Recommended Reading

purpleteacher82

I have seen some pregnancy/baby book suggestions in other threads, but thought it would be nice to have them all on one place. What are some books you recommend for pregnancy and beyond? Are there any great books out there for dads too? 

kapowfal

I know "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin has popped up before. I have read it as well. I skipped the birth stories at the beginning - they were a little too crunchy granola for me.

Hypnobabies for a meditative, mind-over-matter pain management labor. I got into this a little late, but it took me to 8 cm without an epidural. I plan on rededicating myself to this soon.

This is a great thread idea, and I'm looking forward to additional books. *Gets Kindle wish list ready*

lovesclimbing

What to Expect was good, although I do understand the complaints that it can focus too much on potential complications. 

I liked Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth, the second half. I found the birth stories in the first half to be kind of weird. 

The Birth Partner is great for dads. My H didn't want to read it, so I read parts of it aloud to him. Most helpful was the chapter that went through each stage of labor with sections on how the mom might be feeling, how you might be feeling, what the mom might be doing, what you can do, and what the medical person will be doing. 

I also thought Birth Without Fear was good. 

meggyme

Copied from other thread: I suggest Baby Wise. Boiled down into one phrase it's Eat, Play, Sleep and in the first several months it made a world of difference, if for no other reason that it made it easier to figure out why my baby was crying. And as she grew up instead of a schedule I had rotations, and each part would shorten or lengthen: she'd take less time to eat, she'd be able to stay awake and play longer, and she'd take longer naps. They went from 1.5 hr rotations to 4-5 hour rotations.

mamakate1616

Definitely recommend Mindful Birthing, I got to 10cm unmedicated with breathing exercises and 2 short prayer mantras. I still use the breathing exercise when I can’t fall asleep! 

maggiemadeit

For birthing I really liked the Bradley Method book. I wasn’t willing to sign up for the whole class, but the book was great, and I was able to labor without pain medication for over 24h. 

For babies I liked Secrets of a Baby Whisperer. The only trouble was that as soon as I went back to work I wasn’t really in charge of my daughter’s daily schedule anymore. I felt like it might be more useful for people who can stay with their kids longer. 

flyingmombula

Happiest baby on the block. Mayo Clinic guide to a healthy pregnancy. During my first I read a bunch of them. The girlfriends guide to pregnancy, sh*tty mom, and it’s really 10 months were all pretty good. 

swanbrooner

Happiest Baby on the Block was a decent read, but I think you could study up on the 5 S’s and skip the book. The 5 S’s are invaluable!

LoboandSuperNinja

Expecting Better. Hands down my favorite book to give all newly pregnant mommas.

peacebubblebaby

For pregnancy and birth:
Ina Mays guide to childbirth
birth partner
a other vote for Hypnobabies (but that’s a text book for a class, so does it count??)
(I know I have one more I usually recommend, but I can’t remember it...saving this place to be edited later lol)

and for post birth:
the womanly art of breastfeeding
happiest baby on the block

diaphena

Mayo clinic guide to a healthy pregnancy is great for just simple, straightforward info on pregnancy, baby's development week by week, and birth. I enjoy reading the weekly updates to DH. I bought The Expectant Father for DH and he says it's been pretty helpful.... Definitely a less dense book than the mayo clinic guide, haha.

sejica

Parents Need to Eat Too is my go-to new baby cookbook. It has tons of great nesting recipes as well as easy family friendly recipes for 6 months +. I attribute the barley water recipe to my milk coming in strong starting at around 48 hrs after my c-section.

shrub

I echo Happiest Baby on the Block had a lot of helpful information. I watched the DVD instead of reading the book and gathered all the information I needed from there. It's a must read/watch for fourth trimester.

violetmarie61516

This is a great thread!  I am currently reading (mostly skimming) What to Expect and I'm not real thrilled with it.  I feel like a lot of it I already know.  Maybe it's just from althe fertility treatments/experience but I am looking for something more detailed and in depth.

meggyme

@maggiemadeit is there a specific Bradley method book you recommend? And I've heard that method is very husband-coached, which isn't MH's style, would it still be beneficial?

maggiemadeit

@meggyme This is the one that I read. My husband really wanted to be the “coach” but he also refused to read the book, so basically I boiled down the key points for him. But in the moment he was more support and I kind of coached myself with what I learned from the book. 

flyingmombula

I will add ‘So That’s What They’re For’— has lots of good info about breastfeeding, including diagrams for latch etc.. another one to read before baby comes. 

chocolatelemons

@meggyme I didn't read all of Baby Wise, but my SIL gave it to us when we were struggling that first month or so and it was really helpful.  The schedules were great and gave us something to look forward to.

I also agree with Happiest Baby on the Block.