I used to be a huge reader, ever since I was a kid, but somewhere in high school I kind of lost interest. I had trouble finding books that caught my attention. Every once in a while I will stumble across a book that I find intriguing, and usually I finish it the same day I pick it up, leaving me again with nothing to read for months.
Suddenly though, I found myself pregnant, and someone lent me a book:
and after reading that book, and with the encouragement of my OBGYN, Mike and I decided to take a Hypnobirthing class where we used this book:
My attention was caught. I suddenly had to know everything about natural childbirth, and according to everyone else Ina May Gaskin is the expert, so I quickly found and read two of her books. Both of these books really changed the way I feel about my body and it's innate abilities. They are full of birth stories, encouragement and advice. I decided while reading these books, that we would be staying home to have our baby, and so the search for a midwife began.
After all of that reading in such a short period of time, I remembered why I love reading so much, and why it used to be an important part of my life. I hurried to Summit County Library to get a Library card.
But now that I know everything there is to know about childbirth, Where to go next?
Parenting books of course! I gotta know what to do once that thing comes out.
I have read a few of the parenting books that one of the ladies I nanny for had in her bookshelf. just for fun really, while the boy was napping. The Happiest baby/toddler on the Block, and The No-Cry Sleep Solution are the ones I remember reading. They were okay.
The books I have already been reading about childbirth really encourage a style of parenting called attachment parenting, so when I saw this book I thought I might as well find out what that's all about:
And when I saw the title of this book, I couldn't not check it out. My number one goal as a parent is to raise compassionate, empathetic children. Children who are unselfish, and have a love for everyone and everything around them. I'm pretty surprised at how little emphasis this concept gets in our school systems today, and in society in general. I feel like so many kids today are unaware of the people around them. They are so immersed with themselves. It's one thing when it's a small child , but when a 10 or 12 year old boy buzzes past you in a doorway, and you can tell that it never even occurred to him for a split second to hold the door open, doesn't it just appaul you? This is not how I was raised, to blatantly ignore other people's presence.
This book is more geared towards teachers, but I think it is a book that any parent, grandparent, teacher, and anyone else who is involved in the lives of any young child could definitely benefit from reading. It is probably my favorite of all of the books I have read this year.
and here is a link to the Foreword, if you would like a preview:
My Midwife has a wonderful library of books, and she sent me home with this book. Unlike most breastfeeding books, along with being informative it is also very entertaining. It tackles a few points that other breastfeeding books don't, and branches out on a few related subjects. It made me feel a lot more confident about breastfeeding, and parenting in general. Some of the other books just talk about everything that can go wrong, and it just makes you worry. This book is like the friend that helps you realize shit happens, and you deal with it, and you move on, and usually forget about it.
She also lent me this book, which is another super encouraging guide to prepare you for the emotional and physical process of childbirth. It uses a lot of imagery and art.
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