tell me about the best pregnancy books

[mamapickle]

Thanks so much for your help mamas. I had forgotten about the Girlfriends Guide, I have that here somewhere, so I will dig that out for her. I think I will grab Dr. Sears books for her since they still come highly recommended, and I am also going to check out "Birthing from Within." I think she will appreciate the philosophies in these books.

And as for breastfeeding books, I have a couple of good ones to pass on to her. She already knows she will breastfeed...she has been a close witness to my 4 yrs of breastfeeding (so far!) with my two LOs, and she is a well-informed RN. And, yesterday she asked me to help her find a good sling!!! Now to convince her of cloth diapering...she is scared to CD a newborn, but is open to trying it when she runs out of all the gifted sposies. Yay, being an aunt-to-be is so much fun!!! Thank you to everyone for your help!

[SorenEdenTuckers]

I too loved the Dr. Sears books, but the one my hubby and I loved the most was "A Child is Born" because it had the fabulous color pictures of the embryo, fetus, etc at all of the stages. Pretty cool to look at and see what your baby may look like at various stages of the game.
It's not the most informative book, but the pictures are awesome.

[joyful mother]

Originally Posted by mamapickle Now to convince her of cloth diapering...she is scared to CD a newborn, but is open to trying it when she runs out of all the gifted sposies. Yay, being an aunt-to-be is so much fun!!! Thank you to everyone for your help!

And as the auntie to be you can do the shower and set up REAL diapering giving instead of sposies. I've heard some really cool ideas for that!

[Lisa-Rachelle]

I love, love, love Spiritual Midwifery and Labor and Childbirth by INA MAY GASKIN. Both those books completely changed my outlooks and thoughts about the entire process of conception, pregnancy and giving birth.

If I had any advice which to steer away from...I'd say take "What to Expect...." and throw that worthless thing in the garbage (lol). Full of all kinds of biased and out-of-date info...as well as some misleading "scare tactics" that might really freak out a young or first time mom. Just my two cents.

[mammamo]

Congrats Auntie!! I loved my Bestfeeding by Suzanne Arms, it has great pictures/diagrams! I have passed it around to all my co-workers/family that are pregnant.

I wish I knew that I was going to end up CD'ing with my baby, then I could have asked for some CD's instead of sposies, that would be a great gift.

[Mirasmom]

"Your pregnancy week by week" It's so GREAT!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS.../chrisficti-20

[susansabrina]

I loved "So that is what they're for! :Breastfeeding basics and "A Child is Born" by Lennart Nillson and Lars Hamberger. I am an OB nurse and both books are very informative, well organized, and relevant. They were also fun to read! My husbant got a real kick out of "So You're Going to be a Dad" by Peter Downey. This book is written by a man for men. It was very fun for him to read and was the only book I found that he was actually WILLING to read. LOL

[Monzie]

I loved Dr Sears' books and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth and a bunch of other ones (yes, I have a tendency to read everything!).

But something you might not have considered that I found totally invaluable were Baby Bargains and Girlfriends' Guide to Baby Gear. Because, honestly, I already knew a bunch of stuff about pregnancy and birth and I was planning to take a natural childbirth class anyway. But I was totally NOT prepared for all the crap you need to buy with your first baby....how half the stuff you think you need, you really don't...and all the weird stuff you never knew you needed. I carried both of those books with me when I set up my baby registry. I used them to find a quality, affordable crib with practical features. They gave me some idea of how many onesies and sleepers and little socks I should have. And what car seat was the best. And what sorts of stuff I could safely borrow from friends or buy at yard sales. Those were the most useful books I read. Seriously. All the pregnancy, labor, and delivery info I get from my midwives and my classes and the internet. But nobody tells you not to waste your money on a fancy baby quilt and matching "diaper stacker." Or that special-order cribs sometimes take 6 months to arrive....and, when they do, they're often bashed up from shipping. Or that some babies hate bouncy seats and swings, so you should wait to try 'em out on your kid before you actually buy one. Those "baby gear" books were a lifesaver for me and kept me from spending waaaaay too much money on junk I'll never use. I actually feel prepared and that's a good thing!

[5ferret2]

'Your Pregnancy Week by Week and I loved reading one called Fresh Milk (it's all about breastfeeding and it's culture/history). Congrats to your lil Sis!!