Book recommendations for 1st time mums

[MissHinky]

Hi,

Can I have some recommendations please for useful books to read as a first time mum. I went in to Waterstones today to see what they had but was left overwhelmed by the number of books available and didn't know where to start.

Many thanks :)

The What to Expect ones are pretty comprehensive

I second the WTE book, but also find the "your baby week by week" quite good too. WTE has a LOT of dense text in it, but I appreciate you're not meant to read it cover to cover in one go.

What kind of topics are you wanting to read on? There's various for preparing for birth (different techniques for labour etc), advice on pregnancy (e.g., what to expect), or do you want something more about parenting and the baby e.g., how to look after baby, sleep guides, etc.? Or everything?

BabyCalm for the first six months

Thanks everyone.

AlohaMama - Ideally was hoping for something that covered all topics but specifically I suppose about preparing for childbirth and looking after the baby

My favourites were your baby week by week and the baby whisperer ( latter not to be taken as gospel - BF advice not strong - but the EASY routine ideas really worked for me)

Also - what mothers do By Naomi stadlen

OP just saw your last post - preparing for birth - assuming you are doing some sort of ante natal classes to get the facts as well - the book I found really interesting and useful last time was 'effective birth preparation' by Maggie Howell - founder of natal hypnotherapy.

When I was pregnant I bought The Great Ormond Street baby and childcare book. It was really useful before and after the birth and I still use it even though mine are older than 5 years. Just checked and it's on special at £12.99 with free p&p today on Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Ormond-Street-Baby-Child/dp/0091889693

I've just bought Time Parent as our basic how to change a nappy, how to bath etc. book. It has big text and lots of photos so it gets a thumbs up from me.

I intend to read a mix of 'routine' and 'attachment' books to get the rest and just take what works for me as it happens.

I had this www.amazon.co.uk/The-Rough-Guide-Pregnancy-Birth/dp/1848365594 and loved it.
I second the baby whisperer but wait til you're a few weeks in to use it iME.

Thanks everyone, some great suggestions .. Looking them up as I type! :)

My mum got me a book called "ask a midwife" I thought it was great. Lots of answers to questions for various stages of pregnancy and childbirth as well as for after you've had the baby.

My fave for birth is the active birth book by Janet Balaskas as well as the Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. (Her breastfeeding one is great too).

TBH, I read so many books with my first that I got my self totally confused ( especially when they are at opposite ends of the spectrum) so that's something to be aware of. Sometimes just trusting your instinct is important.

I've read the Ina May Gaskin book and think it's great, too.

I would like to add an opinion not a book recommendation.

Please read, enjoy, get excited, but please try to keep in mind that all babies are different and if your baby doesn't fit into the the ideas you have read, there is nothing wrong with your baby nor what you are doing as a mum.

what an exciting time for you..

I like Dr Gowri Motha's book, Gentle First Year. Wish someone had given it to me for my first (I bought it for myself on my third), although it probably hadn't been published back then.

Try not to read too many general pregnancy/babycare books would be my advice - they all end up conflicting with each other, older books will have outdated advice, and they all seem to preach that their way is best.

Go with instincts where you can and buy specialist books if you need to, giving advice on whatever stage you need help with.... every baby is different and you don't know what it will be like until it arrives.... I have had 2 - they are both VERY different.

this one is good

I agree re Lucy Atkins' First Time Parent and the What To Expect books. They cover everything.

I'm a first time Mum and loving the Pregnancy Bible. It's a no-nonsense book that takes you through everything and everything you need to know about pregnancy - hence its title Bible.

www.amazon.co.uk/Pregnancy-experts-pregnancy-parenthood--revised/dp/1907952292/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370876964&sr=8-1&keywords=pregnancy+bible

Pregnancy - I had 'what to expect' but tbh I didn't find it that useful as you end up reading lots about symptoms you'll probably never had. I think the emails you sign up for from various websites more useful, then google whatever specific issues you encounter.

Parenting - Also recommend reading a range to take ideas from each and see what suits you. I read Baby Whisperer, GF, plus a few others but my favourite in the end was Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child (Weissbluth). Never found one that I loved for bf-ing, I found they all had very conflicting advice. Referred sometimes to 'what to expect in first year' plus was given Penelope Leach but never really needed to refer to it that much but I could see it being a useful reference.

Thanks again everyone for all your suggestions and I agree, that I need to use and trust my own instincts as well. I think I just need a few pointers in the right direction with some things.

ExhaustedMamasita - I saw the pregnancy bible book in the shop and thought it looked interesting so have managed to find a cheap nearly new copy on Ebay :)

I'm going to look in to the others too and work out which ones are best for me :)

I had What to Expect When You're Expecting and WTE The First Year and they were enough. The second one I had stopped reading by seven months as I'd got quite confident. Both were lent to me. The first one covered everything in my prenatal classes and more - the classes were a ginormous waste of my time and too early in the morning