A good book for having a newborn

[ThirdTimeLuckyIHope]

It suddenly dawned on me that I'm reading a lot about pregnancy but nothing about when the baby actually arrives.

Can anyone recommend a book they found helpful?

Thanks

Your baby week by week. An excellent book

www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Baby-Skin-Learn-instincts/dp/1910336319?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

@Twizbe 100% this book. We loved it even if our baby did NOT follow the sleep pattern 😖

What Every Parent Needs To Know by the wonderful Margo Sunderland. So affirming and full of excellent information and advice from an expert on babies' and children's wellbeing. I have given this book to so many friends and we all swear by it.

@Twizbe I really disliked that book when she advocates leaving the baby to cry and not worrying if they're sick.

Oh no, please don't recommend books to new mothers which advocate switching off the healthy and totally appropriate instinct to respond to their babies' needs.
There's a reason why sleep training etc is hard; it goes against what we feel to be right.

Emily Osters book Cribsheet is brilliant.
Your baby week be week

What every parent needs to know abs wonder weeks.

The unmumsy mum. Not a parenting advice book but a very real description of motherhood. I felt like a failure of a mum when I had my first and probably looking back had mild PND. I read this when DD was about 1 and realised I’m perfectly normal!!! (Obviously MN is full of perfect mothers who never do anything wrong and you may be one of those but for the rest of us mere mortals it’s a great book!)

For a serious answer, I don’t think you need a book. Learn the basics of bathing and nappy changing from the internet and go with your induct on the rest. Any problems you have when the baby is born use google!! The womanly art of breastfeeding is good if you plan to breastfeed. A friend lent me the baby whisperer which I didn’t follow to the letter but it had some useful tips and is really just about letting the baby find their own routine.

Your baby week by week is brilliant. Clear, non judgy, sensible advice. Total bible for me. Good luck!!

I also liked “Week by week”. Just ignore the bit about sleep training that young, the rest of it is fairly sensible.

Your baby week by week is a good one but ignore the sleep stuff. If you want a decent book on sleep there's a book called 'let's talk about your new family's sleep' which is really evidence based and non judgemental. In the same series Amy Brown has a new one out called 'let's talk about the first year of parenting' which is all about getting support with different stuff like your physical recovery and mental health and things. It's a chunky book but really useful to dip in and out of.

What I lived about week by week is that it was week by week. It made it super easy to find good information at the time you needed it.

Non judgemental and information for both breast and bottle feeding. I really like the 'why you might stop' section for breastfeeding. Helps you see you're not alone.

I also loved info on witching hours which both mine went through.

Yes it has sleep training but you can ignore what ever you want about that

The week by week one is quite good but the sleep bit caused me loads of anxiety as my baby would never go in his cot “drowsy but awake” and the book makes out that if you don’t do this they will never sleep.

I would recommend “Let’s talk about the first year of parenting” for a more balanced view with lots of consideration of what mums go through and how to cope with it all. There’s also “The little book of self care for new mums” which is my favourite gift to buy for new mums I know.

French Children Don't Throw Food.

A truly fantastic guide to how not to fall into the traps of middle-class Anglo-centric parenting.

Not specific for newborns, but an excellent parenting philosophy.

Hated the week by week book as my dd was weeks ahead of all the stages so didn’t tally up for us.

She was born at over 42 weeks so maybe that is why?

@Zeetah

She was born at over 42 weeks so maybe that is why?

You're supposed to count all those things (wonder weeks etc) from 40. So she was born at 2 weeks.

I liked Tracey Hogg Baby Whisperer

Why Love Matters by Sue Gerhart

As said, week by week and Cribsheet

I’m so not a ‘sleb’ person but Holly Willoughby’s book was great for me. Perfect for someone who had no experience of kids, but not patronising, and was more like talking to a mate/sister than a doctor or childcare expert.

MrsPatrick, yes, I loved that book!

My mum always said it’s fine reading a book about babies as long as you make the baby read the book too!