Parenting Book Recommendations

Re: Parenting Book Recommendations

• PineApple85 member

  May 2014 edited May 2014

  I didn't read any parenting books.  I did The Bump and followed that to FB pages that were recommended that looked like something that meshed with my developing parenting style.  I haven't heard bad reviews about either of those books but I will say that Happiest Baby on the Block as awesome as I've heard it is (and I almost got the DVD), we never needed it.  It's awesome with a high-needs infant or a colicky baby but (in my opinion) isn't really necessary otherwise.  So maybe keep it in mind for after LO gets here?  If you feel that you can benefit, get it then. 

  
  

  I can't say too much for instincts.  Trust your instincts, Mama.  I say that as a woman who never held a baby before she was 21 and disagrees with my parents' parenting styles.  (I love my parents, we just parent very differently)  You got this!

  

  
  

  
  

    
  

  
  

   

  Report1 Reply
• Loading the player...
• VanillaTwilight13 member

  May 2014

  Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina is awesome for learning a bit about how babies develop cognitively and what actually works for bringing out the best in your baby. Also, Baby 411 for brief, to the point, advice for numerous facets of parenting a baby (eating, sleep, etc.). I've read a lot, because I also like to learn as much as I can, but those by far were my favorites.

  
  

  
  

  
  

  Report3 Reply
• missnacholover member

  May 2014

  DH downloaded Happiest Baby on the Block, but I have yet to get into it.  I probably should start, huh? 
  

  *********
  
  
  
  
  
  

                                 
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

  Report1 Reply
• hiketheworld member

  May 2014

  I bought the Happiest Baby on the Block but haven't started it yet. I'm also reading a book on breastfeeding which is sorta parenting in that feeding obviously involves a lot if your time with the baby. I'm planning on getting more. I think the more you know the better as you can make informed choices about what you want to do. I'm going to read up on attachment parenting and different discipline approaches eventually. I was spanked as a child but I have a friend who has a professional degree in child development and says it isn't the best approach so I want to learn more about current research and recommended methods for different ages.

  

  Report2 Reply
• mb314 member

  May 2014

  I liked the Happiest Baby on the Block, but honestly, if you can get/rent the DVD/video it is the same information and it is a lot quicker to read.  The book gets repetitive.  I just pick up the Happiest Toddler on the Block to help me with DS and his tantrums, but I haven't started it yet. 
  
  I also read the No Cry Sleep Solution, and Dr. Sears' The Baby Book.  While some of Dr. Sears' recommendations were a little too "attachment parenting" for me, I overall liked his philosophy. 
  

  

     
  

  

   

  Report2 Reply
• momtojad member

  May 2014

  I read the no-cry sleep solution to my baby when he wouldn't sleep, but it was a useless book and we had to CIO anyway.  Parenting is an instinct not a learned skilled.

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Report0 Reply
• KTgator member

  May 2014

  I love all the dr sears books there's one for pregnancy, breastfeeding, birth, and a great reference guide for birth to age 2. I always give that last one as a baby shower gift bc it has a wealth of knowledge and overview on pregnancy, birth, bfing, babywearing, and sleeping as well as info on all sorts of things up to age 2.
  
  Happy reading!

  Report1 Reply
• lauren_m member

  May 2014

  Eat Sleep Poop! Written by a dad pediatrician, and it's an easy, practical read. Loved it!

  Report1 Reply
• AnnieRoo13 member

  May 2014

  Thanks ladies! I realize that parenting is something you learn by doing (hence what I said in my original post) but I love reading and learning as much as I can on a topic in order to be well informed and babies are no different IMO. In reality it's no different than having a question about pregnancy and asking this board for an answer- some might say pregnancy should be intuitive since it is something our bodies are supposed to do, but that doesn't mean we don't have questions.
  
  Thanks again for all the recommendations, I'm going to start ordering on Amazon!

  Report0 Reply
• highbornhunter member

  August 2014

  Bumping an old post here, I started thinking about parenting books this morning.  I've hit the point with pregnancy and birthing books where I feel like I'm reading a lot of the same information over again.  For those of you who had books you hadn't read yet, or were ordering books, what were your favorites?  What would you recommend?

  

  
  

  N14 January Siggy Challenge - What Sucks About Work

  
  

  
  

  Report0 Reply
• MuchlyGen member

  August 2014

  I love Happiest Baby on the Block, and I second the Dr. Sears recommendation: The Baby Book particularly. It's just nice for those first sleep-deprived month, to be able to look something up, wild-eyed at 4am, to be told that what your baby is doing is completely normal, haha!

  
  

  
   

  
  

  Report2 Reply
• AnnieRoo13 member

  August 2014

  This was my thread! I haven't actually bought any books yet other than a copy of "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" which I was NOT a fan of- it seemed very contradictory. In one paragraph it would state that while using the methods there should be no crying and then on the same page it would say that some crying is necessary. There were a few helpful tips and I think I will use some of the information, but I wasn't really impressed by it.

  I was giving a few books by friends and have started reading those. I'm actually finding them more interesting than pregnancy books at this point. I am about halfway through "What to Expect in the First Year" and I actually really like it, which is strange because I didn't like "What to Expect when you're Expecting" at all. It has quite a bit of basic information in it- like how to bathe a baby- that may seem a bit obvious, but I've actually found really helpful.

  Report1 Reply