Read any good Pregnancy/Parenting books lately?

[akraus2015]

Currently I'm reading Gummi Bears Should Not Be Organic by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor. It's hilarious. I was snorting out loud while DH was watching TV last night!


What are you reading and/or have already read?? I'm almost done with this one, I'll need a new one soon!

[meggo]

We just ordered the "Mayo Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy" and "Expecting 411". They came highly recommended by the ladies on PAIF. We stopped by Barnes & Nobles last weekend and skimmed through them and they seem very helpful!

[bravolebrity]

I saw that people on other BMB boards recommended "Expecting Better" by Emily Oster-- I've read the first few chapters and really like it so far. She uses data/statistics to explain pregnancy restrictions-- its nice to know the science behind the restrictions and feel like you are making informed decisions.

[dreadpiratebuttercup]

I read The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy when I was pregnant with DD, and liked it. The other books I read were on breastfeeding and sleeping, but I don't recall which ones.

[akraus2015]

I think my next one is going to be On Becoming Baby Wise. My friend read it while she was pregnant and loved it. She said she had her first son sleeping through the night by 3 months. That's my goal!

[leahks77]

+1 to The Girlfriend's Guide. I laughed out loud.

[trtlcrzy]

Jun 24, 2015 21:49:44 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

I think my next one is going to be On Becoming Baby Wise. My friend read it while she was pregnant and loved it. She said she had her first son sleeping through the night by 3 months. That's my goal!

Please don't follow baby wise. It has been linked to dehydration and failure to thrive in newborns. The author of this book is not a doctor but some sort of minister/pastor. Newborns wake up because they need something, not to be annoying. Please follow your child's cues and don't follow what that awful book has to say. I have some bad news for you, some babies sleep through the night pretty early and others don't until well after 1 year old. Most go through phases with STTN and being wakeful. You just learn to roll with the punches. 

debatethis can tell you a lot more about the book/author.

[debatethis]

Jun 24, 2015 22:11:10 GMT -5 trtlcrzy said:

Jun 24, 2015 21:49:44 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

I think my next one is going to be On Becoming Baby Wise. My friend read it while she was pregnant and loved it. She said she had her first son sleeping through the night by 3 months. That's my goal!

Please don't follow baby wise. It has been linked to dehydration and failure to thrive in newborns. The author of this book is not a doctor but some sort of minister/pastor. Newborns wake up because they need something, not to be annoying. Please follow your child's cues and don't follow what that awful book has to say. I have some bad news for you, some babies sleep through the night pretty early and others don't until well after 1 year old. Most go through phases with STTN and being wakeful. You just learn to roll with the punches. 

debatethis can tell you a lot more about the book/author.

Whoa, yeah, ditto. Babywise is dangerous and frankly no one should be attempting to make their baby CIO before (at the VERY minimum) four months. Babywise has actually killed infants, its author is a fraud who has been removed from church leadership many times, and it's the only parenting book that the AAP has actually called out by name as dangerous. ETA: That jerkoff author also went so far as to blame new mothers for their own postpartum depression, essentially saying that if they scheduled their newborn feedings they wouldn't feel so depressed.

Learn about the fourth trimester, sleep cycles, and the developmental reasons why newborns aren't wired to sleep through the night (and why they really shouldn't, if you are breastfeeding).

[lvlyldybmp]

Jun 24, 2015 21:49:44 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

I think my next one is going to be On Becoming Baby Wise. My friend read it while she was pregnant and loved it. She said she had her first son sleeping through the night by 3 months. That's my goal!

+1 - This is on my Amazon wait list right now!

[akraus2015]

Jun 24, 2015 22:11:10 GMT -5 trtlcrzy said:

Jun 24, 2015 21:49:44 GMT -5 akraus2015 said:

I think my next one is going to be On Becoming Baby Wise. My friend read it while she was pregnant and loved it. She said she had her first son sleeping through the night by 3 months. That's my goal!

