The world cheered on Monday with the news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, known more widely as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, welcomed a son. We know how daunting the field of books for new parents can be, so our editors weighed in on the books that helped them most. (Hint: lots and lots of sleep training aids.)

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‘The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night,’ by Elizabeth Pantley

This book quite literally saved my sanity when my first child would not sleep more than four hours at a stretch, and would cry so hard it seemed as though she was having seizures if she was left alone when she awakened. Yes, it requires openness to the idea of co-sleeping, or at least a willingness to lie down with your baby while she falls asleep. But at some point it hit me: I really like falling asleep next to another person — why wouldn’t a tiny new baby like that, too? Pantley’s not at all a co-sleeping absolutist, though. Her approach has a built-in flexibility that helps you tune in to your child’s individual nature and needs, which are always changing, anyway. — Maria Russo, children’s books editor

‘Happiest Baby on the Block,’ by Harvey Karp

I assumed this book must be the bible of a zombie cult, so many dead-eyed parents shoved it at me in those first bewildering weeks. Karp’s great insight is that babies are not quite ready for the world and you need to recreate the conditions of the womb for them. This involves a series of shushing and shaking and wrapping them in perfect origami swaddles, all at the same time. It’s possible though to get too swept up by Karp’s confidence about his method. I remember very late nights turning to the book like a secret instruction manual for my baby. Hoping that if I just did this one maneuver — I believe it was called the “windshield wiper” — she would finally stop screaming. All to my wife’s laughter. And my daughter’s continued screaming. — Gal Beckerman, senior staff editor, the Book Review

‘Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five,’ by Penelope Leach

This book is outdated in many ways, but every new parent should still dip into it. The core of wisdom in here is astounding — Leach’s deep scientific knowledge of child development is paired with an uncommon amount of heart and sympathy for the state of being a child. She also makes you examine your own ways with a clearer eye. I’ve never forgotten an anecdote involving a mom chatting with a friend while her 3-year-old threw a tantrum because the mom wouldn’t get up to open the sandbox. Instead of discussing how to instill more discipline, or methods of stopping a kid from acting out when she doesn’t get what she wants, Leach questions why the mom wouldn’t simply open the darn sandbox. — Maria Russo, children’s books editor