Product Spotlight Series: Pregnancy Books

Re: Product Spotlight Series: Pregnancy Books

• blaf322 member

  January 2020

  I used this one (Panic Free Pregnancy) with DD and have used it again this time, as a reference. It's straight forward and gives facts/studies to back up claims. So, it's not just going to say, "no, you can't take a piping hot bath." It tells you why it's bad and backs statements up with data. Additionally, for on the fence things, like drinking alcohol, it gives you the facts and info on the studies around the topic and leaves it up to you to decide what's best for you/your baby: https://www.amazon.com/Panic-Free-Pregnancy-Separates-Medications-Expecting/dp/0399529896/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3QB30PBFW6WX9&keywords=panic+free+pregnancy&qid=1577989318&sprefix=panic+free+p%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-4
  
  My close friend also recommends this one and it seems like it's similar in approach to Panic Free Pregnancy: https://www.amazon.com/Expecting-Better-Conventional-Pregnancy-Wrong/dp/0143125702/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2FVF5O4UZNTW0&keywords=expecting+better&qid=1577989355&sprefix=expecting+%2Caps%2C187&sr=8-3

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• JessDG member

  January 2020

  I really enjoyed Expecting Better by Emily Osher.  She talks about a lot of pregnancy topics we often feel unsure about and presents her opinions with data to back them up.  It is a really interesting perspective. I'm a Statistics teacher...so obviously I loved the stats involved
  
   Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--and What You Really Need to Know https://www.amazon.com/dp/0143125702/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_LaKdEbMXH8CES
  
  Also, I feel like it is the cliche book, but someone gave me the What to Expect when Expecting book and I certainly cracked it open a few times to make sure whatever my body was doing was normal!  🤣 There are usually tons of these at used book stores and consignment sales.  

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• coffeeandcookies84 member

  January 2020

  I’m really having a hard time getting into pregnancy related books this time around, but I did start reading Expecting Better, so far so good. It’s a nice easy read! And with DS (first pregnancy), I was all about reading the clinical books. I picked up the Mayo Clinics Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy and really enjoyed it.
  
  once I’m finished up with Expecting Better, I think I might try to read more about the birthing experiences. Maybe will consider Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth

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• blaf322 member

  January 2020

  @coffeeandcookies84 If it makes you feel any better, I didn't really read any pregnancy books with DD. I just used my book as a quick search reference and that's about it! I can't imagine I'll read any more this time.
  
  @JessDG I never picked up What to Expect b/c I always heard it was kind of a fear mongering-type book... if that makes sense. I take it you didn't have that experience with it?
  

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• coffeeandcookies84 member

  January 2020

  @blaf322 I hear ya! Even with Expecting Better, I’m only reading the sections that apply to me. 

  
  

  I feel like I should fill my time with reading up on toddler behaviours instead 🤪

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• stlbuckeye132 member

  January 2020

  I bought the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy with my first and what I read of it was good, but I honestly didn't read the whole thing or probably even half of it. I got most of my info from other moms in my BMB, google, my birthing classes, etc. I don't plan on reading any actual books this time.
  
  I did find this really helpful though - not a pregnancy book, but a baby gear book. I liked having an actual book to flip through and highlight and whatnot, and I found it really helpful. (Although the title is somewhat misleading because some of the recommended items are $$$$, but it always gives a more cost-effective recommendation too.)
  https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Bargains-Secrets-Saving-strollers/dp/188939257X/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=baby+bargains&qid=1577995504&sr=8-2
  
  @coffeeandcookies84 are you wanting to have an unmedicated birth? That was what I wanted with DD (and I was fortunate with a relatively quick and easy labor and delivery, so it worked out according to my "plan"), and I read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I found some of it helpful, but I also rolled my eyes a lot. It's veryyyy crunchy, a bit too much for my taste, and I felt it had some fear tactic type sections re: hospitals and interventions, so I took a lot of what she said with a grain of salt. 

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• meanjellybean member

  January 2020

  Another vote for Expecting Better! I read the whole thing and found it helpful to have facts and her own personal experiences. 
  
  And this is just my experience, but I kind of wish I had done more reading (not necessarily books) on baby sleep. Like what to expect, what is normal for each stage, etc. I bought Precious Little Sleep by Alexis Dubief but it was after we had already been having sleep issues for a long time, and I wish I'd known more before. She also has a blog and a podcast. I found the blog the most helpful, but the book is more comprehensive (and funny and easy to read and doesn't make you feel like a shitty parent like some books).
  
