Recommended Books

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
So That's What They're For! and the Sears' The Breastfeeding Book
No Cry Sleep Solution
Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron - on my second copy of this one.

Congratulations! I really liked The Baby Book by Drs. Sears. I also found Baby Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields useful to find the best and cheapest baby items. If you're going to breastfeed, I would recommend The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding from La Leche League International.

The three I refer back to a lot are: Happiest Baby on the Block by Harvey Karp, Nanny Wisdom by Justine Walsh and The Baby Book by William Sears.

Hi there. Contrary to the opinion stated below, I DO recommend Babywise - it suggests helpful schedule & ways to teach your child about trust. Our son was sleeping through the night at Two months, and people always say how good he is, well, that comes from loving lessons. A lot of people say this book recommends that you just leave your baby alone and don't do anything when they cry - I don't think these people read the book at all. The books in these series are helpful if you are interested in guiding, teaching, & helping your baby to be a healthy functioning child raised up out of love. You, in the end, are the parent, and have the final say in how you raise your children. I found the books in these series to be very helpful.

I received a book called So That's What They're For. I don't remember the author, it is about breast feeding and it was great. It was a very honest book and funny too.

touchpoints is a good book. I think the author is Brazelton but I am probably spelling that wrong. he is a doctor. Also has a book for older kids. Also how to talk so your kids will listen and listen so your kids will talk.

I found a couple of books useful. Baby Einstein Mirror Me! My son just stared at the pictures and the mirror. Any books with Black and White pictures are great for the newborn. They are drawn to the contrast. There is a book with activities and games for certain ages - "Baby Play" by Gymboree. I also picked up a baby book to record pregancy records as well as first teeth, doctor visits etc. It was called Baby Chronicles. There is a Baby week by week it is interesting but I wouldn't suggest reading one week at a time. They grow so fast do some things sooner or later than others. If you pick up the book, read a month at a time.

Hi S.! You are due two days after me :) Congratulations! This is my 3rd child. In raising my other two, I really like the "What to Expect" line of books. "What to Expect the First Year" would be the one you need. It has always answered every single question that I could have possible thought up. Good luck!

I wish I had gotten more books for the toddler years.

Birthing books were great by preparing for the mobile stages would have been very valuable to read up on before we hit that point!

So smart of you to think of this!!
We really liked the book The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Teaching You to Ask the Right Questions to figure out how to teach our baby to sleep at night. There is also a good one about how babies sleep by Weisbluth (Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child). He has good info about typical sleep schedules for babies; however he advocates "crying it out" which didn't work so well for my son.
It's also nice to get a couple of books about baby play ideas. We liked Gymboree Baby Play by Maci and Liderman.
For breastfeeding, I'd recommend going to the book store, camping out in the breastfeeding section, and just finding a book you like. We liked Breastfeeding for Dummies.
Best of luck getting ready for little one! Congratulations!
:)

I always enjoyed the books for activities for young babies. Brilliant beginnings was my favorite, I also really enjoyed Baby PLay by Gymboree. They are filled with age appropriate activities from newborn to one yr and beyond to stimulate brain development, gross and fine motor skills etc.
Also if you plan to breastfeed maybe grab a juicy fiction or two that you don't normally get around to reading. After I had my twins I spent so much time in a rocking chair nursing that I actually got to enjoy some "fun" reading b.c I had nothing else to do while nursing (other than gaze lovingly at my precious babies, which is great but your neck starts to hurt after awhile:) I also read out loud out of my own books to them when I ran out of things to say to them, its really good for them to hear your voice even if its just words from a romance novel:) Plus I noticed after they were born I was just so exhausted I really couldn't concentrate on something non-fiction, you'll probably notice that at the end of your pregnancy too, you have less blood in the brain during the last few weeks of preg and the first few weeks after so concentrating on anything important is frustrating so its nice to have something that doesn't require a lot of brain power to enjoy.
Good luck
K. H

I recommend Natural Hospital Birth to anyone looking to gain control of their birth plan and feel empowered and beautiful. I really liked it and so have all my friends.

I love The Baby Whisperer series. The third book, The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems, is my favorite. My son is 6 weeks old and very close to sleeping through the night due to those books.

Congrat's on your pregnancy!

I really like the Dr. Sears books. I have several and they are all good, but I really liked "The Birth Book". He covers all the bases for a natural delivery, and goes over all the medical stuff if you choose to have the epidural etc.

I also have "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" which I read before I had my first son. For sleep issues, I've read and liked the approach of "The No Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley.

What a great question. I hope you get some good responses.

J.
Mom to Joey (6 months) and Charlie (2 years)

S. -

Congratulations!!! Two of my favorite books are Help, My Baby Came Without Instructions by Blythe Lipman and The Mom Book with 4,278 tips for Moms by Stacy DeBroff.

Smiles - S.

Sorry...I know this request is kinda old but I haven't been on here much because I had surgery...now am trying to catch up. I think it is awesome that you want helpful books. My advice is to get some just for your enjoyment. You will need some "YOU" time and good books are a great way to escape. Best of luck. God bless. L.

