read these books.

I'm a reader. When I was a kid the maximum number of books you could take out of the public library was 12 and just about every Saturday my mom would take me there and I'd pick up 12 books. We have a huge book collection at our house and while we love being surrounded by them we recently forced ourselves to purge and boxed up at least 100. I find it next to impossible to give up on a book midway through, regardless of how terrible it is (with a very recent exception - The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. That was all kinds of terrible). When I read a book I read every single page. All of them. I read the dedication, I read the publishing information, I read the reviews. I have no idea why. So it's no surprise that when I was pregnant I read ALOT and try to continue to do as much as possible - usually while breastfeeding in the middle of the night. When friends tell me they're pregnant now I usually scream OH.MY.GOD.THATISSOAWESOME! and then I tell them to read all of these books.....

Pregnancy

The Pregnancy Book: A Month-by-Month Guide, William Sears, Martha Sears & Linda Hughey Holt

Pregnancy, Childbirth & Newborn, Penny Simkin

The Complete Book of Pregnancy & Childbirth, Sheila Kitzinger

Mayo Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy, Clinic Mayo

Birth

Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation, Pam England & Rob Horowitz

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, Ina May Gaskin

The Birth Partner, Penny Simkin

Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method, Marie F. Mongan

Gentle Birth Choices, Barbara Harper

Babies!

The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two, William Sears

Attachment Parenting

The Attachment Parenting Book: A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby, William Sears

Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for your Baby & Young Child, Katie Allison Granju & Betsy Kennedy

Attached at the Heart: 8 Proven Parenting Principles for Raising Connected & Compassionate Children, Barbara Nicholson & Lysa Parker

Breastfeeding

Dr. Jack Newman's Guide to Breastfeeding, Jack Newman

Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding, Ina May Gaskin

Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, La Leche League

Sleeping


The No-Cry Sleep Solution, Elizabeth Pantley

The No-Cry Nap Solution, Elizabeth Pantley

Solids

Baby-led Weaning: Helping Your Baby Love Good Food, Gill Rapley & Tracy Murkett

Discipline

Unconditional Parenting: Moving From Rewards & Punishment to Love & Reason, Alfie Kohn

I'm sure I'll add to this list as I continue to parent, but think that all of these books are worth the time of new and expecting parents. Have I missed any? I love a good recommendation!

Two quick clicks. You don't even have to read the instructions.