Got this with the giveaway too.

It was funny and helpful. I have a two-year-old and emergencies are par for the course. The book is written by a pediatric ER doctor and she does a good job of explaining when to bring your child to the doctor, when to leave him home, and when to stop reading and call 911.

I read the whole thing and while its all good info, I definitely would not want to be flipping through it in an urgent situation. Because she organizes it by sections of the body, you'll have cold sores mixed in with puking blood. I must say those are two very different situations.

A few good things I learned that I didn't know:

If you are waiting in the ER, ask the nurse before feeding your kid anything or you may just wait longer. Some procedures require fasting. (Like sedation)

Besides locking up medicines and cleaning supplies, some deadly products you may not think about are in the oil family. They contain hydrocarbons that destroy the coating of the lungs and do not immediately cause symptoms: baby oil, mineral oil, lamp oil, furniture oil, suntan oil - basically lock up anything oily.

She gives a lot of advice about what will happen once you get to the E.R. and how you can prepare yourself.

I will definitely keep the book, but its not a flip-through guide. It would be a good gift for new paranoid parents who have time to read. I found it odd that it dealt exclusively with the E.R. Except for a super emergency, I would never choose the E.R. over my urgent care. At the urgent care I never wait more than an hour and I recognize the doctors. My son has had stitches twice and they did an amazing job.

Overall, a good read. I would recommend. ( )

I read this book to brush up on the pediatric side of first aid. It has a ton of small everyday tips like how to administer eyedrops to an infant. This has become my most frequently used parenting book, and the one I reference the most often. I was raised by a doctor so medical things don't usually upset me or make me nervous. So I did read through the book from cover to cover, as a refresher course before my daughter was born. Despite my pre-existing knowledge, I have found the book invaluable. Despite my knowledge and general calm with adult medical issues, I sort of lose my cool when it comes to my toddler. A quick look at this book puts everything back into perspective. Most useful of all, is the repeated message that for serious, but not life-threatening, issues to call the pediatrician before running to the hospital. Our worst emergency happened on vacation, with a cough quickly spiraling into wheezing. I began to mobilize for a trip to the ER, while calling the pediatrician just in case. This calmed me, and thus my daughter, whose coughing and wheezing stopped, and she promptly fell asleep. Her pediatrician filled me in on all the details of croup, including when to head for that ER, and how to help her in our hotel room. We never did have to go to the hospital. So I can say this book saved a reasonably informed mother from taking her kid to the ER in the middle of the night. ( )

Written by an ER pediatrician, the book methodically goes through all the illness, accidents and just plain strange-looking things (on newborns, in particular) that might alarm parents. It tells you what to expect, what to worry about, when to call your pediatrician, when to head for the hospital, and when to just calm down and treat your kid at home. It's very informative, plus written in a friendly, straightforward style that makes it easy to understand. There's a bit of humor thrown in there as well, to lighten up what might otherwise be a stressful read. I don't know if I'd recommend reading straight through the entire thing like I did, as a bit too much knowledge on all the dangers facing your kid can make your head swim! This is a book I'm definitely keeping around for reference, it's got a thorough index so you can flip quickly to any topic when you need to know something urgently. Also in the back there's a useful little section that tells you what to expect when you do have to visit the emergency room, and what procedures you might face there. I'd recommend this book to anyone with infants or young children. An invaluable resource.

from the Dogear Diary ( )

Excellent book. A must for new parents who aren't sure how to handle the variety of strange conditions that may afflict their child. It's very handy to relieve stress when you know that it's not an emergency and they'll be fine. ( )