It’s books day! Just for the mamas-to-be!
As I reflect back on the books I’ve read throughout my four pregnancies I wanted to share my very top favorites, the books that really impacted how I think about pregnancy and the ones that helped me best prepare for motherhood. Have you read any of them? What books do you recommend to expecting family and friends?
The Other Baby Book: A Natural Approach to Baby’s First Year — There are traditional month-by-month books and then there is this one! It offers a much more natural approach and I learned a lot from it early on. Definitely a winner.
Holy Labor: How Childbirth Shapes a Woman’s Soul — I read this most recently. It honestly changed my life. I get extremely anxious about birth and this book helped me keep everything in perspective. It’s almost like a Bible study; one you really have to read slow and absorb bit by bit.
Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times — Reading true stories about birth is so inspiring. Speaking of, if you’ve blogged your own birth story, share the link in the comments … I’d LOVE to read it! Call the Midwife (both the show and the series of books) is such a lovely glimpse into variations of normal when it comes to pregnancy. It also makes you appreciate the access to amazing prenatal, birth, and postpartum that we have today.
Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care — I stumbled across this when I was pregnant for the first time. Totally led me to believe that birth is a natural process and not a sickness that needs to be managed.
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way — Dominic and I took a Bradley Method class during my first pregnancy. This book is the companion to that class and a great book to read in preparation for natural labor and birth, especially for dads. It just takes away the mystery and gives you TONS of tools to encourage a positive birth experience.
Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child — Another one I read early on in my mama days. In fact, I actually asked our nanny to read it before she started watching Jemma! Talk about bossy! What can I say, I wanted to make sure we were on the same page :)
Three In a Bed: The Benefits of Sharing Your Bed With Your Baby — One of my all-time favorite parenting books. If you think you want to co-sleep, read this. If you’re scared about co-sleeping, read this. If you have no plans to co-sleep, read this (because I hate to say it, you eventually will share a bed with your child … even if it’s just for one night here and there). It gives such understanding, both scientific and historical, to sleep and bonding and all sorts of things I never really knew about.
The Mama Natural Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth — Mama Natural is my go to for many parenting topics. Well, researched and overall a fantastic community to be a part of.
Share your favorite pregnancy reads! I think I’ll do a round up of breastfeeding ones next :)
Can I cheat and add an author? :) If so, then I’d say Patricia Harman. She’s written memoirs and fiction (the fiction is a series, which I love) and all about midwifery and midwives and babies and birth. The fiction has enough substance to feel like you’re reading something worthwhile, but not so heavy that you have to put it down and walk away.
Oh, and I’ve blogged the beginning of our birth story with #3 here (hoping to write about #4’s birth soon). It’s not finished, because it’s more about our journey to home birth, but you’re more than welcome to read. Here’s the link to Part 1 (which has links to all the rest of the posts at the bottom of the page): https://theanywheremom.wordpress.com/2016/03/11/why-yes-you-can-have-a-home-birth-in-mexico-part-1/