The Essential Guide to Baby's First Year offers new parents a clear, comforting companion devoid of the "musts" and "shoulds" that abound in other books. Rather than focusing on rigid guidelines to development, it acknowledges that babies are people, and they do things in their own time and ways. The authors are both parents, one of them with the additional benefit of being an experienced pediatrician, and their advice and suggestions are all based on medical knowledge and the latest advice on the baby grapevine.