Hellobee Boards

Expecting better for pregnancy.
Bringing up Bebe is a great memoir and has wonderful advice about parenting and it helps put the culture of parenting in perspective.

I also highly recommend the documentary babies.

@youboots: Second all three of these!!

@wrkbrk: I just ordered it on amazon since you obviously have good taste in literature.

@wrkbrk: under pressure is another good one.

Since DD broke her leg in June (on top of being physically disabled) and lately I’ve been a helicopter parent by accident. So I need to re read books about raising independent children.

I really like No Bad Kids by Janet Lansbury.

I have a general baby care book that I thought was really empathetic and realistic called Your Baby and Child by Penelope Leach. I don't know if there are better books out there; this one was just given to me. But I really liked it for helping me to realize what my newborn's world and experience was like.

Second for Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Baby--the principles were invaluable but the organization of the book drove me crazy, I found it really hard to know what to "do" at any given age. For baby sleep I also liked watching the DVD of Happiest Baby on the Block--you can rent it on Amazon for like $7, well worth it. I didn't read the book version but hear the content is the same; I liked seeing the DVD because 1) lazy and 2) I never EVER would have expected the shushing methods to be so loud but they work!

@SweetiePie: didn't you also recommend 12 hours by 12 Weeks? or was that someone else? That's a book that I haven't read but some co-workers and others have lauded it--I didn't hear about it until my boy was already sleep trained, but I'm interested in reading it for #2.

And for way way down the road, I have heard a million times that How To Talk So Kids Will Listen & How To Listen So Kids Will Talk is the best book ever.

I agree--read some parenting books. If I could go back, I would have even read some potty training books while pregnant or while nursing in MOTN.

This is a little different in terms of the science of what the pregnancy is like for the baby, but I really enjoyed Origins but Annie Murphy Paul.

For parenting books, there is an AAP (American association of pediatricians) book called Heading Home without Your Newborn that I really liked as a first time mom.
Happiest Baby and Happiest Toddler (Dr Harvey Karp) are good frameworks. You might be able to find part of Happiest Baby dvd on YouTube?

For sleep; I read Healthy asleep habits and was fully ready to follow the plan but it was not a good fit for our family. A more attachment style sleep book that I found helpful was No Cry Sleep Solution.

Bigger picture parenting in terms of discipline/behavior management, I find the work of Dan Siegel and Becky Bailey helpful. It is an approach where you are the grownup and thus the boss but you are also empathetic , calm and emotionally available. Very authoritative parenting.

Janet Lansbury! I don't follow her stuff exactly but adopt the general tone/attitude.