Parenthood affects everyone differently, and one of the many changes for me was an undeniable urge to write this book. Of course The Baby File did not start out as a book. When I was pregnant, I noticed post-it notes proliferating around my house. These notes contained important information -- the number for a pediatrician recommended by a friend, my company's benefits website, an abbreviated list of favorite baby names... the list goes on.

I was appalled by my own lack of organization (and I was to be somebody's mother!) As you might have predicted, the situation with the post-its did not improve after my daughter, Julia, was born. There was now a whole other person to care for with her own array of facts and figures. Julia didn't gain back her birth-weight as quickly as our pediatrician would have liked, so right off-the-bat there was a lot of recording of feeding times, tallying of dirty diapers, and weighing -- all of which had to be organized in some way.

To be sure, in my postpartum haze I did not create worksheets. But what I struggled with in those early weeks later became the worksheets in this book. Because I know that every baby brings his or her own set of circumstances, I started asking other moms what kind of information they needed to retain, organize, and otherwise manage when their kids were born. And ultimately, those conversations were the basis for the topics included in this book.

Now that you have an idea of why I put these resources together, you might be saying to yourself, "OK, but how do I use this book? How will it save me time, me who cannot even steal a moment to brush my teeth today, me with the dark circles under my eyes and the stack of dishes in the sink?" Unfortunately, this book will not do your laundry, write your thank-you notes, or improve your personal hygiene. But what it will do is demystify some parenting concepts and allow you to find answers to your questions quickly. If the answer you seek is not in this book, there are lists of resources on every topic included at the end of each section or chapter. Just flip through to your topic du jour: Baby has a rash and you think it could be a reaction to something you ate? Use the food intake worksheet to figure it out. Everyone keeps saying the words "attachment parenting" and you haven't a clue? See the Sleep chapter which compares attachment parenting with other philosophies of care.

Finally, I hope this book will offer you a welcome dose of humor or empathy when you need it most. I hope it will assure you that even though we're all hunkered down as new parents, trying to adjust to our new lives, you are now a proud, card-carrying member of the sleepy-eyed, hard-working, love-crazed parent club.