child. She explains, yes “his little piggy” will disappear into rolls of fat. That is okay. And, before you come in for a diagnosis of a blue mark, try a washcloth and soap. Yup. Funny, but true. It is a great book for a first time mom, dad or grandparents.
Dr. Zibners even offers natural remedies for common ailments that wouldn’t require a medical prescription, for example, like for constipation, treat the child with the “P”s = peas, plums, prunes, peaches. Aaaah! Yes. Put the infant Pepto away,you say?
She goes down the list of common products a child can safely get away with eating and not croaking: a bit of lipstick. No problem. A scoopfull of Vaseline. It will pass (literally and figuratively)…and of course there are mentions of the ones that should be treated with emergency care.
This book is very fun and Dr. Zibners matter of fact writing style gives the reader comfort in knowing, “no, you’re not an idiot, just a hypersensitive and worrywart mom/dad”
The best part for me are the sidebars dispersed throughout the book called “911” and “Emergency” which details scenarios when you ARE to call for help or take your child in and I made it a point to read every one of those tabs.
All in all, you can’t go wrong in reading this book or giving it as a gift to the new grandparents, babysitter, new moms. It is a quick and easy read and worth being on every shelf!