baby books

My friend Jenna wrote the bush woman's guide to baby gear . . . just kidding!  She lives in Kenya but in the civilized village of Kijabe.  I love seeing these throwback pictures of the tiny babes . . . 

This is kind of embarrassing.  I know I look a *little* obsessive by actually listing all the books I read.  Yes, there are a few.  But . . . I like to read.  And I was excited about this new little person joining our family.  And then I was a little anxious about taking care of this tiny human.  So I read a few books about it, ok?

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My health insurance company actually sent me this book, which was nice of them, because it was a good one!  It's similar to What to Expect When You're Expecting and it has a new exercise for every week.  Umm, it would've been nice if I'd actually done those exercises . . . 

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I read a couple books on pregnancy nutrition, and I remember that this one was short and sweet.  It also had some pretty yummy recipes.  I had a lot of time on my hands, I guess . . . :)  But really, it's important to eat well.

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I read this one before Bo was born, and it sounded great and easy.  I learned the foundation of the eat, wake, sleep routine from it and that definitely shaped our routine.  But once we started to hit some bumpy patches, I needed more concrete answers.  

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My sister-in-law gave me her well-loved copy of this book.  It is not an easy read and is pretty technical about how babies sleep.  This book is a great reference and answers a lot of "whys" about sleep habits and abilities.  I refer to this quite often these days.  

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I read this one before the baby was born, and she lines up with the Babywise routine, using the acronym EASY: Eat, Activity, Sleep, You (as in mom-time).  She's conversational and quirky.  I liked the charts that interpreted baby cries and actions - like if the baby is crying and turning in to you, it means he's tired, not necessarily hungry (which makes sense, since he just ate).

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I picked up this one after we hit the four-month weird behavior phase.  I like the sample schedules and how it was broken into sections on 'problems.'  I only read the sleep sections of this one but I might refer to it again when other things pop up.  I like a good hands-on answer to an issue.

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I learned from a friend at church that "Ferberize" was a technique named after this guy, Dr. Richard Ferber.  I read part of this book and basically you teach your child to sleep without any props so that he can put himself to sleep on his own.  I am all about this, but I think for Bo he only got to that 'self-soothing' point when he was about 4.5 months old.  So I read it at just the right time.  Ferber employs a cry-it-out method with parents going after a few minutes to calm the child down - first 3 minutes, then 5, then 10 and so on until the child learns to fall asleep himself.  Despite the very discouraging video on BabyCenter, I've heard from others that this technique really does work and it is SO FREEING to the parent!  My friend Kate wrote a passionate review of the book here after a rough few months with her babe.  

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Somebody passed this on to me and I like having a book of answers on hand . . . although I don't read it much anymore because BabyCenter still sends me weekly emails on what my kid is up to.  

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So this one is less informative and more a memoir on one woman's experience of having a baby . . . Less of the cuddles and roses and more of the reality of what adding a small helpless person to your life really means.  

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This was another memoir of one woman's experience, focusing on nursing, that left me convinced I would have trouble breastfeeding (I did not) but with the confidence to ask for help.  Breastfeeding can be extremely difficult, and this woman tells her story with some laughs.  

That covers most of them.  :)  A few of these my sister-in-law passed on to me, and the rest I got from the library or friends.  And what did I learn from all these experts?  That basically the "right" way is whatever works for you.  I've taken bits and pieces of their advice, seen what works for Bo, and adapted those as our method.  For the record, sleep time right now = wrapped in an muslin blanket, pacifier, a story or a song, lights out, fan on, see you later!  Sometimes he needs another hug from me, but if the timing is right, it's off to sleepy land.  If your nighttime ritual is standing on your head, reciting the ABC's backwards, shush-patting your child four times, and singing the Canadian anthem - and your baby sleeps - then congrats, I think you've done it right.