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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Books for a mum-to-be

45 replies

smokeandglitter · 01/10/2014 19:31

Hello everyone Smile

16 weeks this saturday and so starting to feel more like I can plan for the wonderful baby growing inside me. I'm a bookworm and will be a first time mum so I'd love some reccomendations of good books about looking after the baby. Which books have you found best? Which have you gone back to when you actually have the baby? Which ones have said things which really resonated with you?

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ThinkIveBeenHacked · 01/10/2014 19:34

I enjoyed reading accounts of pregnancy and parenting rather than text books.

I enjoyed "The Fat Ladies Club" and Jools Olivers baby book (cant remember the name) . Ibe read and re read both of these numerous times.

I also had (and followed) the Gina Ford Contented Little Baby book but I know that it really isnt for everyone.

aftereight · 01/10/2014 19:49

I swore by the 'What To Expect..' series. I liked the month by month pregnancy/first year factual approach.

Congratulations, savour every moment of your first pregnany, it is a magical time Smile

BumpNGrind · 01/10/2014 19:50

Congratulations! I'm a mum to be too and have been recommended 'The baby whisperer' and told to avoid Gina Ford, unless you are a huge fan of routine. I can't speak from experience on either of these books yet but I've found the baby whisperer to be very readable.

ThinkIveBeenHacked · 01/10/2014 19:57

There is a What to Expect App which is quite good - counts down, gices estimates of weight and weekly and daily tips and info.

redexpat · 01/10/2014 19:59

What to Expect when you're expecting.
First pg I had the rough guide to pregnancy. Week by week, quite funny, but I found it really annoying from week 35 onwards when I was fed up of being pg.

PacificDogwood · 01/10/2014 20:04

Best Friend's Guide to Pregnancy Grin - there's a 'Baby' book too

The Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth

I prefer the funny and succinct to anything too gushing and twee - 'tis a matter of taste.

There is plenty of more evidence based stuff on pregnancy, labour and birth. I'll have a think.

Stardustshaper · 01/10/2014 20:04

Having ready the above books, I can wholly recommend Baby Calm by Sarah Ockwell-smith. It clearly presents all the cutting edge developmental science and neuropsychology and isn't yet another different person's opinion.

Cannot recommend it enough (being a bookworm myself and reading almost all if them!)

Bellyrub1980 · 01/10/2014 20:13

I really like Your Baby Week by Week by Cave and Fertleman.

It gives basic, straightforward and practical week by week advice. It doesn't steer you towards one particular method. And it gives you a non biased approach towards beast feeding and bottle feeding.

Each month is written succinctly enough that my DP will read it and have a good idea of what's going on!

But then, I'm not a big reader and lose focus easily. So this kind of book is ideal for me!

Essexgirlupnorth · 01/10/2014 20:21

Agree with Your Baby week by week easy to dip into and also had the wonder weeks by Hetty van de rite and Frans Plooij which explains about your babies mental development

MrsW27 · 01/10/2014 21:29

I bought First time parent by Lucy Atkins and think it's great (it has reassured me about a lot of things in the build up to the birth of my pfb - I'm 29+5). I found that it talks you through everything you need to know without being preachy or condescending (even when showing you how to change a nappy or bath baby). It also covers a lot of the different theoretical approaches to parenting which allows you to make up your own mind about what you want to do. Im sure I'll end up referring to it a lot when my baby arrives and would definitely recommend it.

Also if you want something a bit more light hearted, the mumsnet books (there's one on pregnancy and one on babies) are good, they are more anecdotal and gave me a few giggles at some of the tales other mums have to tell

Good luck

Ruth10 · 01/10/2014 21:41

I really disliked the Jools Oliver one. She seemed so goody two shoes and privileged to me, she didn't work during her first pregnancy, just swanned around "being pregnant", spending money left, right and centre...alright for some!...maybe I'm just jealous though...

hotfuzzra · 01/10/2014 22:26

I didn't buy any re pregnancy as there is a mine of information online, but I bought several birth books to help me accept and learn about the inevitable...
I'm friends with a Hypnobirthing practitioner and she recommended anything by Ina May Gaskin, Grantly Dick-Read's Childbirth without Fear, Marie Mongan's Hypnobirthing handbook, and I also found Juju Sundin's Birth Skills extremely helpful.
All of the above books have an element of woo about them, but firstly they all talk about physiology and reinforce the fact that our bodies have evolved perfectly to accommodate this. And secondly I have taken a little from each book in to my arsenal. I fully appreciate it is going to be hard, but I would like a relaxed and painless birth as I can and I hope this reading will help me in that. If nothing else I've educated myself about what can/will happen so I am Prepared for it.
Good luck!

hotfuzzra · 01/10/2014 22:27

Oh bugger I've just seen you wanted books about looking after baby!!
Sorry ignore my last!

smokeandglitter · 02/10/2014 11:02

Ah, yes Ruth10 I think that would annoy me too!

