About the Book
In a society where two-thirds of divorces occur within six years of having a child, the first few months can be a crucial time for establishing healthy parental roles and routines. In Vortex of Feelings: The Early Months, Book II of the groundbreaking series The Psychological Survival Guide for Parents, Dr. Paul Peebles returns with a frank and fresh discussion about tricky and taboo topics rarely discussed in other pregnancy/child/family literature. Picking up where he left off in Book I, OMG! We're Pregnant, Dr. Peebles examines the first months of infancy, a time that can be wrought with anxiety and exhaustion for parents, and, if navigated thoughtfully, moments of pure bliss.
Vortex of Feelings: The Early Months wades into common concerns like bonding and breast-feeding, and its feelings, and thornier topics like the pros and cons of "Attachment Parenting," the disruption of sexual relationships, and the danger of father's feeling "odd man out." Dr. Peebles anticipates problems and provides parents with the tools to raise a healthy, happy baby without sacrificing their own intimacy. Dr. Peebles reminds new parents that what's most important is not the process but the result. In a book that is ultimately about family and how to keep it together, Dr. Peebles offers solutions to issues that can help save your sanity and your Relationships.
Vortex of Feelings tackles issues like the Pros and Cons of "Attachment Parenting," Bonding, Breast "Feelings," Fears and Losses, Odd Man Out Theory, Setting Boundaries with Grandparents, Guilt and Magic, the Intruder Complex, Loss of Libido, Postpartum Depression, Rituals and Rites, Sleep, the self-defeating Success Neurosis, Infant Temperament, "Wish versus Reality," and "Rescue versus Empathy," Spoiling a Baby?, Ghosts in the Nursery, and (of course) Working Outside the Home. Interspersed throughout the book also are many important practical recommendations for caring for a new baby, and yourself.
It is about relationships, and intrusions into those relationships. And, while it is about the early months, there is no "expiration date" for this book.
About the Author :
Dr. Paul Peebles is a husband, father, grandfather, and renowned Pediatrician and Pediatric Hematology-Oncologist. He trained at Harvard's Boston Children's Hospital and studied under Dr. Benjamin Spock at University Hospitals (Cleveland). He has carried for tens of thousands of children and their parents since 1967. As a researcher, he has worked at the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm) and as a Senior Investigator at National Institutes of Health (Washington, DC). He is the author of many articles, some published in Nature and Science and is a member of the prestigious Society for Pediatric Research. He is currently Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Children's National Medical Center of George Washington University's School of Medicine (Washington, DC) and founder and Director Emeritus of the Pediatric Care Center and Young Adult Care Center in Bethesda, Maryland. In Washingtonian magazine, his peers have elected him as "one of the area's leading primary care physicians."
Review :
"I love...your clarity about 'relationships' explored throughout the book, my greatest take-home message, and the enlightening power of your glossary."
"The concepts are so real, everyday occurrences. They lead to such an enhanced self-understanding. The concepts are so practical, useful, preventive in nature, and soul-searching."
"I am amazed and astounded in what you've accomplished."
"A great job and a great joy to read."
-FREDERICK LOVEJOY, M.D. Associate Physician-in-Chief, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School
"Dr. Peebles offers an insightful window into the challenges many of us face as we try to be the best parents we can be while simultaneously processing our own childhood experiences, our relationships with our own parents, and ever-evolving relationships with our partners. [He]offers helpful perspectives and advice for addressing these challenges in a book that is easy to read and filled with helpful, and sometimes lighthearted, anecdotes."
-INGRID IRIGOYEN Wife and working mother of 4-yr-old twins & 4-month old
"After reading this book, I feel that we are both better prepared for this next chapter of our lives. As first time parents-to-be, the majority of the parenting books we have come across focus primarily on the logistics of parenthood, with much less time spent addressing the impact that having a baby will have on our relationships with each other, with the baby, and with the other people in our lives. Based on real parent's experiences, [this book] gives us insights into navigating the psychological and emotional side of becoming parents."
-SOMMER SPELLMAN Wife and first-time pregnant mother-to-be
