Monday, February 24, 2014

My 5 Favorite Books to Read while Pregnant

When we found out I was expecting Sadie we were about twelve hours away from getting on a plane to leave for a pilgrimage to Israel.  After two beautiful yet miserable weeks (8 weeks pregnant morning sickness does not go well with 12 hour a day touring of religious sites) we were back in the states and one of the first things that I did while waiting to meet my parents for lunch to tell them the big news was to go to Barnes and Nobles and pick out a couple books.  One was a pregnancy journal that I haven't seen in years and can barely remember (I think it was green) and one was What to Expect When You're Expecting.

I read What to Expect When You're Expecting and What to Expect in the First Year more than once pouring over the words and I loved them.  I thought they were the greatest books ever.

But as I've gone through each pregnancy I've found I like the book less and less (and it's not just because I've read it so many times.  I have another pregnancy book that I've read during each pregnancy that's now so well worn it's tattered and torn, and I still think it's one of the greatest pregnancy books I've come across).  And so here are the books that I pour over when I'm pregnant, because even though this is my fifth pregnancy, I still love reading about what's going on with the baby each month.


Image from Amazon
I first saw this book at my NFP doctor's office in Florida and I flipped through it quickly with Sadie.  We both loved it.  She loved all the pictures of babies in utero and I loved that it offered so much more information than pretty much every other pregnancy book I'd ever read.  It's overflowing with pictures and facts and the moment I found out I was pregnant I found it and started flipping through the pages.  It goes from the start of the cycle a baby is conceived ,through conception all the way through the months that follow and child birth.


Photo from Amazon
If I love the previous book because of the enormous amount of information it offers, I love this book because it gives me a page to read about what's going on with baby every single day.  Sadie and I actually sit down together each day and read about the baby, and during the first twelve weeks there are weekly to scale graphics showing the baby's size that Sadie loves pouring over.  This will be my second pregnancy reading Pregnancy Day by Day and picking this book up each day is something I really look forward to doing.

And Patrick spent Sunday morning repeatedly kissing pictures of babies in this book and giggling, which means it definitely vies for a top favorite pregnant book position!


Photo from Amazon
This is the book that I've poured over through each of my pregnancies.  It has a page that keeps falling out that an over enthusiastic toddler tore out at some point.  The babies in it have been kissed repeatedly by Sadie back when she was Mae's age.  I've nearly memorized the information.  And yet I read each section thoroughly (I think of it more as a month by month than a week by week guide, because the sections are broken up by month) and I still love looking at the pictures, because apparently I just can't get enough of reading what baby is doing right this second!



While this book isn't quite about pregnancy it is an awesome book to read while pregnant.  Or just because.  I preordered this book as soon as I heard about it and poured over it with no baby on the way, because it's just too much fun (okay, I love thinking up baby names, so it's my idea of fun and if it's your idea of fun too than this is the book for you).  From names you hear all the time to names you'll struggle to pronounce this book have everything!


Image from Amazon
I think I read this book cover to cover twice when I was pregnant with Sadie, which was a very good thing because I needed to remember all the benefits that I'd read about when a certain one month old nursed for seven consecutive hours (literally).  Reading it helped me get through the first couple difficult months before we got the hang of nursing and it is definitely amid my favorite books to read while pregnant.

Do you have a favorite (or least favorite) pregnancy book (or books!)?

2 comments:

  1. I'll have to check out that Catholic breastfeeding book; I've never heard of it! The Pregnant Body book is awesome- my six year old loves to look thru it.

    If you haven't seen this book yet, you should check it out: http://www.christianbook.com/catholic-companion-pregnancy-walking-conception-baptism/sarah-reinhard/9781594712982/pd/712983?dv=t&en=google-pla&kw=books-0-20&p=1167941&gclid=CMv3-L7s5LwCFUcV7Aod_yQAcg

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  2. I'm so glad you recommend that book because I just used cashback points to order it from Amazon yesterday! I knew I just had to get a new book to read with this pregnancy!

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