Experienced moms: what books could you not have done without???

[aliceinwonderland]

Hi: here I am asking for advice again... i'll be glad when I actually have something useful to share, LOL

Anyway, can I get some suggestions for books to get and read before baby gets here? So far I have "Dr. Mom's guide to breastfeeding"; and "happiest bay on the block".

I'd love to get any books not about just babies alone, but about childhood development in general.
Any words of wisdom welcome as always!!Thanks so much!

eri and bean due next Spring :)

[pritchettzoo]

I'm not experienced yet, but I am reading Burton White's The First Three Years of Life and really like it so far. It does a great job of explaining development. I'm trying to stay a stage ahead of DD... http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PAGE=PROFRAME&PROD_ID=196651

Of course, it was recommended by most everyone here!

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[mamahill]

Before Baby Bargains? LOL. I have "The Complete Book of Breastfeeding," which I thought was very good. I also really liked Weissbluth's "Happy Baby, Healthy Sleep Habits." I kept 'What to Expect the First Year' around just because it was interesting to flip through. I didn't put a lot of weight in the "What your baby SHOULD be doing..." But it was interesting.

The only advice I can give is that I wish I had read them BEFORE the baby arrived. After, time is limited and should be spent sleeping! Of course, reading about breastfeeding was always a guaranteed way of getting my milk to let down;).

[kapow]

I found "The Nursing Mother's Companion" by Kathleen Huggins to be invaluable, and there are alot of nursing books out there. I also recommend "Happiest Baby" and the Burton White book.

I'd avoid the fad-ish baby books that try to cover too much such as the "Baby Wise" books and "Secrets of the Baby Whisperer." Better to have a good nursing book and a good baby care reference book, and "Happiest Baby" because that book is a treasure.

Happy reading!

[Rachels]

*The Breastfeeding Book* by Sears
*Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child* by Zand et al
*Good Nights* by Dr. Jay Gordon (if cosleeping interests you)


-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[aliceinwonderland]

oh, I got (and read) Baby Bargains before even getting pregnant...LOL

[MinnieMouse]

The Baby Book by William Sears
The Discipline Book by William Sears
From Diapers to Dating: A Parent's Guide to Raising Sexually Healthy Children by Debra W. Haffner

Off the top of my head

Christine

[jubilee]

The books I really like are:
Baby Bargains :)
Your Baby's First Year week by week by Glade B. Curtis MD- this book is really great because it gives you a chapter to read each week and covers a lot of topics. He also wrote a pregnancy week by week book that was equally great.
The New First Three Years of Life by Burton White

[jennifer13]

Part of the challenge is finding books that match your style and needs. You will likely find that several books offer pieces of info that you then put together into a style all your own. So I'd caution against treating any book as "the bible," because babies, moms, and families are all different, and what works for one doesn't always work for another.

That being said, I found the Baby Whisperer and the Weissbluth Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child both to be particularly useful. Baby Whisperer for help in understanding what my baby is up to (it is also written in a comforting tone for a frightened new mom), and Weissbluth for understanding sleep and ideas for preventing sleep problems. While I don't subscribe to his CIO methods, I learned a lot and it helped me create my own patterns. I also wish I had bought Happiest Baby on the Block, heard great things about it.

Good Luck!
Jennifer
Mom to Norah 5/23/03

[MamaKath]

Must Haves-
The Baby Book by Dr. Sears
The Womenly Art of Breastfeeding by LLLI
The Discipline Book by Dr Sears
What Every Baby Knows by T. Berry Brazleton

More specifically to the temperment of the child I had, I loved Raising Your Spirited Child (Mary Sheedy Kurcinka) and The Fussy Baby (Dr Sears). DD hadn't read many of the other books I had read during pregnancy, so these helped me understand her more specifically. ;-)

HTH

[Karenn]

Here are my can't live withouts:

What to Expect the First Year
Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, Weissbluth
Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense, Ellyn Satter
The First Three Years of Life

I consider the last three to be particularly valuable because they do address issues beyond the first year of life.

Be forewarned though, as with everything else, one person's list of "can't live withouts" is another person's "world's worst books" list. :) You'll figure out which books work for you as you go along.

[egoldber]

My couldn't live withouts were:

Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense, Ellyn Satter
The First Three Years of Life, Burton White
What to Expect the First Year

Books I WISH I had read before DD was born:

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, Henci Goer
Trees Make the Best Mobiles
The Sears Breastfeeding Book

In addition to these, I found these books useful:

Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, Marc Weissbluth
What's Going on in There
The Discipline Book by Sears

Books I didn't find useful at all:
The Baby Whisperer
The Art of Breastfeeding, by LLL

Just to echo a couple points, make sure to find books that suit your style. And read as much as you possibly can before your baby is born!!

HTH,

[christic]

The odd combination of The Baby Whisperer and the Sears Breastfeeding Book got us through the first few weeks. I found the Art of Breastfeeding depressing, too full of all of the ways I could fail, but the Sears book was completely empowering. And after cutting through the cutesy/annoying writing style of Baby Whisperer (and the meaningless quizzes!) I found it to be a great guide to interpreting my daughter's cues.

I continue to refer to:
Weissbluth
Child of Mine (Satter)--invaluable when starting solid food
Burton White--worth the price for the toy lists alone!

For child development and theory in general I loved:
Raising America
The Scientist in the Crib

And while I agree that it's good to look for books that fit your own parenting style, I also think that reading outside your style can help give you a fresh point of view when trying to solve problems.

[sntm]

COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT:
Dr. Mom's Guide to Breastfeeding -- the best. i read them all and this was the most complete and written very positively. Can't remember what they all were (basically every BFing book in our public library) but none were as good -- one had a sample schedule of a working nursing mom that was soooo unrealistic. Neifert wrote another book on childrearing which is a decent read.

Dr. Sears Baby book -- great reference. nice writing style. Some working mom's don't like it but i didn't find it offensive/insulting at all.

Burton White's The First Three Years -- checked it out from the library twice. Hoping to get it for X-mas.

GOT SOME GOOD INFO FROM:
Child of Mine -- we'll have to see if this stays useful as jack gets older but right now i could have just checked it out and read the section on feeding as a conversation/collaborative effort. Disagreed with her push to covert from BM/formula to solids.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child -- good for scientific info on how babies sleep, on 2 hour awake times for early on (we don't follow these as much anymore). Disagreed with his thoughts on CIO and he contradicts himself on night feedings.

No Cry Sleep Solution -- some good advice, probably equivalent to Happiest Baby. Liked her attitude.

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child -- was a gift but makes an interesting reference for traditional medical/homeopathic/alternative medicine/nonmedical interventions for illness.

Trees Make the Best Mobiles -- more for attitude than any actual advice. Easy to read.

Baby Matters -- just started this (thanks, tammy!) I really like that she is somewhat evidence-based, though the citations could be better and she still presents things from her own personal bias. Still, finding it very educational.



NOT VERY HELPFUL, BUT NOT AWFUL
Baby whisperer -- thought it was going to be terrible, but got one or two nuggets out of it. Can't even remember what they were!

What to expect -- good for a quick check of "normal" development or for a random question you can't find elsewhere.

HATED IT
Babywise -- flipped through in the bookstore. No way. Lots of bad/dangerous advice and the good advice you can find in any of the above books.

Checking out Super Baby Food tomorrow, but heard that is a good complement to Child of Mine.

I'm a researcher by nature (and employ!) so I read more than these, but can't remember anymore. I think the more you read, the more knowledge you have on which to base your own parenting decisions. Instincts can be good or bad and these books help to hone your natural instincts.


shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03