This is not my bookshelf.
When I was pregnant with Baguette, I bought The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy and The Panic-Free Pregnancy. I figured that pretty much covered it, considering that I have an obstetrician who I trust.
After Baguette was born, we started using Dr. Spock (current edition and the one my mother would have used–thank you, eBay!), as well as Your Baby’s First Year Week by Week and Your Baby Month By Month. I read them for a few weeks, and then stopped–she seemed to be on target, we have a pediatrician who we trust, and (no matter how many caveats the books included) focusing on such a detailed level seemed likely to induce anxiety. And all of us have enough of that on our own regarding parenting, don’t we?
We’ve inherited a couple of toddler-focused books, which I think I’ve looked at once–I’ve long switched to using these books to see if I can find specific answers (how much milk should Baguette be drinking each day?) rather than reading them completely.
Then Motherlode started a book club. So far I’ve bought each of the three books: Torn, Origins, and No Biking in the House Without a Helmet.
I haven’t read that last one, so I’ll focus on the first two. Torn is a collection of articles, mostly written by women who work outside the home (my mom was a stay-at-home-mom, and I know that path is work, too–believe me!). As I myself am not torn about working, most of the articles didn’t reflect my own experience or feelings–but I did find them interesting. In fact, that actually made the book more interesting to me, because it gave me the chance to learn about how others are affected by their life choices. (I already know how I’m affected by mine, after all.) Origins focuses on fetal development, and while I found it interesting, I also thought that the author was too focused on bringing every issue back to that topic. I have no doubt that what happens in the womb is incredibly influential on babies, in ways that can affect us throughout our lives, but that doesn’t mean everything can be traced back to that source.
If you’re looking for something lighter, you might try Jay Mohr’s No Wonder My Parents Drank: Tales from a Stand-Up Dad. I don’t find Mohr’s stand-up particularly funny, but I could relate to an awful lot of this book–and I found him much more likeable as a person after reading it.
So what are you reading?
Photo by SierraTierra, via Flickr.