Happy Baby; The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months; Book Review And Conference Giveaway

I've recently discovered the line of Happy Baby products, thanks to my friend Eryn. Happy Baby produces natural and organic baby food, with the bulk of their line being individually frozen cubes of baby food. I can't wait to try them in a few months with Miss Savannah! The folks at Happy Baby recently partnered with Dr. Robert W. Sears and Amy Marlow (Registered Dietitian for Happy Baby) to write Happy Baby; The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months.

I was eager to get my hands on this book, and curious to see how it differed from other baby books. It's divided into four parts. Part One is The Happy (and Green!) Family. Part Two is The Happy (and Well-Fed!) Baby. Part Three is The Green and Happy Home. And Part Four is More Happy Habits. What stood out right away was that this isn't a traditional parenting book. The focus is on healthy green living, with the majority of the book (five out of ten chapters) devoted to food and feeding issues. As a mom of three you'd think I wouldn't find this sort of information useful anymore. But let me tell you, the "rules" are always changing. For example, when my oldest was only six weeks old, her pediatrician told me to begin feeding her rice cereal. Can you imagine hearing that today? So I appreciate the wealth of information on introducing solid food to my baby, with health and nutrition being the focus. There's also plenty of information on making your own baby food (complete with "recipes" and storage tips), if that's your sort of thing.

Breastfeeding moms would especially find this book helpful. There are chapters full of information on breastfeeding, including more detail on breastfeeding mom's nutrition than I've seen in any other book.

Since the book covers the first two years of life, it discusses toddler nutrition too. I love the sample menus and recipes aimed at picky toddlers. My son is almost three, but I plan to implement many of the suggestions in the book for his meals and snacks.

The rest of the book is a mish mash of topics, from cloth diapering to natural treatment for common childhood ailments. I was really impressed with the amount of topics covered, and the focus on easy green living. Happy Baby; The Organic Guide to Baby's First 24 Months is available at most major booksellers.

**WIN IT**

I was lucky enough to get an extra copy of the Happy Baby book to give away. I'll be taking it with me to the Type-A Mom Conference, so come find me!!

Keeping it real: Two copies of this book were given to me for this review/giveaway.