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The Year We Became Parents

by Minato Kobayashi

Trinity Books · October 31, 2026

A kind, clear and practical companion for the first year, for the baby and for the parents.

Reading time: About 3 h 30 min (at 230 words a minute)

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Cover of The Year We Became Parents

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Length212 pages

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Details

AuthorJapan Minato Kobayashi
CategoryFrom pregnancy to baby care / Mental health / On raising children / Marriage and family relationships
Language of the bookEnglish
PublishedOctober 31, 2026
Length212 pages
Product numberTB-W0007-EN
Reading timeAbout 3 h 30 min (at 230 words a minute)
Print-ready PDFA5 · interior PDF and cover PDF (with bleed: two versions, 3 mm and 3.175 mm, can be downloaded.) · 212 pages

Categories of this book

CategoriesHealth and bodyFrom pregnancy to baby care

CategoriesHealth and bodyMental health

CategoriesSelf-help and workOn raising children

CategoriesSelf-help and workMarriage and family relationships

About this book

A warm, clear companion for the first year with a baby — feeding, crying, safe sleep, a baby who is unwell, first foods and a home made safe — and for the feelings that come with it, from the baby blues to postnatal depression and anxiety, told through one new mother's diary.

The first year with your baby, one diary page at a time: the care, the feelings and the help that is there.

The first night at home, the first bath, the first real smile, the first cold, the first spoonful of food, the first wobbling steps. The first year with a baby is full of firsts, and full of feelings too: tears without a reason, deep tiredness, worry that will not switch off, and days that stay grey for longer than expected.

This book follows one family through that year. Every chapter opens with pages from a new mother's diary, honest and warm, and then explains in calm, clear words what doctors, midwives and nurses tell new parents about that stage: recovery after the birth, feeding with breast milk, infant formula or both, crying and calming, safe sleep, the baby blues, postnatal depression and anxiety, frightening thoughts that come uninvited, a hard birth that stays in the mind and the feelings of the other parent.

Later chapters turn to a baby who is unwell, first foods, a home made safe for a crawling baby, going back to work and the first birthday. Every chapter ends with a checklist of things to prepare for the weeks ahead, and the book shows clearly when to call a doctor, a midwife or the emergency number.

After reading this book, you will be able to…

  • Understand the usual changes of the first year, for your baby and for yourself
  • Feed, calm, bathe and put your baby to sleep safely, and make your home safe as your baby begins to move
  • Tell the baby blues from a low mood that stays, and know how and where to ask for help early
  • Recognise the signs in your baby and in yourself that mean calling a doctor or the emergency number
  • Share the care and the night as a team, and prepare step by step for each new stage of the year

