Third Trimester!!! The end is in sight…..though your feet mostly likely are not. Now that you are nearing the finish line, it’s time to prop up those swollen legs, settle into your hemorrhoid pillow, and read up on the last few things you need to know to be ready for the arrival of your human.
At a very high level, Moms On Call is the same philosophy as Babywise. As in, schedule-based and teaching your baby how to sleep through the night in the first few months. In an upcoming post, I’ll delve more into the difference between Babywise and Moms On Call, and help you understand which one might be better for you. I think it’s worth having both as a resource.
This book, a part of a series, is very popular with Moms in the South. It was written by two pediatric nurses from Atlanta who, between the two of them, have EIGHT children. Aside from the detailed schedules and feeding/sleeping information, the book also provides a lot of helpful medical information for parents, such as what items to stock in your first aid kit for baby and how to spot and treat common ailments (everything from bronchitis to fever to….eye drainage!).
The New Basics: A-to-Z Baby & Child Care for the Modern Parent
Like Moms On Call, was written by someone in the medical field, Dr. Michel Cohen. Cohen has a massive New York-based practice called Tribeca Pediatrics (Teddy is a patient, first at their Tribeca location, now at the their LA location). The book is comprised of succinct, alphabetized, helpful blurbs for parents on not only ailments and illnesses, but also fun things what to do if you kid is biting someone, when to use ice packs, what are growth charts anyway? Really, anything you can imagine that might come up with your child’s body or mind in the first few years. I’d suggest this less as something you really need to READ before giving birth and more something to have on hand as a great resource. Once they arrive and you’ll be like “….ok…why on earth is my baby’s scalp peeling off!? Is this NORMAL?!?” (It’s called Cradle Cap…and you can learn all about it in this book).
The title should give you a good sense of what this one is about. What I love about The Big Book Of Birth is that is gives great detail into how the entire birth process works from start to finish, whether you are use an OB/GYN, a midwife, a doula, a magician, etc. Along with each stage of the birth process, author Erica Lyons includes testimonials from different woman going through those stages and what their experience was like. She covers topics like birth plans, epidurals, pitocin, c-sections, on and on and on. I liked this book because it was very honest without being completely horrifying. Giving birth is a painful experience no matter which way you do it, but this book made me feel prepared, not scared.
Congrats, lil mama! You’ve read your books, you’ve packing your hospital bag (I hope), now it’s time to sit back, relax and wait for that precious arrival.