The Fussy Baby Book by Martha Sears, William Sears (1996, Paperback)

We are blessed with a high needs baby girl, Payton. Early on, I really struggled to understand why she wasn't like all the other "easy" babies my friends had. My pediatrician told me to let her "cry it out" - in fact, that's all I seemed to hear, "Let her cry it out.". I was feeling frustrated and overwhelmed.

This book will show you that your instincts are CORRECT. Letting her cry it out will not work with every baby. High needs children need more of everything: your time, your energy, your breast, your arms, your attention, and most of all, your patience and love.

This book will calm your frayed nerves. You will understand that you are very much NOT alone in raising and parenting your fussy baby. Dr. Sears is one of the most recognized physicians in the pediatric world. He explains common and not-so-common reasons why a baby is fussy. He'll give you real life experienced tips to help calm your baby.

This book will make you feel better about your role as a parent and love source in your childs' life. SO many times I found myself saying out loud "Dr. Sears must've peaked through my window because he is describing Payton exactly!" - I'm sure you will too.

He talks about how important is to nurture and support your developing child. He sympathizes with mothers, and assures us that this period is such a relatively short period of time in our lives, but that the rewards of attachment parenting are life-long.

It's an inexpensive book, and is written in easy to understand verbage. No medical jargon to further confuse you.

My favorite part of the book is at the back. Mothers wrote their own survival stories. If nothing else, you can read that you are not alone, or that someone's baby was more challenging than your baby.

I recommend this book and EVERY ONE of Dr. Sears books. If only more pediatrician's understood how we are shaping our future by the way we raise our children. Pretty profound.