After Emily's book-blog I've decided to bite the bullet and do something I've been meaning to do for a while. Book reviews.
What To Expect When You're Expecting (and WTE In The First Year)- these are helpful, but so is Google. There were several things in the first 3-4 months that I looked up in them and they were great reference but probably not something I would ever read cover to cover.
Girlfriends Guide (To Pregnancy, The First Year and Toddlers)- these are both good and bad. The author is very one-sided so it's not 'informative' about options and methods but the author has a fantastic ability to make you feel normal and even make you laugh at the most frustrating things.
No Cry Sleep Solution- it's true... and it mostly works. There may have been occasional crying in my house but it was minimal and not too painful to me.
Did anyone out there read anything else they found helpful or anything that didn't help them? I know a few of my readers are about to be first-time-mommies and I'm trying to collect as much knowledge to pass on as possible.
5 comments:
One of the biggest helps to me was "The Nursing Mother's Companion" by Kathleen Huggins. I got a free partial copy from my Ob/Gyn's office then bought the full book. It really helped me feel prepared. I was super nervous about nursing. I figured the birth would happen one way or the other, but I knew that nursing would take more work on my part, so this book really gave me a good 'leg up' on it.
You know I'm a fan of Baby 411 (and now Toddler 411). Other than that, I didn't/haven't really read much. Oh, Happiest Baby on the Block is worth reading. And I would advise any soon-to-be-mommies to read a book or two about sleep training BEFORE the baby arrives!
I've read lots on the hot subject of sleep. No Cry did not work for us. For the new mommies, read all you can before hand, but be prepared that your little one might not fall into the same pattern as everyone else. Not to be the harbinger of doom...just realize that every child is different when it comes to sleep. Amedeo is not a good sleeper. It isn't our fault, though I've had many different doctors tell me just to do this or just do that. You gotta do what feels right, or you do start to feel like a bad parent.
Sleep is easy for some babies and not for others, but everyone always has lots of advice. Good luck to the new mommies!
I also read the Mayo Clinic's Guide to Pg. It was good too.
I liked the book Heading Home with Your Newborn from Birth to Reality. If your pg and reading it, you really won't retain much. Just read it when you can after the birth.
Baby 411 has lots of useful info, but it's prejudiced and the doc who wrote it has her own parenting style. If you have another way of thinking, it just makes you mad to read it. (Particularly about sleep. They're really condescending on that subject.)
The Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp (spelling?) was wonderful when dealing with a newborn. We found the DVD more helpful than the book because he actually demonstrated his techniques that you may have had difficulty getting from just reading it.
Also, I liked the "What to Expect..." books for general information, but I would agree that the internet is more helpful. I also found that the "benchmarks" that they listed for each month in the "First Year" book were a little behind. I think that most kids hit those benchmarks a month or two before the book states.
I liked the Baby Whisperer for general info - she hits on a lot of topics. I liked Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child for sleep issues - I definitely agree that reading up on sleep training before baby comes would be soooo helpful.
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