Best books/vblogs recommendations

[ConnectedtoMS]

I feel I’ve master all the pregnancy/delivery books but I’d also like to be prepared for the first months after the birth (currently 25 weeks)
Do you recommend any hands on; practical guides/books/blogs/vblogs.
Something that would help to teach us from: how to change a nappy, recognize baby is unwell, breastfeed, and help baby sleep? I mean I need all the help as we’re completely clueless..

Hi op - I’ve bought ‘What to expect in your first year’ which is by the same author who wrote ‘What to expect when you’re expecting’.

It has lots of useful info on breastfeeding, formula feeding, sleeping, basic first aid, development and all sorts of other things. It also has a good index and is laid out in a month by month format so easy to find what you need.

It’s also completely non-judgy about various parenting choices which I liked.

Btw she’s an American writer but it’s been localised for the UK so all the latest guidance and NHS advice is all in there x

For breastfeeding I like The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding - I know it sounds a bit weird but it's actually a really excellent practical guide.

Then the no cry sleep solution for newborns is a great newborn sleep guide.

But really you don't need any books. Only read them if you think you'll enjoy it. You can really stress yourself out if you try to follow too much conflicting advice. It's okay to go with the flow as well. If you do buy books bear in mind they're all just somebody's opinion.

Ask your midwife if your hospital or local children's centre run baby first aid courses. Otherwise the red cross might. This is useful and practical in terms of recognising signs of serious illness as well as what to do in case of an accident.

Changing a nappy isn't very hard. You take the old one off, clean the baby's bum and put a new one on.

@bertiebotts the Womanly art of breastfeeding I found helpful for some advice but found it to be an incredibly preachy book. I also found it really judgemental towards epidurals and anything other than a natural birth and god forbid anyone who gives their baby formula! I'd say some of the book is useful but I did find myself scoffing and rolling my eyes at a lot of the book.

Yes, but unfortunately everything with good breastfeeding advice is a bit like that. However I didn't find it as bad as I thought it would be in that front. I'd been aware of it for years and years but only actually bought it this year as I saw it was 99p on kindle and I'm pregnant with such a big gap. While there are some parts which are complete nonsense (virgin gut ahem) I actually found it more neutral about things like birth pain relief than I was expecting. I don't know if this is different depending on the edition.

I got 5 pages into the Womably Art of Breastfeeding and put it down. I may dip into it later on for specific advice, but I could tell from the intro that it was the sort of book that - should I not be able to breastfeed for some reason - would make me feel like shot and an utter failure.

There are plenty of other books that offer facts and advice without being so preachy.

There are a lot of things that I will take away from the book but also a lot that thankfully, I know better than to take as gospel! I found the positioning information really helpful and will definitely be trying them out. I haven't got to the "troubleshooting" section yet that is constantly referenced throughout but i'm sure there are some helpful tips.

I agree @wimbler there is some v useful info in there but sadly not everyone is confident enough not to take the more preachy stuff to heart.

I’ve a couple of friends who really struggled with breastfeeding and pushed themselves to their reasonable physical and mental limits because they were so anxious about doing everything naturally. I think reading this would have tipped them over the edge.

Anyway, good luck op! I’d recommend seeing if there are any free classes around as well x

@mindatwork I completely agree with you which is why I'm glad I've flicked through the book now (I'm due with my first in December). I'm not sure I'll be re visiting the book once I'm trying to establish breastfeeding as I've also had friends who have have quite severely struggled with breastfeeding and I can see that this book would make you feel worse.