Retro Baby: Cut Back on All the Gear and Boost Your Baby's Development With More Than 100 Time-tested Activities (Retro Development)

Informative book by pediatric physical therapist.Very helpful in determining what gear you “need.” I’m more of a minimalist so I didn’t want to purchase a bunch of baby “stuff” for just a few months/year of use. A lot of it you don’t need and it’s even bad for babies development!She also gives you detailed exercises you can easily do at home with baby, based on age/development levels.I read the entire book quickly and will keep it as a reference once my baby arrives and I can start tracking physical milestones.

I am a developmental play therapist, working primarily with children ages 3-6. When I became pregnant, I started studying up on infant development since it was an area I was not as familiar with. I was looking for a good resource that would give me some tools to help promote my baby's language/ cognitive, physical, and social development. I am so incredibly grateful that I found this book- not only did it have exactly what I was looking for, it provided a ton of practical examples as well as developmental reference charts, which serve as a nice reference and reminder. She also discussed the dangers of the baby gear "trap" that so many parents are in. There are SO many products targeted to new parents (rock n plays, baby swings, jumparoos) and she explains and gives evidence as to why overuse of these items can hinder infant development.Pros:- written by a Pediatric Occupational Therapist (this was very important to me since pediatric OT's specialize in infant development)- easy to read, any medical/OT jargon is well explained, even if you are not familiar with child development terms- cites actual research- black and white pictures/ charts throughout-excellent and very practical, hands-on informationCons:-the only con I could think of, and it may not be a con for some, is that there were certain parts of the book that overlapped/were repetitive. For example, there's a section on back sleeping and it emphasizes back sleeping many different times throughout. So, I don't know that it's a con since back sleeping is obviously incredibly important, but if it's information you are already aware of, it can feel repetitive.If you are expecting or a new mom, I HIGHLY recommend this book if you want practical ways to engage and encourage proper development for your baby.

I bought this book b/c I liked the premise about how I can buy less toys (and therefore less clutter) while at the same time going "back to basics" in terms of toys, with the basic toys being the most healthy anyway. However, the author spends most of the time just talking about tummy time and physical development. I mean, that was good b/c it was very motivating and I learned why tummy time is so important, but I expected more. I think the author comes from a physical therapy perspective (I read the book pretty fast), which is fine, but the book is heavily skewed in only that perspective. My child doesn't have any physical therapy issues or flat head, and he actually wants to be on his tummy nearly all the time, so all the talk about the problems seemed like overkill. This book did motivate me to not use the jumperoo much, but it wasn't very helpful in terms of toys, activities, etc.I thought that reading this book would give me an overview of the 10 or 100 basic toys that I needed, the basic repertoire, but (1) there weren't that many ideas for things that I wasn't already doing from reading other parenting books and attending early childhood classes and (2) most of the toys/activities required parent involvement. Which, don't get me wrong, parent involvement is great, but (1) I was looking for toys/activities for independent play and (2) parent does need to get other things besides play with baby, which is why parents rely on all those other toys/gear that she eschews.I'm not being very eloquent here due to sleep deprivation, but in summary, I thought this was going to be more of a "back to basics" book as well as helping declutter, but it fell short. Maybe this is helpful for parents who rely on many "baby holders," but since I didn't happen to do that because of my baby's preferences (#1 only wanted to be held by me and not any gear and #2 doesn't want to be held by any gear at all but prefers tummy time or a person holding him), then it wasn't very helpful for me.

As a new mom and occupational therapist, I cannot recommend this book enough. It is packed with evidence-based ideas and activities to boost baby’s development and help parents and therapists offer practical, easy and flexible strategies for playtime. I have scoured the internet for resources that can help boost my own baby's development and I can honestly say that this is one of the first resources I recommend to my new mom friends as well as fellow therapists who work in early intervention. There's a sequel by the same author, "Retro Toddler," which is just as insightful and fantastic. My husband has incorporated a lot of the strategies and tips offered in these two books and it makes my heart so happy to see him feeling comfortable and confident in creating an environment and support systems that helps my son thrive. Highly recommend!!

This is a great read! Full of fulfilling and inexpensive ways to enrich your baby without all the stuff. My husband and I were feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of having all the typical baby things in our home as we don't have a lot of space. Turns out, many of those jumpers/activity centers/swings aren't very good for the development of a tiny person and they're not intended to be used very frequently (if at all). We're feeling a lot more confident in our decision to limit baby gear based on what we've learned from this book!I'm hoping to get all the relatives to read this book, or at least listen to us when it comes to giving gifts. There are so many more ways to enhance the development of a baby than "smart" toys and giant accessories.

Good simple book - extremely basic - I got some nice ideas but the same points were covered over and over again. Essential takeaways are ensuring you do tummy time from the beginning demonstrating some techniques you can use.

This is a great book to follow the different age ranges as your baby grows - and a good reference to check development is on track. There are some fab ideas of what to do with your child to help strengthen their development. I really enjoyed reading it and will be using it in my childminding setting for sure.

A very good book.

This book is wonderful. My son is 2 years old and I still reference it and always recommend it to friends. It has a lot of good information about walkers, jumpers and bumbo seats that are in line with AAP. They also have fun activities and tell you gross motor skills your child is learning within certain months. I would buy again.

Well written. I loan this book to any new mom.