Reddit reviews The Happiest Baby on the Block; Fully Revised and Updated Second Edition: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer

Oh sweetie, I think this is something everyone thinks about, and I don't know if you ever really feel "ready" to have kids. I know that I didn't--but 2 healthy kiddos later, we figured it out. We wanted to wait until we both had jobs, had our living situation figured out, and had been married for at least a couple of years. We felt "ready" and we started to try. I was still terrified when I found out I was expecting. Only you and your partner can decide when you feel "ready", but realize that it will never be the perfect time to have kids. Also, as a woman, you do want to keep in mind that the older you get, the harder it might be to get pregnant. (Not for everyone, but statistically.) It's something to keep in mind as you plan.

If you feel like you might be almost ready, talk to your partner about it. Talk about your hesitations. Are they big giant roadblock? of just little speed bumps? Does he have any ideas on how to work through them with you? Are you scared about being pregnant? having the baby? caring for the baby? What are your (and his) concerns?

Once you feel like you have worked through your major concerns, maybe set a date to stop trying to prevent (you have been using something to not get pregnant, right? that's important too) or a date to start trying. We waited until after a big trip we had been planning. Then, keep talking. Share your fears with him. Talk through them together. Maybe do some research or learning. It helped me to read about what to expect. Some books that I enjoyed or found helpful were:

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Pregnancy Related:

• Expecting Better by Emily Oster
  
• What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff
  
• Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
  
  Babies:
  
  
• Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp
  
• Wonder Weeks by Frans Plooij
  
• What to Expect the First Yearby Heidi Murkoff
  
• Cribsheet by Emily Oster (wasn't around for me, but I loved her first book, so you might give it a shot)
  
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  If you like to read, maybe give one or two a shot. You can also check out /r/Parenting and/or /r/BabyBumps to see what real parents are saying. Try to find some local moms to talk to about their experience--they can be a good support group later too.
  
  If you are a planner, do some checking on things that you might need to know about (daycare, pediatricians, etc) if that makes you feel better. Look at costs, locations, ratings, whatever you need to do to feel secure.
  
  Realize that even if you decide you are "ready" you may still freak out a little bit once it happens. Having a baby is scary and life changing, but that's okay! You can do this! You are awesome!
  
  Also, here's a little secret that no one talks about --no one knows what they are doing with raising kiddos, we all just fake it til we make it and muddle our way through the best we can. I still feel like I'm just pretending to be an grown up with kids.

I really like the Mayo Clinic Guide to Your Baby's First Year. They provide information on diapering, feeding, bathing, etc. without advocating strongly for one position so you can make up your own mind. It's by "doctors who are parents too." (Note: the Kindle version is not really optimized for the Kindle, so get this in paperback form. This is the only Kindle book I've read that doesn't let you change the font size. It's teeny tiny, and you have to zoom in and out. I think they just captured each page as an image.)

For helping baby sleep I recommend The Happiest Baby on the Block. I haven't put his method to work yet, but it's grounded in research and I trust it.

Congrats on the baby! Do you know what you're having? This book helped a lot! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TCI48AE?keywords=happiest%20baby%20on%20the%20block&qid=1452274949&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1

I had a fussy/colicky baby too. I heard it goes away at 3-6 months, but mine got better when he started crawling (8 months).

Anyway, it is stressful because there's not a "cure" so-to-speak. There is only "treating the symptoms." And the symptom is crying.

So, the only thing that really helped me was white noise. And this was before iPhone Apps, so I bought a CD with white noise on it. There are plenty of apps with white noise now-a-days. So, download one and try some out.

Also, read this book: The Happiest Baby on the Block

Now, don't let the title fool you. It certainly won't make your baby the happiest, but it will at the very least get him to stop crying so much.

Just know that it gets better and you'll look back on this time as a small blip in your life. Soon you'll be mentoring other mothers who come on this subreddit complaining of crying babies.