by Emily Oster
Thank you to everyone who read and commented on drafts: Emma Berndt, Eric Budish, Heidi Williams, Michelle McClosky, Kelly Joseph, Josh Gottleib, Carolin Pfluger, Dan Benjamin, Samantha Cherney, Emily Shapiro, and Laura Wheery.
Thanks to the girls, who read a lot of this and shared their experiences and let me use them: Jane Risen, Jenna Robins, Tricia Patrick, Divya Mathur, Elena Zinchenko, Hilary Friedman, Heather Caruso, Katie Kinzler, and Alix Morse. And most important, they were there to celebrate the good stuff and talk me through the less good stuff. I love you guys.
Many colleagues and friends supported the idea and reality of this book at various stages. Including but by no means limited to Judy Chevalier, Anna Aizer, David Weil, Matt Notowidigdo, Dave Nussbaum, Nancy Rose, Amy Finkelstein, Andrei Shleifer, Nancy Zimmerman, and the More Dudes.
A very special thanks to Matt Gentzkow, who took seriously my desire to write another book, talked me through whether it was a good idea, and provided invaluable editing. Not surprisingly, Jesse’s favorite sentence in this book was written by Matt.
We have been lucky to have wonderful pediatricians in both Chicago and Rhode Island—Dawn Li and Lauren Ward—without whom parenting would be much harder. And we are also lucky to have had wonderful childcare—most of all Mardele Castel, Rebecca Shirley, and Sarah Hudson—but also the teachers at Moses Brown and the Little School at Lincoln.
My incredibly supportive family. Thank you to the Shapiros: Joyce, Arvin, and Emily. To the Fairs and Osters: Steve, Rebecca, John, and Andrea. And to my parents, Ray and Sharon. Mom, I know this makes you nervous, but thanks for supporting it anyway.
It goes without saying that without Penelope and Finn there would be no book. Thanks to Penelope for reading it, and to both of you for helping me learn to be a mom.
Jesse. Parenting is hard. I am glad I get to do it with you. Thank you for supporting me in my crazy ideas. You’re a great husband, and a great father. Also, you’re really good at managing the trash. I love you.
APPENDIX: FURTHER READING
These books, which cover many of the topics discussed in this book, may be helpful further reading.
GENERAL REFERENCE
American Academy of Pediatrics. Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age Five. New York: Bantam, 2004.
Druckerman, P. Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting. New York: Penguin, 2014.
Eliot, L. What’s Going On in There?: How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life. New York: Bantam, 2000.
Nathanson, L. The Portable Pediatrician for Parents: A Month-by-Month Guide to Your Child’s Physical and Behavioral Development from Birth to Age Five. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
DISCIPLINE
Phelan, T. W. 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2–12. Naperville, IL: ParentMagic, Inc., 2010.
Webster-Stratton, C. The Incredible Years: A Trouble-Shooting Guide for Parents of Children Aged 2–8. Toronto: Umbrella Press, 1992.
SLEEP
Ferber, R. Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems. Rev. ed. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006.
Karp, H. The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer. Rev. ed. New York: Bantam, 2015.
Weissbluth, M. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child: A Step-by-Step Program for a Good Night’s Sleep. 4th ed. New York: Ballantine Books, 2015.
POTTY TRAINING
Glowacki, J. Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right. New York: Touchstone, 2015.
NOTES
CHAPTER 1: THE FIRST THREE DAYS
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3. Loring C, Gregory K, Gargan B, et al. Tub bathing improves thermoregulation of the late preterm infant. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 2012;41(2):171–79.
4. Weiss HA, Larke N, Halperin D, Schenker I. Complications of circumcision in male neonates, infants and children: A systematic review. BMC Urol 2010;10:2.
5. Weiss HA et al. Complications of circumcision in male neonates, infants and children.
6. Van Howe RS. Incidence of meatal stenosis following neonatal circumcision in a primary care setting. Clin Pediatr (Phila) 2006;45(1):49–54.
7. Bazmamoun H, Ghorbanpour M, Mousavi-Bahar SH. Lubrication of circumcision site for prevention of meatal stenosis in children younger than 2 years old. Urol J 2008;5(4):233–36.
8. Bossio JA, Pukall CF, Steele S. A review of the current state of the male circumcision literature. J Sex Med 2014;11(12):2847–64.
