3 Book to Read During Pregnancy (that you’ll be glad you read as baby grows)

Pregnancy is such an exciting time! Shopping for nursery needs and decor, baby showers, endless doctors appointments, learning about baby’s development.

And then there’s the great unknown…. preparing for labor! (Yikes!)

It’s so easy to be completely wrapped up in those nine months. But let me tell you, they go by fast and there’s a BIG life that happens after it. And it comes on hard. So brace yourself, and start preparing now.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll never read those books you thought you’d have time for during maternity leave. So instead of learning about how to grow a human (hint: your body’s got this!), learn about how to care for it post-birth while that bun is baking. As such, there are three books I’d recommend reading during pregnancy with very relevant information that you’ll be able to use as early as the first few months.

This post contains affiliate links. 

As for pregnancy, I’ve included a quick list of tips for pregnancy, newborn life, and breastfeeding survival (and thriving!) below.

1. Baby signing

Learning how to communicate with your baby through signs has numerous advantages.

• Initially, it reduces frustration and tantrums.
• As they learn more signs, it’ll help you learn about your baby’s interests.
• And although it may seem counterproductive, it’s been proven to help create excellent verbal skills down the line.
• Using signs is sure to make everyone believe you have the smartest kid around!

Even Mom and Dad have some perks: Hubs and I would use some signs to communicate with each other when the kids were sleeping! (Especially “thank you!”)

This book really demonstrates what is possible and at what developmental timeline through others’ stories. Here are a few of our stories.

2. The Amazing Make Ahead Baby Food Book

Baby’s diet is pretty straightforward for the first few months, but then you have to figure out how to feed them real food. 

The US baby food industry would have you believe that rice cereal and baby oatmeal are ideal first foods.

On the contrary!

The Amazing Make Ahead Baby Food Book is written by a nutritionist and is loaded with beautiful photos, helpful charts, and tons of tips to make what may seem like an overwhelming process very doable and straightforward. 

As a plant-based eater, I really appreciated the author’s attention to different flavors and use of various, nutrient-dense grains. I promise that making your own baby food is not overwhelming. Check it out!

3. Oh, Crap!

I know it may seem like it’s forever away, but I promise that potty training comes much more quickly (and is very doable much earlier!) than you may think. The diaper industry has been profiting enormously off of delaying potty training for decades. 

It took a little work to get my husband on board with using this method, but after we trained our daughter at 26 mos., he was sold!

We confidently potty trained our second (son) at 21 mos.  (Hint: baby signing helps with this, too).

Read about our experience using Oh, Crap! here.

Those are the three books I’d most recommend reading during pregnancy.

Now, I promised you the “what you need to know”s about pregnancy and breastfeeding, so here it is.

Click the link for the full blog post and pin for later!

• Pregnancy is about survival. I found that eating a lot of fiber helped tremendously and also helped me keep at a healthy weight. Here are some of the foods that helped keep me feeling full and regular.

• A healthy diet and exercise during pregnancy will go a long way, but I also recommend making a few investments in your comfort. These were some of my favorites.

• Need a stretch mark cream? This was my go-to (and it didn’t cost a fortune).

• Birth plan? Throw it out the window. Just think about it this way: the goal is to bring home a healthy baby. Until you’ve been through childbirth, you can’t possibly know what to expect. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to perform during one of the most raw, human experiences you’ll ever have. Here were the three things I included in mine that I could control. 

• Planning to nurse? 

  • First, get down your latch. Believe it or not, it could take up to a couple of weeks to get comfortable. 

  • Secondly, start stashing. This one item helped me stash 100 oz. of milk lickety-split. 

  • Anxiety about returning to work? Here’s what you’ll need for your pump bag.

  • Supply issues or troubleshooting? Here are a few tips I learned in my first two years of nursing that helped tremendously. (At the time of writing, I’m on year 5!)

Last but not least, congratulations on your bundle! Enjoy your new life, mama! It’s a wild ride. 

If you have any other parenting questions for me, feel free to ask in the comment space below!

—Melissa, Funky Crunchy Mama