Contents

  • The Year We Became Parents
  • Before You Begin
  • Chapter 1: Coming Home
    1. From the Diary
    2. The Ride Home and the First Hours
    3. Sleep, Feeding and Nappies
    4. Holding Your Baby and Caring for the Cord
    5. Visits, Check-ups and Big Feelings
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 2: Your Body After the Birth
    1. From the Diary
    2. Healing in the First Weeks
    3. Breasts, Bladder and the Pelvic Floor
    4. Rest, Food, Movement and Your Check-up
    5. Warning Signs and a Kind View of Your Body
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 3: The Baby Blues
    1. From the Diary
    2. What the Baby Blues Are
    3. Why They Happen and What Helps
    4. When It Is More Than the Blues
    5. The First Bath at Home
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
More
  • Chapter 4: Feeding, Day and Night
    1. From the Diary
    2. Breast Milk, Infant Formula or Both
    3. Feeding Cues and How Often
    4. Signs That Feeding Is Going Well
    5. The Feelings Around Feeding
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 5: Crying and Calming
    1. From the Diary
    2. Why Babies Cry
    3. What Is Usual and What Is Not
    4. Ways to Calm a Crying Baby
    5. When the Crying Becomes Too Much
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 6: When the Low Mood Stays
    1. From the Diary
    2. What Postnatal Depression Is
    3. Signs Worth Telling Someone About
    4. Taking the First Step
    5. When Help Is Needed at Once
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 7: Worry, Fear and Upsetting Thoughts
    1. From the Diary
    2. Worry After a Baby Arrives
    3. Unwanted Thoughts That Frighten You
    4. When Worry Takes Over the Day
    5. When the Birth Stays With You
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 8: Sleep, Tiredness and Safe Sleep
    1. From the Diary
    2. How Babies Sleep in the First Months
    3. Safe Sleep, Every Time
    4. What Tiredness Does to Parents
    5. Sharing the Night, and Knowing When to Ask
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 9: The Other Parent
    1. From the Diary
    2. Feelings of the Parent Who Did Not Give Birth
    3. Partners Can Struggle Too
    4. Talking and Sharing as a Team
    5. Noticing Each Other, and Building a Wider Team
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 10: Growing Together
    1. From the Diary
    2. Every Baby on Their Own Path
    3. Play, Talk and Tummy Time
    4. Check-Ups, Vaccinations and Questions
    5. Comparing, Worrying and Your Mood
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 11: When the Baby Is Unwell
    1. From the Diary
    2. Small Illnesses in the First Year
    3. How to Watch Your Baby
    4. Fever and Signs That Need Help Now
    5. Medicines, Notes and Your Own Fear
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 12: First Foods
    1. From the Diary
    2. Around Six Months: Signs of Readiness
    3. First Tastes and Textures
    4. Safe Eating, Choking and Allergies
    5. Mealtimes, Pressure and Feelings
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 13: On the Move
    1. From the Diary
    2. A Baby Who Explores
    3. Making Your Home Safer
    4. Still Being Yourself
    5. Family, Grandparents and Advice
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 14: Back to Work, or a New Rhythm
    1. From the Diary
    2. Choosing Your Path
    3. Childcare and Settling In
    4. Mornings, Evenings and Sharing the Work
    5. Feeding, Sleep and Your Mood in the Change
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Chapter 15: The First Birthday
    1. From the Diary
    2. What a One-Year-Old May Do
    3. Safety for a Baby Who Stands and Walks
    4. Looking Back on the Year's Feelings
    5. Into the Second Year
    6. A Checklist of Things to Prepare
  • Afterword
  • Reading This Book Together
  • Words Used in This Book
  • Where to Turn for Help
  • About the Information in This Book
  • Colophon

From the publisher

A kind, clear and practical companion for the first year, for the baby and for the parents.

Many baby books are about the baby alone. This one keeps both in view: the small person in the cot and the tired, loving, sometimes frightened grown-ups around her. Each chapter opens with a page from a new mother's diary, a night of feeding doubts, an evening of crying that will not stop, a grey week when nothing feels right, a husband who finally writes down what he has kept to himself, and then explains, step by step, what is happening and what helps.

The knowledge is the solid, widely shared knowledge that doctors, midwives and nurses give to new parents: safe sleep on the back, never shaking a baby, starting solid food around six months, the warning signs that mean calling for help. It is set in plain words and real rooms, and both breast milk and infant formula are described with equal respect.

What stays with the reader is its honesty about feelings. The baby blues, postnatal depression and anxiety, upsetting thoughts and the low mood of the other parent are explained calmly, as common experiences that help can reach. The checklist at the end of every chapter turns that understanding into small, practical steps for the weeks ahead.

What we like

  • Fifteen chapters following the whole first year, from the first days at home to the first birthday
  • Every chapter opens with pages from one family's diary and ends with a checklist of things to prepare
  • Clear signs that mean calling a doctor, a midwife or the emergency number, for the baby and for the parents
  • A list of the words used in the book and where to turn for help at the end

Recommended for

  • First-time parents, before the birth and through the first year
  • Partners who want to understand and share the care and the feelings
  • Grandparents, friends and family who want to support a new family

If anything concerns you, ask a doctor or midwife. Check-ups, leave and support differ by country, so ask the official contact points where you live.

Read it in another language

You can buy any language edition on this page: choose it under “Language of the book” in the buy box above. Each language also has its own page.

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DeliveryRead on the web (can be saved for offline reading). Open it from My books after purchase.
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