During my pregnancy I read the following books:
Your Pregnancy Week by Week
by Dr. Glade B. Curtis, M.D., M.P.H. and Judith Schuler, M.S.
This book was given to me by a friend who had read it during her pregnancy. I really liked how the book divided the information by weeks. It had pictures of what the baby looked like developmentally, and talked about what I should expect in terms of my changing body each week. It also told me about different tests I may be taking at my prenatal appointments and gave me questions that I should ask my midwife (or doctor).
The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy (or Everything Your Doctor Won't Tell You)
by Vicki Iovine
This book was also given to me by a friend. I admit I read excerpts from it while I was visiting her during her pregnancy a few years before I became pregnant and I nearly peed myself from laughing back then when I didn't have post-labor incontinence issues to deal with. Vickie is a jack-of-all-trades, mother of four who I just realized is married (but separated) to Jimmy Iovine, the Interscope Records executive! Vicki's wise and witty advice is just what ALL expectant moms need to make it through 40 weeks of pregnancy!
Ready or Not, Here We Come: The Real Experts' Guide to the First Year with Twins
by Elizabeth Lyons
This book was a gift from my sister-in-law, Heidi. I am glad that I read it before I began registering for baby stuff because it gave me some great information about what I would and wouldn't need for Tanner and Abigail. I was in the mindset that having twins meant I needed two of everything, but this book helped me realize that this wasn't true. It gave multiple suggestions for managing twins from naps, nursing, to night time feeding schedules. It isn't written by anyone in the medical field, in fact it is written by a mother of twins who compiled advice from other twin parents, so it has a very relaxed and personal approach.
Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth
by Jenny McCarthy
This book was loaned to me by a friend when I was put on bedrest a few weeks before Tanner and Abigail were born. It had a lot of insight into pregnancy, most of which I had already experienced by that point. It was filled with the humor that Jenny McCarthy is known for and was a very entertaining, short read. I wouldn't recommend it as your one and only pregnancy read, but it should definitely be put into the mix of other more serious books.
The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy Daily Diary
by Vicki Iovine
Just after I found out that I was pregnant I decided to keep a journal so I could refer to it during future pregnancies. I bought a simple composition book and began writing in it daily about doctor's appointments, moods/feelings, body changes, worries, etc. Once I finished reading The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy I discovered that Vicki Iovine also created The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy Daily Diary, so I bought that (transposed everything I had written in my composition journal) and continued to journal in it. I would get my daily dose of humor as I wrote down my thoughts and feelings for the day. I brought the diary with me to the hospital so I could continue to document my journey. During my early labor, my husband Matt asked if he could read it. He pulled a stool up next to my hospital bed and started reading aloud with the first page. He kept an eye on the machines tracking my contractions and when a contraction would come he would stop reading grab my hand and help me breathe through the pain. Once the contraction was finished he would pick the diary up and continue reading. This was the most wonderful and tender part of my labor experience. I don't think Matt will every realize how much this seemingly small act did to make me feel comfortable, loved, grounded, and happy.
Once Tanner and Abigail were born I read the following books:
The Girlfriend's Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood
by Vicki Iovine
Since I raved so much about Vicki's pregnancy book to my sister (who was pregnant the same time I was) she bought me this book as a birthday present a month before my twins were born. I didn't begin reading until after we brought them home. When did I find time to read with newborn twins you ask...while I was tandem feeding of course! With my hands free I was able to read a few pages every three hours for almost two months! Once again Vicki had me laughing out loud with her wise and witty advice from coping with postpartum depression to salvaging your sex life.
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Twins
by Marc Weissbluth, M.D.
This book was loaned (and eventually given to me) by a fellow twin mom, Risa. She delivered twin girls Nadia and Grace six weeks after Tanner and Abigail were born and we met at Mother's Milk, a breastfeeding support group at Penobscot Bay Medical Center. She loaned this book to me after I spoke at Mother's Milk about Tanner and Abigail not getting enough daily naps. This book gave step-by-step instructions on how to establish good sleep patterns and offered great advice on how to work through the unique challenges of sleep-training twins.
Since Tanner and Abigail have turned one-year old I have read (or plan to read) the following books:
The No-Cry Nap Solution
by Elizabeth Pantley
I borrowed a copy of this book from a Mother's Milk friend, Tiffany, when Tanner was going through a period of only napping in the swing. Since Tanner and Abigail were sleeping through the night The No-Cry Sleep Solution book was not what I needed, since only one chapter deals with naptime problems. This book has great information about infant sleep cycles and also gives many gentle, loving techniques for working through all naptime problems. The first time I didn't read the whole book, I can just read the section that dealt with the issue I was facing. After I returned the book, Tanner and Abigail went through a bout of "I DON"T WANT TO NAP" so I bought a copy for myself and have read it from cover to cover.
The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers
by Elizabeth Pantley
I have had such success with the tips and tricks in The No-Cry Nap Solution book that I bought this one as well in case we have some issues with nighttime sleep in the months or years ahead. We have been luck that neither Tanner or Abigail have had much difficulty going and staying asleep at night. Don't get me wrong, we have our nights every now and again, but for the most part they are both great nighttime sleepers. At the moment I nurse them before bed every night, my worry is that we will have some trouble getting them to sleep without a bedtime feeding.
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