I don't know about anyone else,
but as soon as I found out that I was pregnant
I practically inhaled every baby and pregnancy book that I could get my hands on.
I bought some, I borrowed many.
I downloaded apps which could let me know all about my unborn babies latest developments.
I trawled websites for information on pregnancy
and labour
and breastfeeding
and getting my baby to sleep.
Need-2-Know recently sent us two books to review which are new on the market
and which I would have gladly added to my pregnancy reading list.
In fact they are still really useful to read now nine and half months on from the pregnancy days.
The books are called 'Baby's First Year' by Shanta Everington
and 'Fatherhood' by Tim Atkinson
'Baby's First Year' covers, as the title suggests,
all the things you might expect in a baby's first year.
There are chapters on 'Feeding', 'Crying' and 'Sleeping'
as well as 'The First Few Weeks' chapter
which are all full of all the information that new parents would need.
But there are also chapters about development and play
which are really useful to dip into as your baby gets more alert and mobile.
And the whole book is littered with quotes of experience and advice from real mummies.
After I had a quick look through it,
'Fatherhood' got swiftly thrown at the husband for his take on it.
It was written by a dad for daddies to read
so I thought his opinion would probably be better.
He said it was refreshing to get a book aimed totally at dads
and that he would have really liked to have read it while I was pregnant
because he thinks it might have given him a better idea of what he was in for.
Like 'Baby's First Year'
many of the pages contain anecdotes and tips from real dads
and my husband said that there were some good hints
for dads who are perhaps feeling a bit lost or useless.
He also liked the way the chapters are broken up into different time frames
from 'Planning a Family' to 'Birth' to 'Six to Twelve Months Old'.
Both books are, I think, just the right length.
Neither so short that you feel like you've learnt nothing,
nor so long that you would never be able to read the whole thing.
They are both written in a really friendly and approachable style,
like a knowledgeable friend passing on their experiences
rather than the doctor-like, patronising tone that you get in some books.
Having read a LOT of baby books since that positive pregnancy test all that time ago,
I have to say that I really enjoyed reading through both these books.
I found them really honest, really helpful
and written in a really nice friendly and familiar way.
I'd definitely recommend them both for any pregnancy reading list.
I was sent these books free of charge for the purpose of this review.
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