I decided that before I spent any money on pregnancy books, I should read through a variety of them to be sure that I would purchase one that I really liked. Between two local libraries, I estimate I've now read or skimmed at least 15 pregnancy books. Yes, I realize that averages out to a book a week since I found out I'm pregnant. What can I say, I like to research. (My poor husband the scientist, on the other hand, is getting a bit tired of all my research.)
Most of the books tell you about the pregnancy itself, many going through week by week changes. They all pretty much say the same thing. I still haven't found the one perfect pregnancy book that I'd be willing to shell out money for, that will be my go-to book for future pregnancies. I know it might sound crazy, but I really don't get excited hearing about how my baby's heart chambers have developed or his tail is gone or she's swallowing the stuff she's floating around in. I know some people really get into that, but it doesn't really do much for me. Even the amazing photographs they have of actual babies in the womb - I just kind of think "that's nice" and move on.
There have only been three books so far that I got excited about. The first was The Girlfriends' Guide to Baby Gear (although I hated The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy). It was really great and I was able to create my own list of stuff to register for from it. (I thought it was much better than Baby Bargains, which I was disappointed by.)
The next book that I loved was The Baby Book. Let me repeat: I loved it. It covers attachment parenting type of stuff and yet remains remarkably open to letting the parents decide what is best for their own baby. It was so good that it went onto my registry, as I think it'll be a valuable resource once the baby arrives. I'm wishing my libraries had more books by the Sears and trying to justify buying some myself!
Stuff I haven't read yet: breastfeeding books. I'm trying to get my hands on The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood. But seeing as I still have 21 weeks until I'll be doing that, I'm trying to pace myself.
The other topic I haven't done much with: nutrition. I went to a little class at my OBGYN's and basically came away thinking we'd paid $15 for someone to tell us to eat healthy and not too much extra. But I remembered Jenelle really plugged Real Food for Mother and Baby, so when I saw it on the library bookshelf, I pulled it out to give it a try. And that's really what this blog post was supposed to be about (sorry for the long intro). So if you'd rather not read a review of it, you can just stop now.
This is the only other book that I've gotten really excited about - in both a good and a bad way. I got surprisingly fired up reading this book, so much so that my husband would make a face whenever I picked it up to read it.
In the beginning, I just couldn't get over the fact that this was written by a woman who refused to eat meat with artificial hormones but who took the pill. It's one thing when women who do it are somewhat ignorant to the irony, but Planck is clearly knowledgeable that there are other, greener options. (I may or may not have dog-eared every page that showed evidence of this.) As I said, I couldn't get over this. (I might have issues.) With every page I was looking for more evidence of hypocrisy. Add to this the facts that she'd only had one child when she wrote this (I'd prefer an author with more personal experience), that she wasn't married to the father and didn't seem to intend to (I'd prefer an author with values more similar to my own), and that she lived in New York City (the ultimate sin in my book - I told you I had issues), and you had a ranting pregnant woman shooting her mouth off to her forbearing husband.
I took a week off from the book. And yet, I was drawn to pick it up again in spite of myself. Some of the things she had said made so much sense. Maybe I should just put my own issues on the shelf and hear her out. So I did... and found myself nodding in agreement and actually enjoying it! By the end I was shocked to realize that her parenting was very similar to what I was hoping for! Gosh darn it!
I like the concept of eating traditional foods prepared in traditional ways, and it makes sense to me that those are best for our bodies. I like the distinction between "carry" and "cache" species and what that means for breastfeeding. I like the overall approach of looking at what's worked for humans for thousands of years, checking the science behind it, and basing nutritional principles on that. In the end, despite all my initial qualms, I liked this book.
Will we be eating all real food? No - that's just too expensive and unrealistic for our family. Would I like to? You bet - that would mean I'd have my dream of a tiny little farm in the country where we produce most of our own food! Will I follow her pregnancy diet or all her recommendations for baby's first foods? No, but I appreciated her assessment of what was wrong with conventional advice, and that has already started to influence what I'm eating, and it will influence how we feed our baby. The only question I don't have an answer to yet is: Will I go out and actually buy the book?
Has anyone else read Real Food for Mother and Baby (or Real Food) before? What did you think? Also, I know I've asked before, but I'm still open to hearing more pregnancy and baby book recommendations, especially before I hit the library again this week!
Just in case you thought I was cool enough to do reviews and get free stuff, I should mention that I'm not and I don't. I just thought I'd share the things I found, with no influence from the publishers.