Baby Advice and More

What can a trained doula tell you about pregnancy and birth? The Doula Guide to Birth: Secrets Every Pregnant Woman Should Know (2009, Bantam Paperback, $16) is a handy resource offering advice on every pregnancy topic and birthing experience. In the chapter “Labor Techniques Anyone Can Use,” changing positions and getting up to stretch or walk are two important strategies to assist laboring. Movement is proven beneficial for the baby’s heart rate and can also help if moms do not want to use labor-inducing drugs. Typically, however, three out of four women stay in bed after being admitted to the hospital. 

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Mindful Motherhood (2009, Noetic Books and New Harbinger Publications, $16.95) offers practical tips for staying sane during pregnancy and the child’s first year. The book describes mindful motherhood as “a way of being, encouraging you to attend more fully to what is already present, to who you already are, to what is right in front of you, rather than striving to make things different.” The book uses real-life examples from today’s moms to illustrate mindful techniques and provides thought-provoking exercises to help women become more in tune with their own mothering and personal abilities.
When baby finally arrives home, most parents struggle with sleep issues both for themselves and their newborn.

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Helping Baby Sleep: The Science and Practice of Gentle Bedtime Parenting (2009, Celestial Arts, $15.99) provides research-based information on infant wakefulness as well as supportive advice and useful strategies to address common sleep problems. As with adults, sleep needs vary from child to child and cannot be learned by the baby. “They need time and a parent’s patient and consistent help,” the book states. Sleep routines are keys to success. Keep routines simple and consistent, and change or modify them when they no longer work.

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Brenda Nixon’s The Birth to Five Book (2009, Revell Publishing, $12.99) spans what experts believe are the most important years for children. Reliable advice for all stages of a young child’s development includes how to encourage a love for reading and healthy methods of discipline. Nurture a love for books by reading aloud to children at an early age and keeping books around for children to explore. Reading habits developed in the early years are proven to continue throughout a lifetime. With regard to discipline, Nixon suggests that patience and persistence are important to teach children self-controlled, respectful behavior.

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Working moms trying to find a balance between home and business may find helpful hints in the Working Mom’s Survival Guide (2009, Adams Media, $12.95). Leaving a child with someone else or at a daycare facility is often a guilt-ridden experience for working moms but it doesn’t have to be, contends author Paula Peters. To ensure that moms who work outside the home during the day have ample quality time with their young ones, they should schedule 30-minute blocks of time in the morning and evening either playing or reading with their child. Don’t miss the opportunity to cuddle after bath time.

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Finally, A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers (2009, Adams Media, $9.95) is another book in the Comfort series that addresses the concerns and expresses the adoration of moms everywhere. This book tells true stories of 50 women from around the world by sharing their joys of motherhood. For example, Elizabeth King Gerlach writes in “The Sisterhood of Motherhood” about the value of comfy, stretchy maternity clothes that become “your second skin.” Her recollection of a pink T-shirt dress, borrowed from a new-mom friend, that saw her through two pregnancies before being passed to her out-of-state pregnant sister reminds mothers everywhere that only people who walk in your shoes can suggest the perfect outfit. It is filled with heart-warming stories that moms can cuddle up with on the couch even if they are beyond the child-birthing years.

Freelance writer Eileen Cornish lives in Santee with her husband Steve and her three sons: Ben, 16; Brad, 15; and Andy, 10.