October 20, 2005

Author thinks understanding better than advice

Tidings columnist’s new book de-mystifies parenting of newborns

By Jennifer Squires
Ashland Daily Tidings

Ashland writer Jennifer Margulis celebrates the release of her new book, tonight at 7:30 at Bloomsbury Books, 290 E. Main St. There will be door prizes for pregnant women.

With all of the parenting books out there, one woman found a way to write about babies without doling out the usual advice about sleep schedules and breast feeding.

In her latest book, Ashland writer and mother of three Jennifer Margulis explains 40 things babies do that confound their parents.

“Why Babies Do That: Baffling Baby Behavior Explained,” delves into endearing infant traits, such as why babies like dancing and why the sound of mom or dad’s voice draws their attention.

“Basically, it’s explaining baby behavior because they can’t talk,” said Margulis, who is columnist for the Daily Tidings, as well as a contributor to the Escape section of the New York Times and a freelance writer. “When you can think about it from a 10-month-old’s point of view, it makes the process of parenting these little weirdos so much easier.”

Of course, it’s not all laughs and smiles and cuteness.

The 96-page book also explains why babies cry, get acne and produce mustard-colored, seedy-looking poop.

It’s those behaviors that can be intimidating and even scary to new parents, according to Margulis.

The author drew from her own experiences with her children — 6-year-old Hespurus, 4 1/2-year-old Athena and Etani, who will be 2 in a few days — as well as work she did on the Child Survival Project in Niger, West Africa. Margulis also spent three months researching and talking to experts before she wrote the book, which was released earlier this year.

“Your major concern when you have a baby is trying to keep them alive,” said Margulis, who remembers all of the frightening moments she and her husband had with their first child. “I thought I was having a child, but I ended up with an alien rhinoceros with frog legs.”

Hespurus, who is now a healthy first-grader, was a snuffly breather as a baby. Margulis and her husband, James, thought she was sick and tried several remedies to help their infant breathe easier.

Turns out, none of it was necessary.

“She didn’t have a head cold,” Margulis said, explaining babies breathe out of their noses, which can be noisy. “It’s totally normal.”

Snuffly breathing explanations aren’t covered in the book, but explanations to other parenting questions are covered. The book does steer clear of giving advice — Margulis believes that’s best left to parenting books — and illustrates each topic with a full-color baby photo.

Published by Willow Creek Press, “Why Do Babies Do That” is the fifth in a series of “Why?” books. Previous volumes explain behavior of dogs, cats, birds and horses. Babies, Margulis believes, were a natural topic to explore next.

“Think about it — none of them can talk for themselves,” she said. “They all speak. Horses whinny, but you don’t know what they’re saying.”

Staff writer Jennifer Squires can be reached at 482-3456 x 3019 or jsquires@dailytidings.com.