One of the first things I felt when I learned that I was becoming a mama, was that I didn’t know much. I had babysat in high school and college and even nannied post-college a bit, but when it came to pregnancy, labor, and raising a child I didn’t know where to begin. 

Not only that, but between working over 40 hours/week and everything else we had going on, I didn’t feel like I had time to read tons of parenting books or just any random parenting books I may have come across. So, finding just a few books that other trusted mamas recommended was extremely helpful! Obviously there will always be new parenting books to read and learn from but here are a few books that I have found to be game changers as an expecting mama.

Bringing up Bebe: This was the first book I read while pregnant and I found it to be such a thought-provoking introduction to the idea of parenting. It’s not a manual on how to raise your kids but an easy to read collection of thoughts and stories from an American mother and British father raising their children in Paris. They notice the differences in American parenting vs. how the French raise their children and while much of it just seems like good parenting, it was really helpful to read. Let’s just say, I now love the phrase “be sage” and have implemented “the pause” in our day to day life with my boys. (Category of reading: Child raising philosophy)

Husband Coached Childbirth: We were introduced to this book through our Bradley Method Birth Class and while some of it feels a little out of date, the principles for pregnancy health and labor/delivery have been so helpful. I completely changed my exercising, eating, and preparations for labor as a result of this book and the Bradley class.  (Category of reading: pregnancy, labor & delivery)

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding: When I started reading this book, I had no idea that the Bradley Method (authors behind Husband Coached Labor) and the La Leche League (authors of this book) were so tied together. It turns out, those who are big fans of breastfeeding are also big fans of natural childbirth for many reasons and the two groups can often be found quoting and referencing each other. This book is more like a manual for breastfeeding, but it explains so much when it comes to your newborn’s health, tips and trouble shooting for mama and so much more. This is one I would recommend buying because it has helpful pages in the back to document your newborn’s feedings, pooping, etc. Sounds a little over the top, but when you’re in those first few weeks of “is my newborn eating enough?” it will be a lifesaver. The Bradley Method suggests that each mama go to a La Leche League group meeting (free and often near where you live) prior to delivery, and I found it to be very helpful and a resource I used after having both of my boys as well.  (Category of reading: breastfeeding, newborn care)

Natural ChildBirth the Bradley Way: If you are interested in having a natural childbirth, this book is very descriptive on the various stages of labor and how mama and papa can work together to have a natural (no intervention or medicine) labor and delivery. The specifics in this book were helpful for us as I wrote a Labor Study Sheet for Matt so he was fully prepared to coach me through labor as my doula. (That might sound crazy but he has helped me have two unmedicated labors at this point!)  (Category of reading: labor/delivery)

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth: Ina May is a friend of Dr. Bradley’s and also a proponent of natural childbirth. Even though I had read two labor and delivery books while pregnant, I read Ina May’s Guide right before giving birth and it was so helpful. She had a phrase that stuck with me during labor where she essentially said that she had never seen a woman die from the pain of a contraction and so it was possible to endure. Those words were honestly very helpful when I was in the transition stage of labor. Definitely a must-read. (Category of reading: labor/delivery)

On Becoming Baby Wise: This book is all about the sleep and schedule of your baby. It was recommended to me by multiple trusted friends and I found it so helpful to have the knowledge fresh in my mind when baby boy arrived. It’s not quite as specific as I’d like but the schedule rhythms for parent-directed feeding have been amazing. Both of my boys have thrived in these rhythms and started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks and 12 weeks, so I highly recommend it. Babywise has a series of books as your child gets older and each one has been so helpful in terms of understanding their development, play, sleep and eating. I can’t recommend them enough. (Category of reading: newborn care)

The Happy Sleeper: This book provided the necessary detail that was missing in Baby Wise and gave me some great info on sleep environment and bed-time routines. It breaks up child sleep by age, and each time my boys hit a new phase I would read that section and adjust accordingly. (Category of reading: newborn care)

Brain Rules for Baby: My parents got this one for us. It’s a NYT Bestseller that was written by scientist, Dr. John Medina who kept getting asked the same questions by parents: how can I make my baby happy, smart, moral, sleep through the night, etc. He takes science and studies and puts them into layman’s terms while correcting myths and affirming what is true of parenting. I don’t really agree with his chapter on sleep and prefer Babywise and The Happy Sleeper for that, but other things have been very helpful. For instance, he writes that the number one thing you could do to help your baby’s IQ (aside from genetics) is breastfeed, and he shows the studies to support it. Made me quite encouraged to persevere after the rocky start to breastfeeding that Aiden and I had. (Category of reading: newborn care, pregnancy)

So there you have it! Between pregnancy, labor/delivery, breastfeeeding, newborn care and overall parenting philosophy, I’d say these 8 books are bound to get you started on your journey to becoming new parents. Happy reading!