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Home Mommies-recommend your must-have parenting book

Hudson_Hawk

Hudson_Hawk

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
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If you could choose only ONE book for a first time mom to read, what would it be?
 
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.

ETA barring that--if you are totally not into any crying, then No Cry Sleep Solution by Pantley. It's like HSHHC on a lower level but the same 'general' idea about setting a schedule, routines, some insight into the babies, why they cry, what to do.

That said, I don't know if those are 'parenting' books and if not then I really didn't read any yet! :bigsmile:
 
Thanks Mara. I guess I'm classifying "parenting" as whatever helps you keep your kid alive. Be it information on when to take LO to the doctor or how to get them to sleep so you don't eat them....
 
"What to Expect: The First Year" calmed my nerves on many a sleepless night, and also saved us a couple of mommy freakout trips to the ER.

If you're looking for a guide with a bit less of a research edge, The Girlfriend's Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood was great as well. Kind of like having a girlfriend you can call up at 2am.
 
Oooh thanks Nashville! I loved the style of the GF's Guide to Pregnancy.
 
Hudson_Hawk said:
Oooh thanks Nashville! I loved the style of the GF's Guide to Pregnancy.
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Me too. I turned to What to Expect when I wanted the cold hard facts, and then I would turn to Girlfriend's Guides when I wanted some laughs/coddling ::)
 
we also have What to Expect First Year but i don't often read it...i open it like once every 2-3 months and read a page or two then get distracted and wander away. i think my copy is a few years out of date too as some of the stuff doesn't sound quite right.

the Baby Center updates (they continue after you have the baby but it turns into 'your baby: first week etc) are actually PERFECT for my needs. they tell me what's happening week to week and it's via email so i don't have to have a book.

between these emails and the internet (quickly googling things like 'blue poop after eating blueberries' or 'food allergy cinnamon rash' is priceless!) i am covered.
 
LOL, blue poop after eating blueberries! Just FYI, grape kool-aid will turn them green.
 
Do you ladies like Baby 411 or Parenting 411 (or something like that)? I had a friend recommend that one to me, but hadn't heard about it on here.
 
Honestly, all of them set my teeth on edge and left me snarling with annoyance, even when they were right. If I could do it all again, I'd spend the money on a couple of great novels, then look online as and when I had a question.

I hate the idea of burning books, the notion disturbs me. The Baby Whisperer I would make an exception for. ;))
 
Lanie, someone on another forum recommended it to me. I looked at it on Amazon, it looks like it has the same tone/style as Baby Bargains.
 
I also liked the "What to Expect: The first Year", and honestly it's the only parenting book I owned (I have the Toddler version now).
 
The Baby Whisper. It is why we have a great sleeper. Look past the tone and hyperbole and the method works.
 
No books here. I'm perfect. :cheeky:

Seriously though, I figured save my money and use the internet and take advantage of everyone on this board!
 
taovandel said:
No books here. I'm perfect. :cheeky:

Seriously though, I figured save my money and use the internet and take advantage of everyone on this board!
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Ditto (not the perfect part!!)...the Newborn thread was more helpful than any book! For advice, tips and venting!
 
I am a reader and I read many infant books during my first pregnancy. I got most as gifts b/c people know I read, I guess. I found that there is a lot of philosophical BS put into most of the books that in general I rarely agreed with. I did get alot of helpful "technique" (as I call it) once you wade through the BS and get to the middle of the book. Ones that I found helpful were:

Baby Wise- a little hard core on the CIO, especially at a young age, but pretty clear cut on helping establish routine and sleep.

Baby Whisperer- similar to Baby Wise, stresses routine to establish sleep. This is the one I recommend to most people so that they dont get turned off before they get to the technique, if Baby Wise is not their cup of tea.

Happiest Baby on the Block- alot of philosophical BS, but the technique was PHENOMINAL. The 5 S's do work for soothing.

