Category: Books

Essential Reading List for Pregnancy

Since I’ve received so many awesome notes and emails from future mamas who are following my pregnancy, I thought I’d share some of the best pregnancy books and magazines that I’ve read over the last couple years.

Having a Baby NaturallyMy all-time favorite book about pregnancy and birth is: Having a Baby, Naturally: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth. I believe this is the ultimate guide for expectant mothers, containing vital information about diet and nutrition, exercise, birth choices, pain medication alternatives, prenatal testing, breastfeeding, postpartum depression and so much more. This book isn’t just for women giving birth at home, but for all women giving birth. The trimester-by-trimester descriptions are fantatic, the natural remedies for common ailments and those pesky pregnancy symptoms (like morning sickness) are excellent and really work. I highly recommend this book for all pregnant women. If you only read one book during your pregnancy, this should be it.

Baby BookThe Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two is another essential read before your baby arrives. It is so important to learn about baby care ahead of time so you feel less overwhelmed once the little one gets here (if that’s even possible!). As someone who has babysat infants and young children since middle school, I know how important it is to feel prepared. Read this book cover to cover and then keep it as a reference guide (thank you for my copy, mom!). You’ll learn about what to expect in terms of newborn behaviors, developmental stages, how to change diapers, give baths, breastfeed — all basic things that you need to know. I am a big fan Dr. Sears’ other books as well, but I really feel this is the most useful and comprehensive guide. He also has a great website AskDrSears with a wealth of information about pregnancy and childcare. Check it out!

Womanly Art of BreastfeedingBreastfeeding mamas across the country seem to be in agreement that this La Leche League guide, The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, is THE breastfeeding book to read (thank you, Ranni and April!). I’ve read it twice and own a copy as a reference guide. It’s easy to read, comprehensive, and makes breastfeeding seem easy (because even if it isn’t easy at times, the book presents hundreds of helpful tips to fix problems so that breastfeeding is doable). Highly recommend it!

Vegetarian PregnancySome other great reads:

Your Vegetarian Pregnancy: A Month-by-Month Guide to Health and Nutrition – We bought and read this one before I got pregnant and I strongly recommend that all vegetarian mamas do the same. The sections on nutrition are must-reads for women who have a mostly vegetarian lifestyle. In our house we also eat seafood, nevertheless the book was incredibly helpful in terms of healthy snack ideas, nutritional and herbal supplements (including lots of information on herbs and essential oils to avoid!). Throughout my pregnancy, I’ve used this as a reference guide time and time again.

Fit Pregnancy MagazineI’ve been reading Fit Pregnancy Magazine for years, possibly since before we were even married. This is hands-down my favorite pregnancy magazine. Yes, lots of the information in it is mainstream, but they do a great job of showing a wide-range of viewpoints, which I really like because I am the type of person who likes to read about everything and then make an informed decision on what works best for me. This magazine has fantastic recipes, awesome fitness tips for prenatal and postpartum exercising, and I love their factoids from recent scientific studies. They are also very pro-breastfeeding, frequently very ecogroovy, and have great fashion tips. I think all pregnant women should at least check it out. (They also have a great website.)

My husband and I have also read many, many back issues of Mothering Magazine and the Compleat Mother (our midwife gave them to us for free). David definitely likes both of these magazines more than I do, though I recognize that they are fantastic and very needed publications in themselves. They are very alternative: pro-breastfeeding, anti-formula, anti-vaccines, pro-co-sleeping, pro-home birth, etc. And while we both agree with all of those stances, I get bored reading about the same view points in every issue. I feel like once you’ve read several back issues and Mothering’s essential Having a Baby, Naturally (discussed above), you’ve assimilated their information and can move on.

I received Spiritual Midwifery as a gift (thank you, Chelsea) and completely loved it. While most women read it for the birth stories, I much preferred the information for midwives (the entire second half of the book). I just soaked up the diagrams and descriptions about prenatal care and birth. I’ve also read excerpts from Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth; the pieces about pain management are excellent. Sadly, I never got around to reading the rest of it, but hopefully you can fit it in.

Other valuable (and fun!) books that I enjoyed:

Hope this list is helpful (and not too overwhelming!). Happy reading!

(Btw, did I miss an awesome book? Please leave a comment with the title!)

Delicious presents


We had such a treat this weekend. My friend Selena, who I went to high school with, visited us on Saturday with her boyfriend Taka. I hadn’t seen her in almost 8 years, yet it was as if hardly any time had passed, with us clicking immediately and feeling completely at ease. That’s one of the best things about close friends: once you’ve formed a bond, it is easy to pick up where you’ve left off, regardless of how much time has passed. I had such a great time getting caught up, discussing the travels, studies, and adventures of the past decade. It thrills me that Selena is doing amazing things with her life. I firmly believe she will be a fantastic doctor.

As an extra special treat, they brought along the most yummy oranges and a delectable book for the baby called Food For Thought. Oh, the photos are fantastic! We also love its educational component as its broken into five sections: shapes, colors, numbers, letters, and opposites (above are 6 of the 7 fish made out of vegetables!). So creative and fun. I foresee hours of entertainment and learning ahead of us, pouring over this book with the little one.

Thank you both for a fantastic visit and the awesome gifts!

“The Eye of the World” by Robert Jordan

For the past month, David has been reading aloud to me before we fall asleep. We really enjoyed reading the most recent Harry Potter book aloud together in July; so much so that we decided to take turns sharing our favorites books aloud together. Our one ground rule: we would read only those books that just one of us has already read.

Three weeks later, we just finished “The Eye of the World” by Robert Jordan, the first novel in the Wheel of Time series, a series that David has loved since he first encountered it in 1992. It took me several chapters to really get into the novel, but once we were halfway through it I was hooked! (Even so much that I had trouble falling asleep on occasion because I feared for the safety of its characters!) I loved guessing about what was going to happen next, arm wrestling David for information along the way, and his constant reassurance that, yes, they will all survive. He enjoyed sharing one of his favorite books and seeing me experience it for the first time.

The original plan for after finishing the book was that rather than jump to the next book in the series (which we have on CD and plan to listen to on long car trips), we would switch to one of my favorite novels that David hasn’t read: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Together we have enjoyed the five hour BBC version and it’s high time that David experience the authentic Jane Austen.

Of course, once we got to the end of “The Eye of the World,” I had no interest in reading my favorite novel by my favorite author and instead wanted to read book two: “The Great Hunt.” So, we started it on Monday. Go figure.

Learn more about Robert Jordan and the Wheel of Time.
Learn more about Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice.

“Better Off: Flipping The Switch On Technology” by Eric Brende

In order to gather material for his masters thesis, Eric and his wife Mary took a plunge into Mennonite country living in order to experience life unplugged. For eighteen months they lived without electricity and at a low technological level, discovering what a simpler life would be like. The book closes with a retrospective look at their choices after this eighteen month experience, during which time they chose to not own a television or computer, rarely rely on using their car for transportation and instead choose to walk or ride their bikes, and often barter goods with neighbors rather than purchase them outright.

I found this book to be an interesting and thought-provoking (as well as a quick read), despite its lacking a clear chronological organization or glossary with characters names. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book to anyone who questions their own reliance on technology and yearns for a more simple life.

Learn more about “Better Off: Flipping The Switch On Technology” by Eric Brende.