Growing new life can bring a lot of worries and changes to your body, as well as joy. And if you’re like me, you want to know what to expect as you grow this new life. There are so many pregnancy books out there, but please allow me to share my favorites: I really liked “The Pregnancy Book” by Sears and Sears. They are a husband and wife team, doctor and nurse, and parents, too. This book takes you week by week through what’s happening in your body. It’s warm and informative. This book assists you in making healthy choices daily, reminding you that the changes you’re going through aren’t sickness, but in support of this new baby (the perfect parasite, I might add! But more on that later.) The Pregnancy Book by the Sears is warm and informative. You’ll find that your OB/GYN check-ups will be short and possibly hurried, so you can read at your leisure here. (And I also liked their Breastfeeding Book, which talked about the hows, how often, and patterns to note, like the afternoon “cluster feeding,” where baby wants to nurse for two hours straight. See more on the Baby Books section to come.)
A Good Laugh:
A little laughter can make the heart light, and that’s just what you need during this time. Comedien Jenny McCarthy’s book “Belly Laughs” is a wonderful light read that will have you laughing out loud about everything strange and new that’s going on, and help you keep it all in perspective. (She has another book out now about the first year of motherhood, that I hope to pick up sometime soon. Everyone could use a good laugh!)
My friend recommended “The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy late in my term, so I didn’t have a chance to read it. But I did read their other book for new babies, called “Girlfriend’s Guide to Surviving the First Year” and I was stifling bed-shaking, laugh out-loud belly laughs in the middle of the night, during feedings. (Boy, did I need a good laugh then!) If their first book is as good as the one I read, it’s worth a look.
Healthy Eating:
My favorite book for prenatal and pregnancy nutrition is “Eating for Two” by Mary Abbott Hess, R.D. and Anne Elise Hunt. The authors recommend getting your nutrition mainly from food. It is possible to get too much of one vitamin from a vitamin tablet/pill. When eating food, our body absorbs the vitamins it needs from food, and let’s the rest go. It only takes in what it needs.
For instance, did you know that megadoses of vitamin C during pregnancy can cause the baby to have withdrawal-type symptoms once they are born, if the high levels of vitamin C is not continued? And much too much vitamin A from vitamins can cause cleft-pallet. (If I remember correctly, vitamin A from orange vegetable sources like carrots, Beta-Carotenes, were always safe.)
This book is an easy read, and yet amazing, and lists the food sources for each vitamin or mineral, explains how much you need during pregnancy and post-natal, and describes the problems from getting too much or not enough for baby and mom. You could see what foods to include more often in your diet if you have problems with dry, lined nails, for instance. You don’t need to sit and measure out food at each meal; just include the good foods they list to get those vitamins.
Humans give their all to their babies, and this includes the raw materials for growing bodies. At first I was worried that the baby might be missing something in my diet (and by diet, I mean all the food I’m eating- the full nutrition spectrum). Then I read that fetuses are “perfect parasites” – they take what they need from mom, and so mom better eat enough good food to have nutrients for herself.
Superfoods:
As a reader, it soon became clear that there were “superfoods” – foods that kept appearing under each vitamin heading. These superfoods included beef, milk & cheese, dark green leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, etc.), whole grains, avocado, liver, eggs, fish, nuts, strawberries and beans/lentils. So just include these in your weekly intake.
Cravings:
During my pregnancy I craved berries a lot – mostly blueberries and blackberries. I couldn’t stay away from them. And I pampered myself in spite of the high winter cost because berries are chock full of good things, including vitamin C and bioflavenoids. Bioflavenoids help build strong veins, and reduce easy bruising.
The second thing I craved was beef! And lots of it! I went from a semi-vegetarian diet to… THE CARNIVORE!! (as my husband started calling me). He would come home to see me dining on T-bone steaks (or half of them, because one can only eat many small meals with your stomach squished by an expanding uterus).
If you find yourself craving bad foods, especially sugar, take a look at the clock. I’m sure its been 1.5 hours or more since you ate last. Your body is asking for FOOD! A squished stomach requires eating many small meals throughout the day, and keeping food in there is great to fend off nausea, too.
Books I Didn’t Like
What To Expect When You’re Expecting
Hated it! I know everyone else reads this book, but every time I picked it up it made me fearful. It explained in way too much detail all the things that can go wrong with a baby in the first 5 months. After several days of this, I put it down for good. And Good Riddance! If you really need to know something, you’re doctor will tell you the current news about you and your baby! No sense worrying any more than you probably already are, as a new mom in the making.
I hope these books will help you through this exciting time of your life. They helped me, and I wanted to share them with you.
