What to Expect When Mommy's Having a Baby

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View books by Heidi Murkoff.

Will raise more embarassing Questions - Rated
Yes, I know i should have read this book before letting my 7 year old daughter have it. But I didn't. I thought it would be fine as it was for 2-5 yr olds.

My wife nearly choked on her coffee when my daughter asked. 'I don't get this, What is sperm and ovum?'

After giving a seed and fertilizer type explanation. We got the questions about how.

Yes the book is quite good at explaining everything else, however, If this is the best the author could come up with for how the baby got there then maybe she should have just left this chapter out.

Save yourself the embarrasing questions and if you do get this book, remove this page before giving to your child.

Fantastic for preparing little ones for the bump! - Rated
I've held off writing this review until this book had been thoroughly tested over the whole 9 months...

We bought this book for our daughter (aged 3) when we found out that we were pregnant with our second child, hoping it would help her understand what was going on at her level.

Angus (the Answer Dog) introduces himself at the start saying "it's good to ask questions, because what you know helps you grow" and the questions answered in the book are: "where is the baby?", "how did the baby get in there?", "how can a baby fit inside mommy?", "what makes the baby grow?", "how does the baby eat?", "can the baby hear and see me?", "what does the baby do all day?", "why doesn't mommy feel well sometimes?", "why does mommy go to the doctor so much?" and "how does the baby get out?"

Each question is answered superbly in language and detail appropriate to a 2½+ year old. For example "the womb is a warm, cosy, snugly place, the very best place for a baby to be while it's growing".

At the bottom of each page is a little activity for your child. For example getting your child to wrap themselves up in a blanket so they know how it feels to be inside the womb!

Clicking on the "Look inside" option in Amazon's left-hand margin will show you the page this is from.

This book provided an absolutely fantastic springboard for our daughter to ask questions as they came up. In fact towards the end of the 9 months it was like she had made a new friend - she used to regularly talk to Angus (not daddy!) about absolutely anything and everything.

The second book in this series: "what to expect when the new baby comes home" was also fantastic - it prepared her for the rapid changes in the family and helped her to know what babies like and don't like - 10 weeks on she is fantastic with him.

And just in case you were worried about the "how did the baby get in there?" question, Angus says: "your mommy and daddy love each other a lot, and they also love you. Together, you make a family. Being a family is so special that your mommy and daddy decided to make another baby. Making a baby is like putting pieces of a puzzle together. Mommies have one piece, called an egg. Daddies have the other piece, called sperm." Spot on. Of course one does have to address the question of exactly how it gets in there - but having crossed that bridge I have to say that it was a lot easier having Angus answer it than me!

PS This book is best read in a Scottish accent (and with a fluffy Scottie dog toy).