Thanks everybody! Ordering on amazon as I type! Grin

OP posts:
FruitBasedDrinkForALady · 02/10/2014 11:13

It's not a pregnancy book as such, but I love Anne Enright's book, Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood. It's a collection of essays about her experiences.

Shelduck · 02/10/2014 12:32

Another vote for Your Baby Week by Week by Cave and Fertleman, for all the reasons mentioned. Before baby arrives you have loads of time to read, but once baby has arrived you need something you can dip into quickly. So I read the whole thing through beforehand, and then after DS was born I just found 15 minutes each week to read the information for week ahead (which is uncannily on the mark, as it happens!).

Gudgyx · 02/10/2014 13:58

It's Really Ten Months - This book is hilarious. Its 3 woman who are friends and found themselves pregnant at the same time. The book is made up of emails they sent to each other, during and after their pregnancy. Its informative as well as being funny, although they are American, so do things differently than over here.

Pregnancy Week by Week - Voices from the Womb - Story of pregnancy told from the baby's point of view. I loved this book, brought me to tears when I read it.

Both of these kindle versions are free on amazon too!

Nyancat · 02/10/2014 16:32

I enjoyed sippy cups are not for chardonnay, for those times when you think you are doing an awful job at being a mum and the baby refuses to follow any of the routines in 'proper' baby books.

Mariposa10 · 02/10/2014 21:08

The Blissful Baby Expert by Lisa Clegg has some good tips for sleeping and feeding, and I enjoyed Sheila Kitzinger's New Pregnancy and Childbirth, and Ina May Gaskin's guide to childbirth because they made me feel so positive about what's ahead and how to prepare myself with confidence for giving birth and becoming a mother

Gennz · 02/10/2014 21:35

I have been a bit of a baby book fiend. I've also been pretty obsessed with brushing up as much as possible about routines & self-settling so I guess it depends on your approach whether you'd like them or not. Books I have read:

Expecting Better by Emily Oster: Found this really helpful for navigating pregnancy advice - what I needed to take seriosuly and what I could take with a grain of salt.

Up the Duff by Kaz Cooke: Quite funny pregnancy guide, very down to earth & reassuring and open minded (which lots of books aren't!)

Bringing Up Bebe by Pamlea Druckerman (also known as French Children Don't Throw Food): Quite interesting, very biased and Francophile & anecdotal, but an interesting contrast to what I agree would be the more baby-centered anglo approach to parenting (and I include myself in this, in NZ). I found aspects of this (like the idea of "le Pause" quite useful).

The New Contented Little Baby Book by Gina Ford: I had obviosuly heard all about it and thought it sounded OTT but I thought I'd read it to find out for myself. Found it quite useful in terms of the schedules, you obviously need to take it with a massive heaping of salt to avoid driving yourself crazy but if you like the idea of routines I think it's helpful as a loose guide.

The Baby Whisperer by Tracey Hogg: The tone of this is a bit irritating and excessively Mary Poppins-esque/"nanny knows best" (in that sense I actually preferred GF's abrupt tone!) but useful again for someone who likes the idea of routines as a counterpoint to GF.

Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Richard Ferber: Interesting in terms of how kids sleep and how to resolve any issues but probably more useful if you have sleep issues with an older child that you are trying to resolve, rather than grappling with anewborn baby. Still interesting from the point of view of a specialist sleep doctor.

Nine Months Strong by Karen Bridson: Bought this pre-pregnancy to brush up on how I would keep my exercise routine going through pregnancy

Gennz · 02/10/2014 21:37

Oh and also "What to Expect - the First Year" which seems like it will be a useful reference book.

Jaffakake · 02/10/2014 22:48

Another vote for Your Baby Week by Week and the one about the EASY routine - is it the baby whisperer?

sunnyrosegarden · 02/10/2014 22:52

Our local library has the entire collection - in the childrens' section, on a shelf called "parenting". Have a browse first?

EmbarrassedPossessed · 02/10/2014 23:02

If you plan on breastfeeding, the schedules and advice in the Baby Whisperer and the Contented Little Baby books are pretty much incompatible with real world breastfeeding.

Gennz · 02/10/2014 23:08

Hmm that's not been the experience of quite a few people I know Embarrassed - lots of people said they found it easier to BF with a schedule in mind. Each to their own though.