Every pregnant woman and new mum needs a few good books to get her through pregnancy and the first few months with her new child and with a gazillion books available on everything from bump to birth and everything in between, it can be difficult to know what to read, what to avoid reading for fear of scaring yourself off labour and what is going to be the best and most informative read for you depending on you and your individual pregnancy and newborn.
I’m the sort who would happily have read endless baby books and magazines all pregnancy if I had the chance. It helps to already have the experience that comes with being the eldest child of 6, and with 6 nephews and 2 nieces already but nothing compares to the reality of the 3am feeds and reading up on what to expect seemed like the sensible thing to do.
As all nephews and nieces are under the age of 4, I’ve had the chance to handle a few babies, give a few bottles and get woken up in the middle of the night and then woken again by small beady eyes peering through the bars of the cot at me at 6am so all in all I think I was pretty relaxed about the realities of the situation and what was coming my way. At the same time though, during my pregnancy I loved buying pregnancy books to plug the gaps in the baby knowledge and to feel that I was as prepared as I could be. While there’s nothing quite like the reality of the situation, as long as you have a healthy attitude to what you read and know that there is no substitute for listening to and understanding your own baby, reading up on a few quality baby books is a recommended must-do!
What To Expect When You’re Expecting
Since James was born on 15th May I’ve been reading the What To Expect – The First Year. With the original What To Expect When You’re Expecting book billed as the #1 Bestselling Pregnancy Book and “America’s Pregnancy Bible”, the second book in the series is aimed at mums with newborns in the first year and is an absolute bible for everything all the other books only skim. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the book so far and have learnt quite a few things already, including a few things that have not been touched upon by any other book I’ve read.
The First Year book is so comprehensive it is an amalgamation of all other baby books and covers concerns, advice, practical tips on breastfeeding, weaning, first aid, schedules and routines, learning to talk, and a whole list of things you would never even have thought of (parental nudity, fear of strangers, baby cholesterol levels etc.) Rather than have to read it from start to finish, it’s been organised in an easy to use format that allows you to flick through to relevant sections. Another plus point is that it provides balanced information and does not lean towards any one style of parenting, nor is it biased, judgemental or take the you-must-do-this tone which is always a benefit for the first time parent who doesn’t want to be scared into thinking they are bad people for not following “the instructions”.
Win Your Own Copy With My Baby Spain!
Decide for yourself and get your own copy!
My Baby Spain has 1 copy of each book in the series – What To Expect When You’re Expecting, What To Expect The First Year and What To Expect The Second Year. All you have to do is upload a photo of your little one to your own Facebook page and tag yourself as well as @mybabyspain in the photo and add “I’m trying to win a copy of What To Expect with @mybabyspain. Like the My Baby Spain Facebook page to be in with a chance of winning one for yourself too“. It’s as simple as that! A winner for each copy of the series will be chosen at random next Friday 15th. For postage reasons, winners need to be in Spain.
My Baby Spain Recommends…
You can also check out the link below to go straight to the Amazon page and buy your own copy now. Or check out the WTE website and get the mailshots or download the WTE app as well! And remember to join in and be in with a chance of winning your own copy this week!
Alana x
