Favorite books during pregnancy

Since I've known little-to-nothing about pregnancy, babies, parenting, etc., there are several books that have been helpful! I'm sure many women experience this, but I've never been interested in reading about these topics until now. I can't get enough! I'll keep posting updates to this list over the next few months.

1. Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy - This book is hilarious! It was the first book I checked out from the library, and for Christmas my sister-in-law gave me my own copy. Short chapters go through every topic in pregnancy, and Jenny doesn't hold back about anything. Definitely take the information with a grain of salt... but hilarious!

2. Essential Guide to Breastfeeding - Found this at Barnes & Noble, and it turned out to be a great book! I've learned so much about babies' natural breastfeeding instincts, how the body produces milk, and tons of tips for successful breastfeeding. I feel armed with knowledge if I run into any baby-milk issues!

3. How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way - I always thought Montessori was an odd type of school for kids, but one of my favorite blogs (www.joyfulabode.com) opened me up to a better understanding. It's all about respect, independence, and encouraging the enjoyment of learning new skills. It's a great philosophy to keep in mind, even with a newborn! This book is practical and helpful, and has given me plenty of ideas for parenting!

4. Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids, by Kim John Payne and Lisa Ross -  This book is amazing! I actually bought it as an audiobook, and it's been very enjoyable. It's amazing to me how many behavior problems and frustrations can be solved by focusing on making a child's life more simple. Payne offers a lot of real-life examples, solutions, and outcomes. It really makes you think about reducing the number of toys your child has, keeping an organized house, making sure your child has free time to play and explore his/her imagination, and restricting the amount of information (and worldly issues) your young child has to deal with. When Payne talked about the importance of sharing fairy tales and reading kids stories, he quoted Albert Einstein, “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”  

5. Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting, by Pamela Druckerman - I also listened to this as an audiobook, which was really fun! I enjoyed the mock french accents the narrator used when she spoke as certain characters. How interesting to compare parenting styles in France to typical American parenting! I learned quite a few things from this book. First, children are not inherently picky eaters. In France, toddlers and children are expected to eat what they are served, and try at least everything (and they do!). They don't even have children's menus at restaurants! Regular daycare centers in Paris serve toddlers 4-course meals, including various vegetables, salads, fruits, meats, etc... This book also showed me how American parents can "over-parent" and interfere with their children's play and interactions. Overall, definitely a great read! Fascinating to see a different perspective on parenting.

Those are my favorites for now, more to come! :)