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1st Trimester
Best Books to read for 1st time mom?!
Hi Ladies!
My DH and I just found out we're expecting our first baby, due in Nov. 2012!! (Yayy!!) 
We are super excited and want to get our learn on. (lol) What books do you recommend? I'm looking for a book that details what's happening to my body each week/month, fetal development, things to avoid (ingredients, etc), delivery, eating healthy, education, etc.
Also, i'd like to get my hubs a book made "just for dads."
T.I.A!
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Re: Best Books to read for 1st time mom?!
I like Your Pregnancy:Week by Week by Dr. Glade Curtis. I got it at Barnes and Noble. It breaks your pregnancy down by week, and gets straight to the point.
I actually have this book along with What to Expect... and 3 others for sale for litteraly just the cost of shipping on Ebay right now (set to end in two days). I am nearing the end of my second pregnancy and want to pass these books on. Take a look!!!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/320866112308?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649#ht_500wt_1204
Make a pregnancy ticker
This is the book I really liked.
Belly Laughs is a great book for when you are further along and have experienced some of your pregnancy, and still have some left. It's not what to expect but it is really friggin' hilarious.
Good Luck
FOR DADS: The Baby Owner's Manual. Reads like a technical manual and it's hilarious but very informative.
I read a lot of different ones for moms. All were good.
My midwives have all said that the book What to Expect When Your Expecting should be tossed in the trash. :-) The title should be What to Expect When Your Worry About Everything That Could Go Wrong.
My absolute favorite book is the first pregnancy related book I ever read, and admittedly, it's "crunchy" and "hippy". It's Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin. It has beautiful positive natural birth stories, and also goes through the stages of pregnancy and of labor. It does a great job of describing the stages of labor and what exactly is happening with your body.
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth are both excellent books.
The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger is a book you should definitely consider.
My absolute favorite is "Pregnancy Day by Day" by DK Publishing. (You can find it on Amazon!) It breaks the entire pregnancy down day by day giving you info about the baby's growth, helpful info and tips, etc.
I used it for my first pregnancy and pulled it back out again for this one. It is really informative and I look forward to looking at it every few days to see what is going on in there.
"What to Expect" can be a little crunchy. Those books (I had "...Before You're Expecting" and have "...When You're Expecting") really do focus a lot on the negative things, like things that affect maybe .5% of pregnant women. Also, the diet they give you is slightly ridiculous - 8 servings of whole grains per day??
They also do this "question and answer" thing that is supposed to be casual conversation, but they really only cover super specific questions ("My husband is Jewish and African-American and I'm between the ages of 40 and 43, what are the chances I'm having a girl?") or super obvious semi-questions ("OMG my boobs are so big! Is this normal?").
That being said, I don't have a good rec for moms. I look online for a lot of stuff (this is my first pregnancy). If I had a good book, I'd def read it, but I just haven't found one yet.
For dads, my husband is reading "Dude, You're Going to Be a Dad!" and he said he likes it. My friend also really recommends the book her husband read, called "She's Having A Baby and I'm Having a Breakdown." LOL
Hmmm...I think our definitions of crunchy must be different. When I say something is crunchy, it's a cute reference to granola...meaning it's 'hippy'. So when I say a book is crunchy, it's because it gives women information on homebirthing, on using alternative approaches to medicine (herbs, etc.), promotes baby-wearing, cloth diapering, etc.. What to Expect When Your Expecting is definitely not that.
I do have What to Expect For the First Year, or something like that....it goes over potential medical issues and what doctor recommendations are (fevers, other illnesses, bumping their heads, etc..). It's not too bad, but only because I used it as a general reference to see what the doctor recommendation would be. I rarely followed their recommendations, but I liked having the info (I love having information, LOL!).
Haha, my definition of "crunchy" is more negative - like, "ugh, that situation is all crunchy, you might want to stay away from that." I guess playing off the crunchy/smooth opposition? I agree that "What to Expect" is definitely NOT granola or hippy.
The "What to Expect" books are a decent place to start, I guess...they just can get bogged down with information that most people don't need (or need to worry about). But they can just cause worry about things that aren't helpful or necessary. I mean, the last thing a pregnant woman needs is to get all stressed about something unnecessarily, right?
So...my hubby is the kind of guy that doesn't like reading something you give to him. (a bit of a rebel if you will...haha) That being said, he loves anything funny. Would "Dude, you're going to be a dad?" be the kind of book I could give to him?
It's our first!