Pregnancy/Baby book recommendations!!

[jaydensmum]

Im just wondering how you all feel about pregnancy and baby books. Did you find them resourceful? What ones would you recommend to others? Did it show a lot of diagrams so you can understand it? Is it expensive? Basically what im trying to do is help mothers to be and mothers to find the best book for them. I remember its hard trying to choose what book to get for pg or baby. If we tell others of our experiences with the books it might help others to choose the right one for them. Ill start with the books that i recommend and hopefully you can join me with your recommendations!! :D

Pregnancy book:

The book is What to Expect when your Expecting"!! :D

My all time favourite books is the "What to Expect" collection. The whole way through my pg with my DS i never left my What to Expect when your expecting behind. Its very resourceful as it tells you month by month whats happening to your body and your baby. It has lots of other pg related resources in it too. Such as sickness in pg, the 1st 6 weeks after birth, what to do before conceiving, etc. It is a bit costly the "What to Expect when you Expecting cost me around $36 in a bookstore. You can alternatively get the book from Ebay.

Baby book:

The book called "What to expect the first year"!!

I also recently bought the next one in that collection called "What to expect the 1st year". I actually got that one from Ebay for $10 near new! :) Thats also a very good book and its just like the "what to expect when your expecting" book. Its very imformative, telling what happens month by month also.

jaydensmum

[Nick47]

I can't argue with you there, I got a special edition ($30) of "What to expect whem you're expecting" and it has been my bible all the way through, it was bound along with "what to eat when you're expecting" so two books for the price of one :D (not quite so helpful- but always nice to have some new recipes to try out) ... never felt the need to buy anything else- no magazines or anything. All other valuable info/ reference material for preg came either via Bubhub or the web.

So now as I wait (2 days overdue now- :rolleyes: ) for bub to arrive my new read is "What to expect the first year".

I borrowed "up the duff" but it wasn't my type of book.
Hope this helps

Nicki

[wattle]

I also loved 'what to expect when youre expecting', a bit old motherly but good. I enjoyed 'Up the Duff' as wel, it was nice to have an insight on the emotional side of pregnancy. I also received weekly emails which was great - they went into a bit more detail than the books.

As a new mum I would have been lost without 'Babylove'. It's my bible.

[draught]

I loved "Up the Duff" and found "what to expect" a bit scary to be honest.

"baby Love" is an absolute bible - I give it to all my pregnant girlfriends as a present (I was given mine).
THe follow on "Mighty Toddler" is also great and "Kidwrangling" is also very helpful and in the same vein as "Up the DUff".

[veve]

I love up the duff... I found the other books a little 'heavy' to read...

between bubhub and 'up the duff' I feel I have my bases covered ...

I haven't had an issue yet that a solution hasn't been found :)

xxxxx

[JanetF]

"Thinking woman's guide to a better birth" Henci Goer. Heaps of very clear factual info of the pros and cons of all possible interventions, birth places and care providers. Should be given out to every pregnant woman.

"The new pregnancy and childbirth" Sheila Kitzinger. Actually anything at all by her. Very clear discussions about labour and birth, great pics, exercises, fantastic.

Anything on active birth or water birth by Janet Balaskas, her "Natural Pregnancy" is great too.
Also anything by Leboyer or Odent, the Sears baby book is great too.

Another brilliant book is Jean Sutton's "Optimal Foetal Positioning" which shows you how to avoid a posterior baby or move your baby into a better anterior possie before or during birth.

"Birthing from Within" Pam England. Really helps you understand birth, the journey, how to plan, how to work through your personal issues or fears.

"Misconceptions" Naomi Wolf is a must read for anyone planning a hospital birth.

There are also dozens of fantastic books on breastfeeding.

[Maghan]

My favourite is the "baby book" by William and Martha Sears. It might sound a bit heavy, but it's more about gentle parenting. This couple have heaps of other books on breastfeeding, discipline and even helping your baby to sleep. They have a website too which is really informative.

[TinyStar]

"Thinking woman's guide to a better birth" Henci Goer. Heaps of very clear factual info of the pros and cons of all possible interventions, birth places and care providers. Should be given out to every pregnant woman.

Oh JanetF if only someone had given this book to me................

I had The Encyclopedia of Pregnancy and Birth by Janet Balaskas, fantastic if you are planning a lovely natural/water birth, lots of exercises, positioning etc etc, not so great if you end up having an emergency c-section. :o

[HoopDeeDoo]

I found that 'Up the Duff' was a really funny and practical book. I also like the 'what to expect' range, but use them as more of a reference type book. There is also "pregnancy for dummies" but that is more of a flick through type book, if you can borrow these books from someone it's worth it. But I would buy "Up the Duff" for all my pregnant friends. :)

[Mummaof2]

My MI purchased the Pregnancy Q&A book which she only paid $2 for from an op shop but retails for about $30 at Dymocks. She also gave me at my baby shower the Baby Love book which retails for $30-$40. Even though this is my 2nd pregnancy i have found myself referring to these books quiet alot recently.

[DoulaFelicity]

Oh, there's so many wonderful resources available out there. I devoured tome after tome during my pregnancy (if only I had spent a little more time also educating myself on breastfeeding and postpartum :o - but we live and learn).

Capers Online Bookstore (www.capersbookstore.com.au) is a fantastic one stop shop for all things pregnancy, birth and baby. You'll be sure to find something to suit you there if you browse through their stocks; and it's all very reasonably priced.