Please don't follow baby wise. It has been linked to dehydration and failure to thrive in newborns. The author of this book is not a doctor but some sort of minister/pastor. Newborns wake up because they need something, not to be annoying. Please follow your child's cues and don't follow what that awful book has to say. I have some bad news for you, some babies sleep through the night pretty early and others don't until well after 1 year old. Most go through phases with STTN and being wakeful. You just learn to roll with the punches. 

debatethis can tell you a lot more about the book/author.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll definitely be checking multiple resources before deciding on any one aspect of a parenting style. This is good information to have.

[lemoncupcake]

Jun 24, 2015 22:28:40 GMT -5 debatethis said:

Learn about the fourth trimester, sleep cycles, and the developmental reasons why newborns aren't wired to sleep through the night (and why they really shouldn't, if you are breastfeeding).

Do you have any book recs for this type of info?

[lemoncupcake]

And I don't think I'll be reading any pregnancy books. From what I've heard, a lot of them have good info but also have stuff about complications that could set off my anxiety.

I was planning to read some baby books further down the road like what debatethis was describing about typical sleep cycles, wonder weeks, growth spurts, etc.

[mishy2010]

I had what to expect when you're expecting but didn't really read it too much. The baby book I liked was happiest baby on the block. I didn't follow religiously but it helped to have some ways to help calm DD when she was small.

+1 to all of the warnings against baby wise. Routines are good for your baby but a strict schedule isn't.

[rivers and roads]

My sister leant me the Mayo clinic's book, 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat During Pregnancy, and You and Your Baby: Pregnancy. I've really only cracked the Mayo Clinic's one so far, but it seems good.


+1 to seeking any good recommendations for reputable newborn "parenting" books for the first few months of life/BF'ing.

[kh59]

As someone who read many baby sleep books my first time around, I find this to be the most helpful and succinct summary of the literature ever written: link

In short, if anyone actually knew how to make all babies sleep through the night, there wouldn't be hundreds of books on the subject. Whatever you decide to do, some people will be completely certain that you are making a terrible choice, and your friends' experiences may or may not have any relationship to your own. You won't know what works for you and your family until it's happening. You will most likely feel a need to make some decisions in advance, and then you will most likely change your mind. That's okay.

[debatethis]

Jun 25, 2015 7:34:43 GMT -5 lemoncupcake said:

And I don't think I'll be reading any pregnancy books. From what I've heard, a lot of them have good info but also have stuff about complications that could set off my anxiety.

I was planning to read some baby books further down the road like what debatethis was describing about typical sleep cycles, wonder weeks, growth spurts, etc.

Wonder Weeks is a good one. Happiest Baby on the Block is fairly well loved. It also comes in DVD form, so a nice resource when you're ready to pull your hair out and need some quick tips at 2am.

[debatethis]

Jun 25, 2015 7:29:53 GMT -5 lemoncupcake said:

Jun 24, 2015 22:28:40 GMT -5 debatethis said:

Learn about the fourth trimester, sleep cycles, and the developmental reasons why newborns aren't wired to sleep through the night (and why they really shouldn't, if you are breastfeeding).

Do you have any book recs for this type of info?

Oops I quoted your other post but I thought of another one. I am generally not a fan of this book (I found it really sanctimonious) but the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding talks about the reasons for why you should feed a newborn on demand rather than schedule their feedings. The TL;DR is that boobs only make as much milk as the baby needs and in the early weeks of BFing you really should be putting baby to breast as much as possible to stimulate production and establish supply. Scheduling baby feeding is bad for all the reasons listed above (dehydration and FTT) but also because it can cause your breast milk supply to tank.

There's also a leap/Wonder Week/growth spurt/whatever you want to call it around 3 weeks which is when BW suggests you start their method. So your baby is nursing more, awake more, growing a ton aaaaand you're going to tell him that he can only eat when you tell him he's hungry? Nope.

