Parenting Books I Love!!

I feel a bit weird blogging about parenting books. After all, my parents raised seven kids without reading parenting books, that I know of, and we turned out okay...I guess. No one told me parenting would involve so many issues which parents are totally unqualified for! Therefore why not learn as many tips, tricks and strategies as possible. We have at least eighteen years at this job...we need to be prepared!

So here are my three favorite parenting books!


Happiest Baby on the Block

Every pregnant mother should have this book and read it on the way to the hospital! Okay, maybe a few weeks before. When my daughter was only a few weeks old she became colicky to the point if she was awake, then she was crying. I remember myself actually cringing when I heard her wake up. Luckily I contacted a friend who's baby had severe colic and she rushed me this book. This book covers only the first three months of a baby's life and the evolution theory of human babies being born too soon. The five "S"s; swaddling, side laying, swinging, shushing, sucking. It was a lifesaver!! After reading this book I could get my daughter to calm down within seconds. If you are pregnant...Get...This...Book!



Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

I like this book because it doesn't only discuss babies and sleep but discusses sleep with children up to the teenage years. For example, studies show 16 year olds need more sleep than 14 year olds. It also helps get little kids into good sleep habits and helps prevent tantrums at bedtime. This book was lent to me by a friend of mine when my twins were about eighteen months old. At the time, I thought my boys were sleeping fine but I read the book, made one small change to their sleep schedule and suddenly they were much nicer little boys. They were overtired and cranky and I hadn't even realized it. Over the years I have given away copies of this book to lots of mothers and keep a copy for myself to refer to every few months.



If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to Know if Your Child's Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency

The title of this book caught my attention at the library one day and I read it only for that reason. This book was written by an emergency room doctor with a specialty in pediatrics. She focuses mostly on children too young to communicate how they feel so 3 or 4 years and younger. This book taught me that I freaked out way too much when my boys were younger. When my son was learning to walk and fell with a spoon in his mouth and jammed it to the back of his throat? Yeah, I shouldn't have taken him to the emergency room. Also parents worry way too much about high temperatures in little kids. A good reference when deciding whether to ignore the blood, call the doctor or rush to the hospital in your pajamas.

I'm no expert on parenting and probably never will be but I'm a sucker for a book that makes it all easier. So tell me, what are your favorite parenting books? Do you have one I need to read? We're all in this together!