The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance

Through step-by-step instructions and helpful schematic diagrams, The Baby Owner’s Manual explores the common concerns of every first-time parent: What’s the best way to swaddle a baby? How can I make my newborn sleep through the night? When should I bring the baby to a doctor for servicing? Whatever your question, you’ll find the answer here—courtesy of celebrated pediatrician Dr. Louis Borgenicht and his son, Joe Borgenicht. Together, they provide plenty of useful advice for anyone who wants to learn the basics of childcare.

But moving beyond the cover I discovered many such useful facts which have undoubtedly helped me prepare for fatherhood. As a slightly jittery, somewhat confused, but overall excited expecting father, this book has become a Godsend.

I read "What to Expect In The First Year", and for the typical male this doesn't work. The dialogue is so blatantly pitted toward women that my brain can't register it. The context juggles concepts of shopping, breastfeeding, and cutsie warm blankets in a convoluted, non-linear fashion which spawned a tangent-of-a-tangent style change of topics reminiscent of listening to my wife talk on the phone to her sister.

This book combines humor with an effective style for logically-wired males like myself, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to cut to the chase and really prepare for what to expect in fatherhood, and avoid the "what to wear to the baby shower" and other non-essential rhetoric.


Educational and humorous and entertaining reading   May 19, 2003
15 out of 16 found this review helpful

The book is written as if your baby is a product (therefore the need for this 'manual'). I skimmed through it in the bookstore and found it to be hilariously entertaining. I laughed at the verbage used and the 50s or 60s style pictures and diagrams. I bought it immediately and have enjoyed it very much. Example on writing: they ask you to "inspect" your model for all parts. Example of drawings: A circle with an adult holding a baby by the top of the head while the baby dangles with a line through the circle (as if to say 'Do not hold a baby by the top of the head). Obvious, but funny. I found it to by quite humorous.

I've laughed out loud reading it. But I must say that this book has very good information on how to raise your 'model' (baby). If you are a new parent or know someone who is a new or soon-to-be parent who has a sense of humor, they will appreciate this book. Louis Borgenicht, M.D., and his son Joe Borgenicht, D.A.D. (more humor) have written a master piece in my opinion. I would enjoy reading this book if my kid was 25 or didn't have any. It's just plain entertaining (but, again, very well organized useful information is found within).


Not just a satire!   January 30, 2004
Kyle Maxwell (Irving, TX)
24 out of 28 found this review helpful

The book reads a bit satirically -- think of your standard baby care book but written like a VCR manual. But it's actually useful information; we had our first child born recently, and it's been really useful to us. I've ended up buying copies for friends, too. Once you figure out a few of the slightly less obvious "terms" (like "service provider" for "doctor"), it's easy to read and avoids a lot of the editorializing and "my baby was this way" found in similar books. Worth the time.


For Techies and MBA's? Modern Humor/Utility Reading   June 2, 2006
elviswoman (Dallas, TX United States)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful

I have been reading so many serious books on becoming a parent, pregnancy, baby's first year, etc. lately that I needed something fun to balance it all out. I found this book at a boutique a few years back and gave it to my sister when she was pregnant as a joke. I had bookmarked the section on "programming sleep mode".

So here we are three years later and it is my turn. I bought this copy for myself. If you are wondering the difference between this "bargain" copy versus the other regular copy for sale, my copy came with a dirt smudge on the front and an obnoxious "BARGAIN" sticker on the back. Whatever, I saved some $$. My five stars are not for the condition, rather the contents.

This book is humorous, but the information is also useful. Being a techie, I find the technical writing format to be oddly comforting. I would recommend this for any new parent that needs some fun reading. Buy the regular more expensive one if you are giving it as a gift, but this one will work if you want a copy for yourself. Hours of entertainment and education along with an accurate and helpful schematic of baby await!


Very Helpful!   July 31, 2006
S. Levi (Chicago, IL)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

As silly as you may expect this book to be, as a first time mom, I found it pretty darn helpful and practical. I really like the part where it tells you how to wrap the baby like a burrito, kind of like how they do it in the hospital. The nurses do it so quickly you can't really follow what they're doing, but the book actually gives you step-by-step instructions on how to do it. There's tons of great advice and tips on how to care for your newborn in the book, and you'll be laughing hysterically the whole time. Great for moms AND dads AND grandparents.
** Disclaimer: If you have NO SENSE OF HUMOR, this book is not for you.