I know one NOT to recommend!
It is called Baby Wise and it really messed us up.
S. J

I agree with the previous poster about the dr sears books, especially the baby book, and even the discipline book. I also found the no cry sleep solution helpful. I also picked up several little books about games to play with your baby, i think one is a gymboree book.
I thought the what to expect books weren't that great. Kinda vague and open ended like a newspaper horoscope.

Baby 411 has been my bible!!! I highgly recommend it. Good luck!

I got the "The Nursing Mother's Companion" for a gift and it was a wonderful resource for me as I nursed both of my children. Nursing was often more difficult than I had anticipated and I don't know what I would have done without this book. The review below is from about.com:

Kathleen Huggins wrote this classic text for breastfeeding mother's. In all the books I've read I find this one the most helpful. Not only does it cover the basics, but it breaks the information down into small pieces so you can read it in the middle of the night while trying to get an answer without having to wade through many other answers that aren't relevant. Has great drawings!

Definitely "The Nursing Women's Companion" as another mom suggested. It was an awesome book that I read a few times. First before my son was born, and then I read it as a guide as I went along. It helped me plan for continuing nursing when I returned to work as well. Without that book, I would not have made it through the trials and tribulations of nursing. My son is 13 months old and we still nurse. As a mom who works outside of the home, we beat all the odds. Good luck and it's so much fun when they're newborns because you get a lot of time to read while nursing! Now, as long as he is awake, I'm chasing him all over the place!

I love "The Baby Book" by Dr. Sears. It really covers EVERYTHING, from breastfeeding to sleeping to potty training...it even gives direction on what to do with certain illnesses so that you aren't calling the doctor for everything! I highly recommend this book.

Congrats!!

OK... if you buy only buy one book, make SURE it's "The Happiest Baby on the Block"... if you'd like to go even older, get "The Happiest Toddler on the Block"

No joke, the Baby one SAVED MY LIFE! My son was incredible colicky, and this book showed us how to calm him down. Now I have a 4 month old (who has NO colic) and the tips and tricks in that book have helped with him. More than that, it's just a good book. It talks about sleeping, breastfeeding, and all that stuff. It is TRUELY excellent. The Toddler one talks about the best way to handle toddlers.

Seriously. They are GREAT, and they are even fun to read.

Another good book just to have on hand is "The Portable Peditrian"... it's from birth to age 5. It goes into more detail, and is super good to have handy.

Good luck!

The BEST baby and toddler books I have ever read (and I read a LOT) are the "Happiest Baby on the Block" and the "Happiest Toddler on the Block" by Harvey Karp (I think.) I read them both when my 1st kid was like 8 months old and they are so useful! It changed the way I have been looking at the first 3 months of my 2nd's life and it has gone so much better! Also, the advice for sleeping and getting a kid to stay in bed is awesome- it worked miracles. Now my 23 month old actually GOES up to bed on his own at bedtime and stays in his big kid bed all night. Those books are great!

Hi S., I have a few recommendations for you.

1. The Baby Book, by Dr. William Sears, or any of his books, really. He is both a pediatritian and experienced gentle parent. His wife, Martha, mother of their 6(?) kids, and lactation consultant helps write the books, and has written at least one of her own.

2. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, ed. La Leche League Int'l. This a great book for breastfeeding. It is a little biased toward mother staying home with baby, but there is also useful information about returning to work. . I bought The Everything Breastfeeding Book for a friend - haven't read it, but at the store I seemed to like it even a little better than TWAB, I think because it had a bit more information on returning to work, which I'm sure she will.

3. Skip the "What to Expect When..." books.

4. There are two books on infant/children's health on my shelf that get used regularly - everytime my son has some new symptom I don't understand. They are Naturally Healthy Babies and Children by Aviva Jill Romm, and Natural Baby and Childcare by Dr. Lauren Federer. Romm is an herbalist, so her book contains *lots* of herbal recommendations for helping your child be well. Dr. Federer is, I believe, a naturopathic physician. Her book offers Preventative, Contemporary, Homeopathic, Gemmotherapeutic (no idea what that is really) . . . multiple possible courses of treatment for common conditions, which is nice because you can compare possible remedies side by side.

5. Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves by Naomi Aldort. This is an amazing book about Gentle Discipline - for your child and for you. Aldort offers real-life examples from her counselling sessions (she's a family therapist) which help put her S.A.L.V.E. formula to use. I really believe that she is helping me become a better parent, friend, person.

Best Wishes!
Ray

I have enjoyed the "Love and Logic" series of books and have found them helpful in raising my son. They offer parenting techniques and make a lot of sense.

When I was pregnant, I read: Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years (Paperback)
by Jim Fay (Author), Charles Fay (Author)

First I need to say Congrats and September is a geat time to have a baby. My birthday is the 28th and my daughters is the 26th (and Shelby could not have been more planned..LOL)

As for books, I really enjoyed the What to expect books, from pregnancy to the first years, etc.

Good luck!!

Hi S.,
Congrats! This book is not so much for child rearing as it is for stuff. Baby Bargins is what is is called. Great book!!! Info on everything you need or will need as baby grows to child. I swore by it w/ my first son (almost 4) and now due w/ boy #2 in August, I bought the updated version. Hope this helps!