It’s no secret that I’m a reader if you’ve been reading my blog or following my Pinterest for any amount of time. As I gear up for a third baby and delivery and get through a third pregnancy, here’s the books I’ve been loving.
Some of these links are affiliate links – if you make a purchase using my link I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Expecting Better by Emily Oster
Someone in my birth month forum on Baby Centre mentioned this and I’m so glad they did. I adored the fact that Oster has done the research for me so I can consume the data and make my decisions about everything from sleeping position, to deli meat and epidurals. You can see my full review on this book here.
Bringing up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman
Curious after a quote I read from this book in a blog post, I ordered this book from the library. The insights into another culture’s parenting is amazing. I actually found some sleep tidbits that resonated with me such as “the pause” – where you give baby five minutes to see if they are actually waking or just transitioning sleep cycles. I liked the writing and the content.
The Mama Natural Week by Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth by Genevieve Howland
This was a very pretty week by week guide from Mama Natural packed full of tips and tricks for getting through pregnancy and birth with plenty of data so you can make your own decisions.
Mindful Hypnobirthing: Hypnosis and Mindfulness Techniques for a Calm and Confident Birth by Sophie Fletcher
Meditation has made a huge difference to everyday life so why shouldn’t I employ the principles into labour? Research suggests that there are benefits to mother and baby from meditation! I like their affirmations so much that I created myself some pretty pictures with them written on for use during labour.
Other posts about pregnancy and parenting:
Fibromyalgia Pregnancy: Items on My Baby Registry
Pumping or Expressing for Your Baby: Parenting (Fibromyalgia or Not)
Early Pregnancy Symptoms and Fibromyalgia (2018 Edition)
A Simple Guide to the Hard Parts of Birth by Lindsey A. Van Alstyne from Mother Rising
This is a free ebook that you receive when signing up to this blog’s newsletter. It is a great, compact, not airy fairy guide to labour – the best I’ve read yet. I wholly recommend this.
Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers by Nancy Mohrbacher and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett
This book really promotes laid back feeding as a way for mama to get more rest and help baby learn to latch well. It goes through the science of nursing and baby biology which I enjoyed. The best piece of learning – use those first two weeks to set up your supply, more milk out equals more milk made. I will really work on getting 8-12 feeds per 24 hours.
How to Succeed in Breastfeeding Without Really Trying, or 10 Steps to Laugh Your Way Through by Natasha Shur and Paulina Shur
If you want a light-hearted breastfeeding book, this is it. But don’t think it isn’t well backed by scientific knowledge. My number one take away is that postpartum women are the most undertreated of the medical world, ask for the pain relief if you need it. Labour is rough on your body. Pain relief is more likely to support than hinder lactation.
Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia by Melissa Reynolds (that’s me!)
If you want a book specifically about pregnancy with fibromyalgia you might like my book Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia- its my research and experience, including the results of two informal surveys I took with advice from other mamas fighting fibromyalgia while pregnant.
If you love reading like me try Amazon Kindle Unlimited Membership – you can try your first month free and access unlimited reading or listening on any device! They now have magazines too! It’s also available for those of us who use Amazon.com.au *squee*.
If audio books are more your speed, as they are for me with three little ones, you know you can get a free trial of Audible on Amazon here. I’ve recently started reading a lot more audio books as the hands free option is far easier to access with the wee ones. You will get access to two audio books, plus two Audible Originals, and other cool membership options for 30 days. Cancel anytime if you don’t want the full subscription.
If you want to know more about Pregnancy and Fibromyalgia:
Come and see my resources page, including diaries from my pregnancies (I’ve done this three times), articles, resources and more.