My sister's coworker is about 4 months pregnant with her first child and asked me to send her a list of required reading about babies. Here is what I came up with!
What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff
A comprehensive guide to Baby's first year. Huge, but helpful to have on hand.
The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr Harvey Karp
The BEST book on how to soothe a baby. Crucial advice for the first few weeks especially because the baby will need lots of soothing. Can't recommend it enough!
The Expectant Father by Armin A. Brott
This is a book about pregnancy and birth geared towards husbands. Good for the pregnant lady to read too--it had some stuff in it that I hadn't read before.
The Mother of all Pregnancy Books by Ann Douglas
In case she hasn't read all the preggo books yet, this is a good one. Better than reading the more bulky & overwhelming What to Expect When You're Expecting.
Funny But True Books...Baby Laughs by Jenny McCarthy
A humorous take on Jenny's experiences after her baby was born.
Belly Laughs (about pregnancy) is good too. Both are very fast, easy reading.
Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor
Hilarious. She might appreciate this book more after Baby has been around for awhile, but it's quite funny.
My own best advice to a pregnant lady...1) Expect to feel really weird emotionally for several months after the baby is born. Lots of highs and lots of lows. EVERYONE goes through this, even if they don't want to admit it and try to tell you they felt nothing but bliss and fulfillment! You will probably feel more anxiety than you would normally, but this is nature's way of making sure that mommy is vigilant in taking care of her baby.
2) Sleep! Forget about cleaning or email or entertaining visitors and just sleep whenever your baby is sleeping. Period. I wish I had listened more when people told me this.
3) You'll probably get a ton of 0-3 and 3-6 month clothes at your baby shower or as random gifts. If you have gift receipts, put some clothes aside to exchange for 6-9 and 12+ month clothes. Baby will grow ultra-fast in the first few months and will most likely wear an outfit once or twice before it's outgrown. Definitely exchange anything that has complicated closures or ties, if you can.
4) Nursing is great and it's free but not every mommy-baby pair can do it successfully. About 70% of women start out nursing, but only 30% are exclusively nursing at 3 months and only 11% are after 6 months. (2004 data from the CDC). So please don't feel beat yourself up if it doesn't work out for you, because you're certainly not alone.
5) A baby is "a marvelous gift, a magnifying glass from God who reveals for us a more complex and wondrous world" (Lindley Shutz) so have fun in all the little moments with your new arrival!!
If you don't knit now, you'll want to learn after paging through Itty Bitty Nursery by Susan B. Anderson. This book is a delightful collection of adorably whimsical baby gear knitting projects and an excellent follow-up to Itty Bitty Hats, which is chock full of the cutest little children's hats you've ever seen.