  @coffeeandcookies84 I know you're kind of joking about the toddler behaviors, but I'll put in a plug anyway lol. Janet Lansbury is a "parent educator" who has a blog (and books, but I feel like the blog is helpful enough) about what she calls "respectful parenting" that I think has some good tips. To be honest, I find her tone and her general schtick insufferable and she definitely DOES make you feel like a bad parent but I do like some of the things she has to say about staying calm and letting your kid experience their feelings, whatever they are. It's definitely not for everyone (like i said, it's not 100 percent for me either), but if you're ever bored, check it out: www.janetlansbury.com 

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• stlbuckeye132 member

  January 2020

  @meanjellybean omg, thank you for saying you find Janet Lansbury's tone insufferable and can make you feel like a bad parent. There are several in my other BMB who swear by her, so I listened to a few of her podcasts a while back. I couldn't handle it. She seemed so condescending to some parents who wrote in about their issues, and I think it's completely unreasonable to think you can always be "unruffled" 100% of the time. I should maybe give her another shot sometime, but... I don't really want to haha

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• blaf322 member

  January 2020 edited January 2020

  @meanjellybean yesss to the reading up on sleep! It's the best thing I spent time reading up on and 100% saved my sanity in the early days. A friend on DD's BMB followed PLS and really liked it!
  
  I've mentioned it before, but we followed Moms On Call and I'm so obsessed with it. I, hands down, have the best sleeper in all of my BMB. A lot of that is on her. But it definitely started with this book's method and schedules. 
  
  Here's a link if anyone wants to learn more about MoC: https://momsoncall.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=branded&gclid=Cj0KCQiAxrbwBRCoARIsABEc9sjQ0WHO9oKVTZjgaOBF6kGNfImluyzjK_MDbphP_aJ5-pYpC-F8QRIaAp2REALw_wcB
  
  
  ETA on MoC- I adjusted some things to make it what works best for us. For example, I wasn't ready to let DD CIO when they suggested it. So I waited until I felt both of us could handle it. And, even then, our goal wasn't to stop MOTN wakes... we just wanted her to be able to go down easier after them and that's what worked for us. My friend used it too and has 2 amazing sleepers, as well.

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• blaf322 member

  January 2020

  @coffeeandcookies84 omg... I should also be reading up on toddler behavior. This morning was AWFUL with DD. I totally lost my cool and have been in a funk, all day, because of it
  

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• modoodles member

  January 2020

  @blaf322 thanks for sharing the MoC! It will definitely be something I check out. My first three were AMAZING sleepers- 8pm-6/7am from 12 weeks or so on. My 4th was a terrible sleeper. He didn't sttn until he was 4. 😳 Another terrible sleeper is one of my biggest fears this time. 
  

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• coffeeandcookies84 member

  January 2020

  @stlbuckeye132 good to know! I actually also had a unmediated birth with DS, and hope for another this time around. I was scared and anxious though, so I want to try and educate myself more, if that makes sense!
  
  @meanjellybean thanks! I actually have her book and have listened to a few of her podcasts/follow her in FB. I felt the same re: tone, I should give her another try though. I think I’m just mostly taking a lazy approach, but DS is getting quite whiny and doesn’t always listen (all normal toddler behaviour), so I need to figure out a few tricks to help us along.

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• blaf322 member

  January 2020

  @modoodles Honestly, I'm supper terrified of having a bad sleeper b/c I feel like we used up all of our good sleeper juju on DD lol... I'm clinging on to the hope that this book was the biggest reason she was a good sleeper because it wasn't natural at first... there was some work to it, for all of us.
  
  But, as she got older, she would go to bed at 7pm and, if we left her alone, would sleep until 2:30pm the next day (waking up once around 10am and chit chatting in her crib and then right back to sleep). We had blood work done and were about to go see a sleep specialist to make sure there wasn't something wrong when she just, all of a sudden, started waking up at more and more normal times (noon, then 10am, then 9, and so on). She's up by 8:30am at the latest now.
  

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• modoodles member

  January 2020

  @blaf322 I would LOVE to have your DD long sleep habits right now. But I can understand how that would be concerning! 

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• blaf322 member

  January 2020

  @modoodles lol... same! We totally loved it. 
  

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• meanjellybean member

  January 2020

  @stlbuckeye132 and @coffeeandcookies84 I still hate-listen to her podcast sometimes, but get worried my eyes will get stuck from rolling them so hard while listening 

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• mehugg member

  January 2020

  I'm a FTM and on the early side of my social circle and family wading into all of this, so I've been coping with that and navigating secrecy and few Drs appts of the first tri by reading a LOT. 
  