I found "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" useful for purely medical facts on certain issues, and used it many times throughout my pregnancy for these things. In other areas, it is a bit outdated in its philosophy, and I've heard it described as "What to be Fearful and Guilty About When You Are Expecting"! :eek: I think it certainly has its place as a reference point during pregnancy; however, I took certain parts of it with a liberal helping of salt.

As JanetF said, "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" by Henci Goer is a gem. If you can only read one book during your pregnancy, make it this one. Full of unbiased, concise, easy to reference facts in respect to just about every medical and non-medical pregnancy and birth related procedure you could possibly encounter. Essential reading for all well informed birthing women (which should be all women)!

Also agree with JanetF on anything by Sheila Kitzinger (especially "The New Pregnancy and Childbirth") and Janet Balaskas (especially "Natural Pregnancy", "New Active Birth", and "The Encyclopedia of Pregnancy and Birth" written with Yahudi Gordon).

"Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn" by Dr Jonathan Morris is another great book. Very informative.

"Birth Without Violence" by Frederick Leboyer - my all time favourite birthing book.

"Up the Duff" by Kaz Cooke is good for a laugh; it does contain useful facts and information as well, but it's more of a lighthearted approach; not a very meaty book, or one that is going to assist you much in your birthing journey. My partner and I really enjoyed reading the week by week "diary" in it to each other - it's a funny book.

"The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" by La Leche League is great, too. Sadly I am only reading it now, wayyyyyy after my son's birth. I wish I'd discovered it beforehand. A really good tool.

Ebay is very handy for getting hold of some great (sometimes rare) pregnancy and birth books, too. I've built a substantial Doula library already utilising Ebay and Capers Bookstore. :)

Cheers,

[bubhub]

Hi all

I've got a section on the site of parenting/pregnancy book reviews as finding info on forums can be a bit haphazard if you are looking a month or so after the initial post.

Janet and Felicity - are you happy for me to take some of your comments and post them on the main site on this page: http://www.bubhub.com.au/communityparentingbooks.shtml ??

So that the info is preserved for future viewers?

Thx
Hilary

[DoulaFelicity]

No problem, Hilary. :)

[shanz]

I bought What to expect when you are expecting and had another thrown in,cant remember the name of it.Got them off ebay for $20 inc. postage.they are good but i bought the newest edition of Conception, Pregnancy and Birth. by Miriam Stoppard and it is invaluable. It has loads of diagrams and full colour pics as well,it was $50 but well worth it and even DF is having fun with the calendar it has of the stage you are up to,what baby is doing and how it if forming for that stage. He isn't the book type and he has been reading it as much as me!!
as for after birth my sister swears by Babylove as well.

[LittleBoysRock]

I have used - "What to expect when your expecting" and 'What to expect the first year". They are GREAT!!

I would highly reccomend " The Blokes Guide to Pregnancy" by Jon Smith for all the DH's and Partners!

[jarrahsmumma]

i find the Kaz Cooke Baby Book, is great for Jarrahs milestones, i think we bought it for about $30, it is really free flowing not full of charts or 'what your baby should be doing' just colourful pages to stick photo's, stickers, movie and concert stubs

great buy..now i have to find 4 more for the future children :)

[Jaileth]

I love 'Up the Duff' by Kaz Cooke. It's the first book that I read once I found out I was pregnant and it kind of eased me into the idea. I now find that I am able to read other, heavier, books without freaking out quite as much.

I've also read Kaz Cooke's 'Kid Wrangling' and found it funny and informative - but as to how useful it will be - time will tell.

I think that this is a great idea - I often go into the bookshop and go to buy a book on pregnancy, birth or for the first year or so and just don't know where to start - so thank you for this! :)

[Jaileth]

i find the Kaz Cooke Baby Book, is great for Jarrahs milestones, i think we bought it for about $30, it is really free flowing not full of charts or 'what your baby should be doing' just colourful pages to stick photo's, stickers, movie and concert stubs.

I got that in a package deal with 'Up the Duff' - and have only seen it sold as such, so what we were thinking of doing was scanning it into the computer and using it as a type of digital scrapbooking/photo album type thing - that way we can have as many copies of each page as we want - but only for personal use, of course :o

[JanetF]

Go ahead, Hilary. I also love "Silent Knife" Nancy Wainer Cohen & Lois J Estner, 1983 (USA) Invaluable reading for anyone planning a VBAC. Examines the causes of the increases in c/section rates, the dangers of c/section, and ways to avoid them. Also includes many personal VBAC and caesarean stories.

[Funkychicken]

Any of the books by Francesca Naish and Janette Roberts are fantastic. I lived by The Natural Way To Better Babies when planning no.2 babe. Both authors are naturopaths and/or nutritionists who specialise in pregnancy and birth and they are Sydney based so the information is really relevant to us here in Aus. Also the back of this book has a huge list of contacts/resources and further suggested reading.
On a light note I loved reading "babyhood" by Paul Reiser after my first babe. I found some of the stories and anecdotes very funny.
Sal-7 wks to go!

[mixi_mama]

I loved "Up the Duff" ....THe follow on "Mighty Toddler" is also great and "Kidwrangling" is also very helpful and in the same vein as "Up the DUff".

Yeh i loved these books too - i found What to expect a little overwhelming and Up the Duff was really laid back and i felt i could have a giggle