[mrsred09]

Wonder weeks and happiest baby on the block were great when I had DS. I'm not reading anything until after my US next Thursday and there is a real baby in my UTE.

[piperhalliwell]

Jun 25, 2015 8:53:56 GMT -5 mrsred09 said:

Wonder weeks and happiest baby on the block were great when I had DS. I'm not reading anything until after my US next Thursday and there is a real baby in my UTE.

This is how I feel. I'm dying to get started learning and planning for baby, but I just feel like I'm on hold until that first doctor's appointment confirms things a bit more.

[musicalsilver]

I'll probably re-read pertinent sections of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding. I like that one.

I will also re-read "The Birth Partner" when I get closer to being due. I liked that one, even if I couldn't get DH to read much/any of it ;-)

[flockofmoosen]

I also advise everyone to stay away from babywise. Go read the amazon reviews, for one. I read a few excerpts from the book itself and there is no science at all. They dont seem to understand newborn physiology at all.

I highly recommend "i'm a mom, now what?" I feel like it is under the radar but it is my favorite reference book for after baby is born. It takes u from newborn to 24 months, so im still using it. The advice and anecdotes are practical, safe, and at times humorous. They talk about everything from feeding breast or bottle, to sleep (favoring modified ferber for older babies but considering other methods), to bathing and general care, to development, play, and appropriate discipline by age. They talk about common illnesses, in the back. And the whole book is in full color with a ton of pictures. Love love love it.

[tburdin2010]

Hi all! I'm excited to read this thread since I love reading books about everything. I've added The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding to my Amazon registry

I'm curious though, do you think this book is one that would be just as useful on the kindle, or should I go for the print copy?

Thanks again ladies!

[mrsred09]

Jun 28, 2015 19:28:32 GMT -5 tburdin2010 said:

Hi all! I'm excited to read this thread since I love reading books about everything. I've added The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding to my Amazon registry

I'm curious though, do you think this book is one that would be just as useful on the kindle, or should I go for the print copy?

Thanks again ladies!

I found that these books were great on the iPad/kindle so I could read while nursing/feeding/pumping. Much easier to hold baby and kindle/iPad instead of an actual book.

[tburdin2010]

mrsred09, That is very true! I believe the book is over 500 pages. Quite a book to hold whilst breastfeeding

Thank you for the quick response.

[mrsmuq]

The book "Pregnancy Sucks: What to do when your miracle makes you miserable" by Joanne King. It's both informative and very funny.

[wicked22]

Does it count that I bought what to expect when your expecting last year and sitting on my bookshelf. I might also add I never even cracked it open I was to interesting my walking dead comic books, and the author Richelle Mead who had a few new releases last year.

[hham10]

Jun 25, 2015 7:34:43 GMT -5 lemoncupcake said:

And I don't think I'll be reading any pregnancy books. From what I've heard, a lot of them have good info but also have stuff about complications that could set off my anxiety.

I was planning to read some baby books further down the road like what debatethis was describing about typical sleep cycles, wonder weeks, growth spurts, etc.

This was me with ds and I'm glad I didn't. I think some can lead some ppl to too much anxiety. I think we managed alright.

[akraus2015]

Jun 29, 2015 8:55:58 GMT -5 mrsmuq said:

The book "Pregnancy Sucks: What to do when your miracle makes you miserable" by Joanne King. It's both informative and very funny.

Okay, I need to check this one out.  It sounds funny, and exactly like how I'm feeling this week!!

[akraus2015]

Jun 29, 2015 9:10:46 GMT -5 wicked22 said:

Does it count that I bought what to expect when your expecting last year and sitting on my bookshelf. I might also add I never even cracked it open I was to interesting my walking dead comic books, and the author Richelle Mead who had a few new releases last year.

I definitely didn't read it cover to cover, but I keep it on my nightstand and have been using it as a reference when I have questions about things.