9. Singh-Grewal D, Macdessi J, Craig J. Circumcision for the prevention of urinary tract infection in boys: A systematic review of randomised trials and observational studies. Arch Dis Child 2005;90(8): 853–58.
10. Sorokan ST, Finlay JC, Jefferies AL. Newborn male circumcision. Paediatr Child Health 2015;20(6): 311–20.
11. Bossio JA et al. A review of the current state of the male circumcision literature.
12. Daling JR, Madeleine MM, Johnson LG, et al. Penile cancer: Importance of circumcision, human papillomavirus and smoking in in situ and invasive disease. Int J Cancer 2005;116(4):606–16.
13. Taddio A, Katz J, Ilersich AL, Koren G. Effect of neonatal circumcision on pain response during subsequent routine vaccination. Lancet 1997;349(9052):599–603.
14. Brady-Fryer B, Wiebe N, Lander JA. Pain relief for neonatal circumcision. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2004;(4):CD004217.
15. Wroblewska-Seniuk KE, Dabrowski P, Szyfter W, Mazela J. Universal newborn hearing screening: Methods and results, obstacles, and benefits. Pediatr Res 2017;81(3):415–22.
16. Merten S, Dratva J, Ackermann-Liebrich U. Do baby-friendly hospitals influence breastfeeding duration on a national level? Pediatrics 2005;116(5):e702–8.
17. Jaafar SH, Ho JJ, Lee KS. Rooming-in for new mother and infant versus separate care for increasing the duration of breastfeeding. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2016;(8):CD006641.
18. Lipke B, Gilbert G, Shimer H, et al. Newborn safety bundle to prevent falls and promote safe sleep. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs 2018;43(1):32–37.
19. Thach BT. Deaths and near deaths of healthy newborn infants while bed sharing on maternity wards. J Perinatol 2014;34(4):275–79.
20. Lipke B et al. Newborn safety bundle to prevent falls.
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22. Smith HA, Becker GE. Early additional food and fluids for healthy breastfed full-term infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2016;(8):CD006462.
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24. Chapman J, Marfurt S, Reid J. Effectiveness of delayed cord clamping in reducing postdelivery complications in preterm infants: A systematic review. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs 2016;30(4):372–78.
25. McDonald SJ, Middleton P, Dowswell T, Morris PS. Effect of timing of umbilical cord clamping of term infants on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2013;(7): CD004074.
26. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Fetus and Newborn. Controversies concerning vitamin K and the newborn. Pediatrics 2003;112(1 Pt 1):191–92.
27. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Fetus and Newborn. Controversies concering vitamin K.
CHAPTER 2: WAIT, YOU WANT ME TO TAKE IT HOME?
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5. Short MA, Brooks-Brunn JA, Reeves DS, Yeager J, Thorpe JA. The effects of swaddling versus standard positioning on neuromuscular development in very low birth weight infants. Neonatal Netw 1996;15(4):25–31.
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10. Iacovou M, Ralston RA, Muir J, Walker KZ, Truby H. Dietary management of infantile colic: A systematic review. Matern Child Health J 2012;16(6):1319–31.
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CHAPTER 3: TRUST ME, TAKE THE MESH UNDERWEAR
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2. Berens P. Overview of the postpartum period: Physiology, complications, and maternal care. UpToDate. Accessed 2017. Available at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/overview-of-the-postpartum-period-physiology-complications-and-maternal-care.
3. Raul A. Exercise during pregnancy and the postpartum period. UpToDate. Accessed 2017. Available at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/exercise-during-pregnancy-and-the-postpartum-period.
4. Jawed-Wessel S, Sevick E. The impact of pregnancy and childbirth on sexual behaviors: A systematic review. J Sex Res 2017;54(4–5):411–23. Lurie S, Aizenberg M, Sulema V, et al. Sexual function after childbirth by the mode of delivery: A prospective study. Arch Gynecol Obstet 2013;288(4): 785–92.
5. Viguera A. Postpartum unipolar major depression: Epidemiology, clinical features, assessment, and diagnosis. UpToDate. Accessed 2017. Available at https://www.uptodate.com/contents/postpartum-unipolar-major-depression-epidemiology-clinical-features-assessment-and-diagnosis.
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CHAPTER 4: BREAST IS BEST? BREAST IS BETTER? BREAST IS ABOUT THE SAME?
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