summer reading

I've taken to a flurry of pregnancy reading.

I started out reading online about weekly developments of our baby on various websites. I particularly like:

• http://www.babycenter.com/ which has many articles on all sorts of questions I might have as well as videos of baby development, delivery, etc.
• http://www.birth.com.au/ offers even more detail on the baby's development in their weekly emails.

When Carol came to visit, she brought a few books from Ruth.

• Vicki Iovine's The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy. This is an entertaining read written from the perspective of your girlfriend. It's not a doctor's guide, and it's not full of so many statistics. But it explains all sorts of unusual feelings and behavior of pregnant women, and warns the reader about lesser-known side effects and things to be prepared for. It's got laugh-out-loud passages and lots of good advice.
• The Little Big Book of Pregnancy, which is one of those coffee table books with quotes and short stories and photos to inspire and encourage pregnant women...

Garrett's mother sent us a care package with a book that was my sister-in-law's favorite:

• Tracy Hogg's The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. This book was written by a British woman in the 90s who was a ...and lactation specialist. She was a bit opinionated, but I liked her philosophy a lot and will probably try to adopt it. She included lots of good guides that I am sure I will reference when our little one is born.

An English library in Prague had a used book sale recently, and I picked up a whole bunch of other books:

• The New Mother's Guide to Breastfeeding: I just finished this last night. It rather smacks of propaganda from the American Academy of Pediatrics, but specific instructions were helpful, and I'm glad I got it.
• Babywise: I haven't started it yet, but it appears to be about training your child to sleep through the night.
• Babywise, Book Two: Parenting Your Pretoddler, Five to Fifteen Months
• Burton White's The New First Three Years of Life

And finally, my sister Elizabeth just lent me:

• What to Expect the First Year