Books; new baby what to expect , sleeping, feeding etc...

[Jzee]

Just wondering if anyone can suggest any good books about what to expect with a new baby. I'd like to prepare for mine due in July and I'm not sure what sleeping and feeding routines to try. Also, am I able to find out closer to the due date the approx expected weight of the baby when born?

I read a number of books and I found 'Babies' by Dr Christopher Green quite good along with the Miriam Stoppard for new parents - can't remember the title off hand. I wuld suggest popping along to WH Smith or Waterstones and just having a look at what is there - flick through and see what you like. I tended to use the books to dip into rather than reading the whole book.

The mumsnet one!

Jzee ... I agree with Eidsvold in that perhaps you should look at several in a bookshop and see what sort of things might suit you. I think maybe you should not worry at the moment about routines and stuff as every baby is different and your state of mind once you have had the baby will dictate whether you need one at all.
I personally found Gina Ford helpful BUT only after 9 weeks of a very unhappy baby. GF is a very contraversial writer and many people totally disagree with her methods.
Your baby might be one of the lovely ones who fall into their own routine without the aid of a book ...
I think it is very easy to get tied up in knots about routines and stuff and wish very much that I had not had to resort to a book to sort myself and my DS out ...

Just enjoy your pregnancy and think about routines and stuff AFTER the baby is born.

Having said that if I was doing it first time round again one of the most useful things I read was HOW to breastfeed ... how to hold the baby etc and how to tell if it is feeding rather that just sucking ... very useful info that I think I got from a borrowed copy of Sheila Kitsinger's 'New Pregnancy and Childbirth' ...

No-one is going to use the Gina word then?

Oops - Ghosty, you slipped in there while I wasn't looking, lol

Despite never having read anything by Gina Ford -my dd is very very content and she fell into her routine - I guess in a way helped by the dictates of medication and four hourly feeds at first and then just the medication that needed to be given at a number of times throughout the day. Now that she has no medication and is weaning/weaned - we have developed another routine naturally.

I do agree just enjoy the pregnancy and then develop what works for you after you are home with baby. I have learnt in my very short time of being a mother that you can read and plan but essentially it is about working out what works for you.

Jzee
I have to disagree with Ghosty on this one - I did no reading on parenting stuff at all before baby was born and am sure that if I'd prepared better beforehand, I would have had a less traumatic first three weeks. I too have the Miriam Stoppard book, which is good. Also read Gina Ford's book and at 6/7 weeks tried a few things which worked for me. I found with GF that she at least gave me an idea of what to try - I really had no clue whatsoever, and everyone kept saying that my baby would lead the way. She never did! The thing about waiting until baby is born is that you will be flat out dealing with him or her, and I found it difficult to find the time or the energy to read books, which just added to my stress levels!
I don't know of any way of getting the approx weight of the baby....maybe someone else will be able to help with this.....
Good luck!

I must admit that I found Gina Ford just a bit too over-whelming before the birth, though found bits helpful later. The book that I found most helpful was "The Baby Whisperer" by Tracey Hogg. Naff title, but did have a lot of good bits, as well as covering stuff on how babies can get over-tired - something I'm now very familiar with, but hadn't come across until it happened!

Vicky Iovine's book "Best Friend's guide to first year of motherhood" was a good read, though didn't necessarily cover routines etc if I remember rightly (someone has borrowed my copy, so can't remember what is in it).

this is a shameless plug, but heck if you can't plug the mumsnet book on mumsnet where can you plug it and I know Enid's already done it for us, but this is just a reminder that the first mumsnet book "Mums on babies" will be on sale on the site from Monday. It covers all the usual topics for the first year plus a few more unusual ones (in typical mumsnet fashion). Best of all it's written by the real experts - you lot.
End of plug - sorry......

I had the Miriam Stoppard one too, and got a few of the Baby and Parenting type magazines which I found quite useful. I just wantted to feel a bit more clued up before DD arrived, and have more of an idea of what to expect. Don't forget your midwife should also give you their latest NHS book, all about the baby's first 5 years.

However, DD get into her own routine pretty quickly and we just followed her lead - found that much less stressful than trying to impose our own. Luckily her routine was quite a nice one to fit around!

Best advice I can offer is to try and be relaxed about the parenting thing and take it in your stride. If baby thinks you are relxed then he/she is more likely to be too. And enjoy it, the baby bit doesn't last that long. Can't believe my DD will be 1 in two weeks!!!

JZee - the first few weeks are a nightmare of worry and panic. Nothing but nothing will prepare you for them. However, it does get better. Personally, I found the Miriam Stoppard book quite good, but even then I found it hard comparing what ds 'should' be doing with what he was doing! If you get a book (which I do think is a good idea BTW), then don't read it religiously, otherwise you will tie yourself up in knots trying to do everything 'right'. There is no right! Plus, I recommend a specific book when you get to weaning, as the general books don't cover it in enough detail.

I'll bet you are getting excited now!?

jzee, at my penultimate scan the babies head was measured and i was given the aproximate birth weight and its was pretty accurate, so i am sure your gynie or midwife can help you there.
good luck

I quite liked "Your Baby and Child" by Penelope Leach (sp?). I think she does a new baby one as well. As for routines - I think it's a personality thing. Some people get on a lot better with them than others. I did get some helpful stuff from GF - it gave me some idea of what to expect in terms of how much food, and sleep new babies need, but I wasn't prepared to either leave ds to cry himself to sleep, or wake him up if he wasn't ready.

Our midwife used to try to predict birth weights, but quite often got it wrong.

Jzee

Easiest way to prepare is to accept that for 18+ years you will be broke, tired and wishing they'd turn the music down.

On the good side though be prepared for smiles that will melt your heart, love that will make the day seem like a lottery win even if the whole world is in flames and strange pictures that have to be displayed to one and all on the fridge/freezer.

Another vote for "What to expect in the first year ?" - very useful and practical advice.