Review of Consumer Reports Best Baby Products by Sandra Gordon and the Editors of Consumer Reports

This book has a lot of useful information on a wide variety of topics.  For each of the many categories of baby gear there is a general description of what's available, feathures to consider, and recommendations.  However, there is very little discussion of specific brands, and there are virtually no comprehensive reviews of or recommendations for specific brands or products.  All of the information is generic, though images of specific products are shown as examples.

Let's take the example of Diaper Pails.  The "What's Available" section, divided into "cloth" and "disposable" sections, runs through a list of brands and provides their respective websites.  There's a brief comparison of features.  The "Features to Consider" section describes things like capacity, ease of use, and liners vs. bags.  The "Recommendations" has general information, such as "Pails that use their own liners typically contains odors better than those that use garbage bags, but refills do cost more."

Overall, I'd say that this book is chock-full of good info, but not exactly of the type I wanted.  The information is helpful and taught me lots about the categories so that I knew what features I wanted.  But the book left me to do the work of figuring out which actual products had those features, meaning I had to turn to other books and/or research the products online or in store before being able to make a purchase.  There's also a very real potential for information overload, and I found the book a bit dry to read.  And forget reading it cover to cover.  I was a type-A researcher when it came to baby products, and even I couldn't make it all the way through this.

If you need in-depth info on a particular category of baby products, this book will probably be a help.  If you want an easy way to find products to add to your registry, you're better off going with Baby Bargains.  I don't think Best Baby Products needs a permanent place in your collection, but it might be helpful to borrow from a friend or check out of the library prior to a major purchase.

Final Rating: Borrow, or skip if you're afraid of being overwhelmed

Review of Baby Bargains by Denise Fields and Alan Fields

When I first announced I was pregnant, several of my coworkers all recommended this book to me.  I was skeptical at first.  I'm not usually one to run around trying to save a few cents here and there.  So I really wasn't sure how useful a book called "Baby Bargains" would be.  But after it was recommended to me time and again, I figured I ought to check it out.

It was great.  But not for the reasons I expected.

Yes, it has some hints and tips on ways to save money for baby.  It also has suggestions for what baby gear is essential and what you can probably do without.  But the best part about this book is the product reviews.  I love the product reviews, and I'm not sure what I would have done without them!

For any given category of baby gear (cribs, high-chairs, play yards, car seats, you name it!), Baby Bargains first gives a category overview, then provides a review for each of the major manufacturers and models.  Reviews include a paragraph about the product and a letter grade.  At the end of the chapter there are recommendations for "good", "better", and "best" products, along with recommendations for grandma's house (i.e. secondary products you'll only use now and again) and recommendations for products if someone else is paying or money is no object.

I found this book to be tremendously helpful while preparing for my daughter's arrival.  I learned a lot about the product categories that really interested me.  I took their recommendations at face value for items that didn't matter to me quite as much.  And I've been happy with all of my purchases.

I also have to add that perusing this book makes you feel like you're being incredibly productive, especially when you're pregnant and too tired to actually go pounding the pavement from store to store.  Knowing what you want to buy is just as good as buying it, right?  And now that so many baby registries let you add products online, you can sit at your computer with this book in hand and make significant progress on your registry.

Finally, I've found this book helpful even after my daughter was born.  Certain categories either didn't catch my eye the first time around or weren't worth thinking about at the time, but were very useful several months down the road.  For example, there is a nice discussion of baby food brands.  This is something new parents don't need, but something that may confound parents of a six-month-old.  Ditto for booster seats for the car(I haven't yet reached that stage of parenting!).  So I've found myself flipping through Baby Bargains over and over.  It's definitely one of the most helpful books in my library.

Final Rating: Buy