Pre baby prep - books to read

Please excuse a brief digression as I cast my mind back into the months of the pregnancy. When Iris discovered she was pregnant we were overjoyed, but it also raised a single overwhelming question in our minds: What next!?

Iris and I bought a book on the subject. We didn't really know that much about what was going to happen next... so it was time to get informed.  


What to Expect When You're Expecting is a detailed guide to the things that happen along the path of pregnancy. Iris turned to this book on a regular basis.

But while What to Expect When You're Expecting was an excellent resource, it was Kaz Cooke's Up the Duff that Iris chuckled to each night as she read in bed. It is a very amusing book (Kaz Cooke is a comedian) that also contains a great deal of sound advice.   

During the course of the pregnancy we did come across a few other books, but for us, none seemed to replace the two listed above.

And now a confession. I did not read either books. I skimmed through some pages of What to Expect When You're Expecting, but the main way I gained any information from the books was through Iris finding an interesting paragraph and reading it out to me. I admit, my approach was laid back. But my rationale is this:  In 2008 the World Bank estimated that there were 6,692,030,277 people (that's about 6 and a half billion!) in the world. Each of these people was born. Their parents survived!  I estimate that the majority would not have read a book on the subject.  They may have had some advice from family members.  But for the most part they relied on their instincts.  If we rely on instinct, it does get us most of the way.

Books are excellent for sharing experience, and for imparting the wisdom of science - but neither other people's experience or the wisdom of science will get you through the process of having a baby - that is up to you and your partner.     

And now for another confession. During the first week after the birth of our baby, both Iris and I agreed: No books can truly prepare you for this experience!!!!! :-)

Later on, once our baby was born we consulted Baby Love by Robin Barker (I have put a link to the book at Amazon.com below). A doctor friend of mine who'd recently had a baby recommended it to me. It proved to be a very valuable resource - detailing all the answers to baby-related questions that we couldn't answer - and those questions arose very rapidly the day of the birth. 

Baby Love's author Robin Barker is a midwife and the book has been a bestseller in Australia for many years.