books

Here's a picture of the books that have piled up on my nightstand. I've read/skimmed through most of them and thought I'd share some thoughts.

(Starting from the top and down)

Baby 411- Cousin Amy gave me this book to read last night so I haven't read much yet. According to her, it's like "What to Expect the First Year" but easier to read.

Nursing Mother, Working Mother- Haven't started this one but hopefully it will be very helpful as I transition back to work after my maternity leave and begin the pumping process.

Everything You Need To Know about Breastfeeding- I've read the first half of the book and have really enjoyed the tons of information. I feel more confident about nursing now and love all the helpful pictures.

Jenny McCarthy's Belly Laughs- This is a super quick read. Jenny recounts everything she experienced in pregnancy in a hilarious way. It seems like she went through everything under the sun...sucks for her. funny for me.

What to Expect the First Year- This is one of the many books Christy is letting me borrow. I've read the first few chapters which relate to the first few weeks of the baby's life. This is a wonderful resource and I will definitely be counting on this book to answer all my "what do I do with this kid?" questions. It's also one of those books that you keep next to you at all times during the first year of the kid's life as a reference tool so I feel there's no rush to finish the book right now.

Babywise- All my friends seem to swear by this book. I plan on reading it, using the information and adapting the concepts to our parenting style and schedule/priorities. I don't plan on being a Babywise nazi though.

Pregnancy and Birth- I honestly can't remember a single thing about this book. It must have blended in with all the other pregnancy stuff I've read.

What to Expect When Expecting- This book seems to have everything! I've found that these pregnancy books aren't particularly interesting to me since I haven't had many pregnancy symptoms. The book also has great information on labor and delivery too which will be very handy come July.

Baby Names- Holy crap there are a ton of names! I've never heard of most of the names in the book. The book also includes many unusual spellings of common names too. I'm not a fan of spelling your kid's name all weird. It seems like parents do it so that kid will be set apart from the million of other kids out there but it comes across as uneducated to me. I'm all about the traditional spellings.

Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy- This book wasn't as "funny" as everyone told me it would be but it was bluntly honest which I appreciate. I think the edition I'm borrowing is a little out of date because I would never try any of the maternity fashion tips they gave (i.e. wearing your husband's button-up work shirts).

Your Pregnancy and Birth- The hospital gave me this book and it was the first pregnancy resource I had so I read it a ton. Lots of good information but it's the same as in all the other pregnancy books.

i read sometimes

Dusty and I have been reading this book as part of our weekly "young marrieds" group on Wednesday evenings. Let me begin to say that I'm not expert on the books and such. I usually find greater entertainment from the boob tube or the ipod. With that said, I really hated the first chapter of this book. I was not expecting Thomas's portrayal of marriage to be so discouraging from the beginning. He made it sound like marriage was always difficult and that we must coupe with that fact for the rest of our lives. Luckily for my sanity's sake, the positivity exponentially increased as the chapters went on.

I think the best lessons I've learned from the book revolve around a comment he stated in chapter two. Someone asked him once if it's better to marry or to remain single. Thomas told the man, "If you want to be free to serve Jesus, definitely stay single. But if you want to become more like Jesus than it's better to get married." He continues to explain that marriage is a refining process where we are confronted with our sins daily by our partner and are forced to deal with them in order to continue in peace and love with our spouses and with God. That process helps us become more like Jesus.

Also, Thomas made a statement about divorce that I don't think I'll ever forget. As Christians we are called to love...period. If we can't love the person we chose to love, how are you going to love your neighbors, coworkers and friends? What kind of witness is that to unbelievers if we can't love our spouses?

In summary, although I was forced to read this book, I actually am enjoying it and learning important marriage lessons.