9 months of reading fodder

I am reading my favourite pregnancy book again, having unearthed it in a decluttering session (nesting?). It is The Rough Guide to Pregnancy by Kaz Cooke and I think it is marvellous. It doesn't presume loads of cash, nor does it promote natural birth et al as the be all and end all of parenthood. My copy is a bit out of date with regards to maternity rights and what not as it is the 2001 edition, purchased a good two years before I ever attempted to become pregnant. Broody, moi? There is another updated edition from 2010 which I would wholeheartedly recommend.

This is informative and down to earth, as well as being an amusingly good read. It has a semi-fictional (names/backstories are fictional) diary throughout which reads like that of a normal girl, unlike the nauseating "Emma's diary" which mostly beggars disbelief that someone so wholesome managed to become impregnated in the first place.

For checking symptoms and alleviating concerns, there is no better than the oft mentioned What to Expect When You're Expecting. Any worry or curious symptom, it's in here, along with reassuring statistics as to the unlikelihood of any complication arising. There is an iPhone app that accompanies the book which is probably the best of the free apps for pregnancy, but it's a bit lacking in comparison to the book.

For straight facts, the Pregnancy Bible is invaluable, full of photos of stages and things that are of much fascination to a first time mother and much less so apparently to a second timer (a fact corroborated by other mums).

I have many other books but those are the "key" texts. Most of the others are woefully old fashioned (hello Miriam Stoppard), terrifying in their negativity or guilt inducing with their strong opinions on what is "best".

I have Netmums' "Your Pregnancy" out from the library and while useful, it expresses such statements as "If you decide, as some mums do, that's there's no way you want to breastfeed, or if you're in the tiny minority of mums for whom it's an impossibility (because of prior breast surgery, for example), then bottle-feeding will give your baby all the nutrients and calories he needs to thrive as long as you follow the the formula manufacturer's instruction to the letter and are scrupulous about hygiene".

Because clearly, if you are neglectful enough to "choose" not to breastfeed, you're obviously a bit slovenly about the whole thing. Breastfeeding mothers who express aren't reminded about hygiene. Nuff said.

Also "much as you probably hope and imagine you won't be one of the mums that ends up having a Caeserean delivery..."

You get the picture. I don't feel the need to be judged by a book.

I have the Mumsnet (I don't know the difference, no) guide on Kindle - oh how much easier to read without a bulky book to accommodate in my discomfort - and I found it more palatable but not really groundbreaking. If you have a kindle though, gets yourself this one. Other ones I've read on kindle have been rather HIDEOUS and wayyyyy too American. No offence to Americans in any way, but the whole pregnancy experience appears to be a different thing altogether, from the constant cervical prodding and 8 week dating scan to the very nature of US medical goings on. Issues such as "do you pay $800 dollars for an epidural?" are kind of alien.

I've definitely touched on books before. My memory isn't what it was and I've read a lot more since I mentioned it earlier on. Or maybe I just thought it before. I dunno, I don't REMEMBER things. I'm PREGNANT!!

Much later I'll think about baby user guides. I need new ones this time, obviously. I have Kaz Cooke's Kidwrangling, which is ace, but missing, and she's subsequently written (2009) the Rough Guide to Babies and Toddlers - an updated version of Kidwrangling I believe - so that's on the way. Come on, I resisted the updated version of the pregnancy one, I'm doing well! I'm a big fan of Rough Guides, I used to consult them in the (preparenthood) days when we had passports and travelled abroad.

Local holiday today, no school run, no work. Sooooo much better.