Any good baby books/magazines?

J&D2007

After waiting soooo long for a baby, I feel like I should have some clue what to expect and what to do. Well, after looking at some registry suggestions, I realize I have no clue. I realize I will learn as I go, but have you read anything good to make you feel more prepared? I read 'what to expect when you're expecting' and that's not what I was looking for. More like 'what to do when you bring your baby home!'. Breast feeding suggestions, sleeping suggestions, etc etc. Any thoughts?

lawmom747

With DD we relied a lot on Baby 411 (especially since she was sick a lot when she went to daycare at 3 months) and What To Expect the First Year. 

turquoisequeen

The lucie's list website has some useful info on it I think (although I haven't put it into practice yet) and we are taking a breastfeeding class that I hope will be very informative and then of course getting time with a LC while in hospital.

gsancho

I haven't been good about baby books...but I did get Baby Bargains and found it really useful when we were putting together our registry.  Even if I didn't follow every suggestion, it helped me understand what features I wanted, prioritize what to get when, and even figure out what the point of certain furniture/toys is - b/c I have no freakin' clue what I'm doing.

1220winterbride

I liked Expecting Better , Bringing up Bébé

LOVE Mayo Clinic Guide

...and I have not had the chance to put it into practice yet, but The Happiest Baby on the Block offers practical methods like swaddling to calm the baby.

There aren't a ton of mags, easiest to find are Fit Pregnancy or Pregnancy and Newborn

lawmom747

I second The Happuest Baby on the Block. Used that method with DD too.

turquoisequeen

Loved bringing up bebe!

J&D2007

gsancho said:

I haven't been good about baby books...but I did get Baby Bargains and found it really useful when we were putting together our registry.  Even if I didn't follow every suggestion, it helped me understand what features I wanted, prioritize what to get when, and even figure out what the point of certain furniture/toys is - b/c I have no freakin' clue what I'm doing.

That's how I felt when I first looked at registry stuff. I have no idea what to buy because I don't know what some of it even does!

Justone13

The blog lucie's list was great for helping me make up a list of things we need to register for. She even has a section about breast feeding which I found pretty good.

Happiest baby on the block (video) was awesome. I feel better at having my LO now that I know some ways of calming the baby.

pblge

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding are considered the gold standards in that domain. Personally I read the first and decided that it was way too much until I actually had a baby and breast milk. Getting the basics was important, but beyond that there are too many unknowns to take in much info. Definitely try to take a class, even if it's just a brief session with a LC.

I have Happiest Baby and the AAP Baby's First Year books. The latter was recommended by many docs to us, but it's not a lot of fun to read. Very basic with lots of text. There's a movie version of Happiest Baby that I think might be an easier way to take in the info. It's a pretty basic set of ideas he's got in that book, padded with lots of extraneous anecdotes and questionable anthropology. Dr. Sears's Everything You Need to Know book is good, but there's some controversial info in there, as he's an attachment advocate and takes some stands that not everyone likes, such as about vaccinations. We've also heard good things about The Baby's Owner's Manual, but we haven't gotten it yet.

For the birth process, and a bit about the postpartum period, The Birth Partner is far and away the best book I have encountered. If you're planning on going med-free I would call it essential reading. She's got one written for the moms, but this is one both DH and I are reading. He says he's planning on reading it twice before baby comes (but I'm skeptical).

LittleRocket

I've been liking Panic Free Pregnancy.

Mrs.AmyDylan

**saif**

I really liked "attached at the heart" (parenting)

And "the womanly art of breastfeeding" (BFing). 

And not to start any sort of debate read up on vaccinations and circumcision so you have and intelligent and firm opinion when someone blabs their unsolicited opinion on you or tries to sway you with scare tactics. 

J&D2007

Thanks ladies, I downloaded two of your suggestions so far and will start reading uo soon!