Pregnancy book recommendations

[minniecat2406]

Hi all. I'm 12 weeks with my first. Can anyone recommend a good pregnancy/birth/new baby book? I know it's all on google but I'd much prefer a book I can sit and read through. Grateful for recommendations xx

I have the Clemmie hooper - how to grow a baby and push it out. It's my favourite from all the others.

I’ve got the Clemmie Hooper ‘how to grow a baby’, which is v. stylish. I was given a copy of the DK Pregnancy Day By Day, and whilst not as stylish as the Clemmie Hooper book, I found much more informative. DH found it really helpful too, and was grumpy when I passed the book on to someone else. I found that I didn’t get on 100% with any one book - so it would do no harm to buy one and then dip into several from the library perhaps.

I bought What To Expect which I enjoyed flicking through as it was a bit sciency, but I never sat down to read the whole thing.

The thing about books or blogs etc is that they can give you a very narrow view of what is “normal” so when baby arrives and they are doing their own thing it can be hard not to think somethings off because the book says x, but baby prefers y.

With my first I read both a serious baby book ('Your Baby, Week by Week' by Dr Caroline Fertleman and Simone Cave) and also a more humorous one ('The Expectant Dad's Survival Guide: Everything You Need to Know' by Rob Kemp) and I must say, they were both as useful as the other.

The serious one was good for the medical side of things, giving you all of the serious information you should know and all of your options, but the light-hearted one was perfect for keeping it real. It talked more about the reality of being pregnant (even though it's written for dads-to-be) and touched on the more common situations that the serious books don't.

Would highly recommend reading both serious books and light-hearted ones, as it gives you a nice balance. Also highly recommend the Rob Kemp one for men to read; it's great for them to have a better understanding of things!

If you’re interested in hypnobirthing I absolutely loved Hollie de Cruz your baby your birth. It’s made me feel so calm and prepared for coping with whatever kind of birth happens for me

First time parent by Lucy Atkins, doesn't sugar coat and gives you the essentials.

Giovanna fletchers book was good. Happy Mum happy baby.

I really liked Expecting Better by Emily Oster - all about the science and research behind pregnancy (dietary recommendations, prenatal testing, childbirth choices etc.)

I also enjoyed the Mumsnet guides to babies, pregnancy and toddlers, and have just bought Your Baby Week by Week.

I found Your No Guilt Pregnancy Plan by Rebecca Schiller really good. Lots of practical advice and very non-prescriptive.

Thanks all, really appreciate the ideas x