  I have the Mayo Clinic guide and have felt it's a helpful like reference guide, and inrwad each week's blurb when we get to it. I've also read ahead on labor and delivery because it scares me and I need to get my mind right about it haha
  
  I'm also reading and loving "Like a Mother; A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy" by Angela Garbes. Like @blaf322 shared, it provides a helpful examination of the science behind all the pregnancy recommendations we hear and empowrs readers to make their own decisions despite the mountain of mom-shaming out there. I love it and couldn't recommend it highly enough.
  
  A friend also just leant me her copy of "Mama Natural" which I was skeptical about at first because I don't consider myself all that "natural"/organic/etc, I plan on having an epidural during L&D, so I wasn't sure if this was for me, but I've actually been devouring it. It's also non-judgmental and provides interesting info and tips for managing symptoms (given how many meds we can't take right now!) And the decisions we have to make. It's all "take it or leave it" - I very quickly thumbed through the "finding your midwife/doula" chapter but thoroughly engaged the pregnancy nutrition chapter. A lot of it is in line with the things I was doing to manage my PCOS prior to pregnancy (WomanCode, anyone?)
  
  What I'm starting to worry about now is keeping the tiny human alive during the first 3-6 months. I can't remember - are we doing another spotlight on parenting books? If not, STM+s, I'd love your recs!

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• JessDG member

  January 2020

  @blaf322
  I didnt read what to expect cover to cover or anything, but it didn't really freak me out at all.  🤷‍♀️

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• JessDG member

  January 2020

  @meanjellybean
  I just got a Janet lansbury book and started it last night.  Agreed that I don't love her tone, but i do like some of the things she has to say.  I am interpreting them my own way though. 

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• Skk1977 member

  January 2020

  I enjoyed What to Expect as a FTM. I also read "The Happiest Baby on the Block" which was highly (cultishly) recommended at the time (2013). It was useful and it made me a better swaddler but my kids have not been colicky so I didn't really need to use all the techniques. I think I also read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" but I found it to be too detailed and dry. I've also read about the Ferber method. 
  
  I think a lot of the rigid methods for getting kids to calm down and sleep through the night are not what worked for me by the second child but they were helpful at the time.

  MMC 02/16/12
  

  DS1 05/03/13
  Natural MC 10/01/14
  

  DD1 01/08/16

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• nursejenn5 member

  January 2020

  I have been reading what to expect. But skipping parts that don’t pertain to me. And maybe because of that I don’t get the fear inducing aspect  It’s kind of helpful. I also got the what to expect for the first year so it’ll be interesting to see how helpful that is. 

  I bought H a couple books since he’s clueless about anything related to pregnancy labor and delivery etc. we started with From Dude to Dad and it was mildly informative. In a “bro” way. He didn’t like the tone of it though. I read it in a few hours 😂. But I also bought him The Expectant Father which he says the writing is better. But he hasn’t read too much of it. So we’ll all. 

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• mehugg member

  January 2020

  @nursejenn5 my BIL gave DH his copy of The Expectant Father and it seems to be going over well with him. BIL loved it!

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• coffeeandcookies84 member

  January 2020

  @mehugg I don’t have any book recommendations for you, but I downloaded the Wonder Weeks app and found that to be really helpful for at least knowing what to expect over the first few weeks!

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• shaqn0sis member

  January 2020

  @JessDG I also purchased the Expecting Better book, and I love it! It answers some of the most common questions and information that you can run into during pregnancy. I love how she researches the topic and let's you decide how you want to go about things. Very informative. 
  
  FTM here but I wanted to let you know about a Dad book that my husband received for Christmas called "We're Pregnant! The First Time Dad's Pregnancy Handbook". I can honestly say he has never one to read, but he really likes reading this. He has obtained a lot of information from this book. Pretty decently priced too! 
  https://www.amazon.com/Were-Pregnant-First-Pregnancy-Handbook/dp/1939754682/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3OQ1HMSS2C78J&keywords=we%27re+pregnant+the+first-time+dad%27s+pregnancy+handbook&qid=1578852268&sprefix=we%27re+pregnanc%2Caps%2C182&sr=8-3
  

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• b_1029 member

  January 2020

  @shaqn0sis I bought that for DH too pretty early on! I think he likes it...he has finally started reading it, so that's a good sign  I liked that it was from the guy's perspective!

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