American Academy of Pediatrics Caring for Your Baby and Young Child Birth to 5 years- Very comprehensive. Covers everything, feeding, bathing, dressing, illness, developemental stages. Its kind of like baby care for dummies. I was given this from my insurance agent and did not open it until I was trying to figure out how much tylenol to give my DD at 2 am. I was cursing the bottle for not giving a dosage (she was too young) when I remembered the book and low and behold there was the answer. I actually gave this as a gift to two friends who were completely clueless. One had never even held a baby before. Personally, I only open this one occasionally if I am trying to find a specific answer to a question.
 
I read a gazillion and the two I go back to again and again are by Dr. Sears:

The Baby Book
The Good Behaviour Book

I really enjoyed them both and the second makes me feel so much better when I lose it and shout at Daisy and then feel guilty!

Having recommended them, I will say that they are very much aimed at people who are doing Attachment Parenting and they are big on breast-feeding, co-sleeping and baby wearing. For me this meant that they were a very useful source of advice and tips. If you're not doing AP and even more so if you opt to FF, they could be seen as a bit preachy.

The Baby Whisperer was a nice book and I tried really hard to make it work for us before giving up and just doing what I felt made us all happiest and less stressed.
 
With 2, I don't have time to read any parenting books! I have What to Expect 1st Year, but it is pretty much a snooze-fest and I get bored with it after 2 pages. If I have a question, I google it, go to the newborn thread, or for the important stuff call my doctor/nurse.
 
Another for HSHHC. For Happiest Baby, I'd say do the DVD instead.

For everything, PS moms were my best resource. But HSHHC was invaluable for me to understand the "science" of sleep.
 
"The Happiest Baby on the Block" by Dr. Harvey Karp. It's only good for babies though.
 
Hudson_Hawk, are you a member of any other new mom/parenting forums? I agree with the others, sometimes the internet can be a great resource (but I'm still a book nerd at heart).
 
Nashville, yes I'm on another mommy/preggo board in addition to this one. Honestly though the majority of those boards scare me. If you can believe it there are actually people b*tchier and snarkier than I am! So I stick to my birth month board for the most part. I plan to use the PS mommies for most of my question asking.
 
This thread has been interesting.

I rely heavily on the PS moms and other baby sites that I'm a member of. When she was a newborn, the other site (that we're both on) taught me what not to do (because of all of the flaming people would get :rolleyes: ) but it was really the PS moms who provided me with the tools to get to the right answer for us. For example, I knew not to CIO a newborn because they practically chew your virtual rear on the other site if you even mention thinking about it and the PS moms pointed me in the direction of the sleep books and took their time to look over her sleep schedules to provide very valuable feedback that I'm eternally grateful for.

Now that she's older, it's a combo of advice from both sites. I checked out all of the books mentioned on here from the library, read bits and pieces, and applied what worked for me. The EASY method has been the one that has helped me the most (Baby Whisperer) but reading everything together was also very helpful. Online has been my greatest resource for sure.
 
I agree with Fiery, the EASY method was a life savor, but I just googled it and got the general concept instead of reading the book.
 
FL Steph said:
I agree with Fiery, the EASY method was a life savor, but I just googled it and got the general concept instead of reading the book.
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Yes, this was the most useful part, combined with the pick-up, put down method with our very young infant. The rest you can take or leave I think.

And the Newborn thread was more useful than any book, hands down. Best resource evah!
 
Dreamer_D said:
FL Steph said:
I agree with Fiery, the EASY method was a life savor, but I just googled it and got the general concept instead of reading the book.
Click to expand...

Yes, this was the most useful part, combined with the pick-up, put down method with our very young infant. The rest you can take or leave I think.

And the Newborn thread was more useful than any book, hands down. Best resource evah!
Click to expand...

Ditto using EASY but I just googled it after hearing the Moms talk about it and tell me the general idea. HSHHC is similar--most of the books seemed to use something similar. Basically ROUTINE--whatever yours is but it makes it easier for the kid to pick it up.
 
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