Must-haves? (books, CD's etc)

[MissHC]

I'm due in November with DC1 and trying to prepare and be informed.

It's a bit of a random list, but after reading many threads on Mumsnet it seems that people agree that the following are very useful in childbirth + after.

Books:

• The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (La Leche League)
• Your Baby Week by Week (Dr Caroline Fertleman)

CD's:

• Effective Birth Preparation: Natal hypnotherapy programme (Maggie Howell)

Other:

• Tens machine (found a second hand one for £15, "Femme Tens")
• Birthing ball

I've put these things in my basket on Amazon but am wondering if any of you have any recommendations of must-haves? Is there anything that I should really get?

That's a great list.

Not from amazon, but one of my favourite resources has been the midwife thinking blog

The baby whisper?

*whisperer!

workingtitle, thanks that's one interesting link! She really has done her research! Bookmarked

EmB, thanks but I don't particularly like Tracy Hogg's approach. What attracts me in "Your Baby Week by Week" is that it's less rigid. I might change my mind and buy it once the baby is here though.

No real suggestions but I just wanted to say read books if you want to and find them interesting but you will be absolutely fine if you never read any! I find chatting to people at toddlers /on mumsnet about specific things much more useful than anything I've read. But having said that I ditched the books early because I found they made me feel paranoid about the what ifs rather than really telling me much about the baby I had.

The books were useless once DS was here. Found the during pregnancy ones interesting though, nice to know what was happening with my body.