Especially for a first time Mom, the first trimester can be a difficult time. You’re nervous, you’re exhausted, in some cases you’re violently ill, and in most cases, you haven’t told anyone. I found that to be the hardest part. I had SO many questions I wanted to ask my friends who already had babies, and instead I was sitting at dinner parties pretending my Shirley Temple was a vodka cranberry and hoping no one would notice when I got up to pee for 37th time.

So once you’ve given up pretending to be drunk at parties, and are sitting at home alone with your non-bump with time to kill, dig into these 2 books….you’ll be informed AND entertained.

Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong–and What You Really Need to Know

I didn’t discover this book until my second trimester with Teddy, which is a shame, because it’s amazing, and as far as I know, there is nothing else like it. Essentially, Emily Oster is an economist who became pregnant and, like many of us, was annoyed at all the blanket statements doctors gave to her (and all pregnant women) without any context or reasoning. “You can’t drink any alcohol at all because that’s the rule and we say so.”

Oster decided to dig into the facts and research a multitude of topics, from weight gain, to eating sushi to bed rest to, yes, drinking alcohol. She does not prescribe what you should do, but simply lays out the facts so YOU can decide what to. Revolutionary!

Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy: From Doctors Who Are Parents, Too!

I found this book to be much more informative and interesting than the classic standby, What To Expect (which I found slightly patronizing and a bit antiquated in thought). The Mayo guide follows your pregnancy week by week, explaining the various development stages your baby is at (he has toes this week!), along with adorable imagery of what the baby looks like inside you, shown to scale! I read this pretty much every week of my pregnancy.

Stay tuned for my suggestions for 2nd & 3rd Trimester reads as well!