Gift for pregnant friend

[CuriosityCola]

Apologies if this is the wrong place for this.

My friend is 20 weeks pregnant with her first child. She is a real book worm and has loads of pregnancy books. I thought it might be good to send some parenting ones as a gift.

Are there any books you wish you had or hadn't read before the birth of your dc?

I wish I had read 'food of love' before my dc was born and avoided GF. I know different people might have different experiences though.

Wish i had read "what mothers do" in fact i wish i had read it when I was about 14 cause i might have been kinder to my mum during my teenage years.

Wish i had never ever ever read "how not to f**k them up" In fact I threw it in the bin as i didn't want any one else to have to read it.

You could also think about "go the fuck to sleep" as it's funny
Sorry for the rough typing!

Yes to "what mothers do". If she's planning to BF then "The Womanly Art of BF" is a lovely book. Dr Sears has written lots of nice books too.

I think I had a sense of humour failure reading "Go the fuck to sleep", I didn't like it.

On the humour books, there are two that's called this is not my husband and this is not my baby. A lot of people would have seen these baby books before their LO is born so will get what it is

Thank you for the suggestions. I haven't read 'what mothers do', so will add that to my list too

My recommendation: Happiest Baby On The Block.

These are some of my favourites. A friend gave me her dog-eared copy of Penelope Leach's book when I was pregnant and I found it really interesting but also really reassuring - and it's got some lovely photos of gorgeous babies and happy (but real-looking, knackered looking!) parents.

Your Baby and Child by Penelope Leach
Why Love Matters
The Continuum Concept
Mother Nature

Having read your thread title i was going to say if you're going to get her a present then get something for her and not baby related. I hated the fact that when I was pg everybody gave presents for the baby and not me iyswim. And everybody seemed to be so pleased and think that they would have been the only one to do this. It meant it got to the end of Christmas and my birthday I had a big pile of things that I couldn't use for several months (not to mention in the early days being superstitious about having things too early for the baby and then having a mc).

I know that sounds horribly ungrateful and I was nice and said thank you to everybody but I guess it was the first time that I realised quite how much I was no longer me but just a vessel for the baby. It wouldn't have been so bad if dh had been given baby things too - after all the baby was half his too. But no, he got a nice scarfyummy choc, DVD, etc etc which were the sort of things I might normally have got and would have really enjoyed whilst on maternity leave. But no.

So, if your buying her a present for a birthday, I'd urge you to get whatever you normally get her and not a baby thing. Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear.

Oh and as for baby/parenting books - I never did find anything that was worth the money paid for it :(

The Food of Love book is a great idea as it has some very funny cartoons and is quite an easy read. However, I also agree with zipzap... something that is not pregnancy/parenting related might be a good idea.

I may be a selfish mother, but when I was in hospital having DS, my favourite gifts were a new pair of big, baggy pyjamas to wear, a magazine full of celebrity rubbish and a big box of chocolates just for me

I bought and read every baby book when I was pregnant with DS1 but the only book I actually used once he was born and for DS2 was YOUR BABY WEEK BY WEEK. Available on Amazon it is truly the only book you need. Tells you everything in small chunks to be read as you go. Brilliance.

Some good recommendations. It is for a really good friend as a 'just because' present. Not a birthday. I know both her and her partner will appreciate them. Avoiding books aimed specifically For Dad's though as they all seem very patronising.

I want to sit and read a gossip magazine and eat chocolate now!

I second 'Your Baby Week By Week' - the only book we had that didn't make us feel like we were doing it all wrong when DS wasn't on a 3 hourly feeding routine by two weeks old!

If you're friend is going to breastfeed then The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is a brilliant book.

I like 'the baby book' by dr sears. It's got good advice about everything and I like the attachment parenting style.