This book explores the changes, physical and emotional, that any man can expect to see in his partner and in their relationship over the coming months. It takes a comical yet informed look at the ups and downs of life as a father to be.

    Probing ancient Christian practices for renewal, Almost Holy Mama chronicles one mom's quest to discover an answer to her most pressing question: Can God use the challenges of parenthood to grow your character?You long to spend time with God and catch your spiritual breath, but you find yourself honestly wondering--how and when? Ellis gets its. It's hard to carve out space for a quiet moment with God, let alone a quiet time! Instead of adding more tasks to your plate, Almost Holy Mama will help you integrate your spiritual practices into your daily life. From studying Scripture in the shower to listening in prayer at the foot of Laundry Mountain, Ellis finds that meeting God in sacred disciplines can breathe new life into one of life's most joy-filled and trying seasons.Paperback, 256 pages, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, ISBN 9781628627909. Table of Contents:Running on Empty, Longing for More Car Rides & Contemplation: Finding Jesus on the Freeways Sleepytime & Service: Sacrificial Love at the End of a Long Day Eating & the Examen: Finding God at the Dinner Table Laundry & Listening Prayer: Because Sometimes the Voice of God Sounds a Lot like the Dryer Showering with Scripture: Wash over Me, Lord Fasting from Facebook: Giving Up to Gain Suffering & Stillness: Because Sometimes All You Can Do Is Nothing Getting Ready with Gratitude: Thanksgiving amid Chaos Travel & Pilgrimage: Going Away and Coming Home Ceasing & Celebration: Discovering the Playful God Almost Holy, Fully Loved: Where Do We Go from Here? Perfect for:Parents Gifts for expecting parents Single mother/father groups Foster parents and guardians Pastors and counselors And more About the Author Courtney Ellis serves as associate pastor for spiritual formation and mission at Presbyterian Church of the Master. She holds degrees from Wheaton College, Loyola University of Chicago, and Princeton Theological Seminary, and has been published in Marriage/Partnership, Rock & Ice Magazine, and Christianity Today Women. She's a contributor at The Glorious Table and The Mighty. Courtney is a sought-after speaker for leadership and women's retreats, MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), and young adult ministries. She's a gifted storyteller with strengths in bringing parents, marrieds, singles, and millennials together. Courtney lives in southern California with her husband (and co-pastor) Daryl and their children.

    Lang has put her valuable knowledge into these pages. With this book in your hand, you are on your way to putting your health first and setting your baby up for lifelong wellness.- -JESSICA ALBA, co-founder of The Honest CompanyGood For Baby, Good For YouDr. Jennifer Lang has worked for decades in support of maternal and infant health. As an OB-GYN, activist, and mother herself, she knows the importance of pre-natal nutrition to mother and baby and how overwhelming all of the information available can be. The Whole 9 Months is your all-in-one pregnancy book to answer the questions you'll have at every trimester. Through simple nutritional guidelines, up-to-date pregnancy research, and real mom-to-mom advice, you'll discover how easy it can be to make good food choices for your body while growing a healthy, happy baby.This invaluable pregnancy nutritional guide contains:Information on essential baby-building nutrients, daily consumption needs, and where to find them in foodsMore than 100 quick and easy recipes for a variety of diets--including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free--with nutritional information for each recipe Suggestions and swaps (and other helpful tricks) to combat nausea and cravings Eating guides that outline what to eat (or not) while pregnant, best food choices if you have gestational diabetes, foods that stimulate breast milk production, and much more!-Eating for two- is the most important eating that you'll ever do--and The Whole 9 Months is the most comprehensive pregnancy book to help you do it right.

    From the first trimester to the "fourth" (baby's crucial first three months), Arsenault and her team of professional nurses have seen it all. Now, they share their expert advice on:Preparing your home, including safety tips and must-have suppliesEasing through labor, whether at home or in a hospitalBreastfeeding how-tos, flexible feeding schedules, and common concernsBaby's essential first days and weeks, and the milestones in betweenWelcoming multiples and caring for preterm babiesTechniques for soothing baby to sleepPostpartum self-care and getting back to your routine

    Incorporating a conversational, humorous tone throughout, Cheryl Lage provides a double dose of user-friendly suggestions, real-life advice, and heartfelt empathy.

    This is the perfect companion for parents-to-be and all professionals who are engaged in and witness to the miracle of birth. "One of the most important books on childbirth...A colorful, anecdotal, and research-supported journey from both the mothers' and midwives' perspectives...A classic." (Pam England, nurse-midwife and author of Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation)

    This is a week by week guide to what's happening to you and the baby, from choosing where to give birth, coping with nausea and understanding the tests you will need, to breastfeeding for the first time and adapting to life with a newborn. Kaz Cooke offers no bossy-boots rules, just the sanest, wittiest advice you'll ever get, plus lots of cartoons. This fully updated third edition includes news sections on Getting Ready: advice on trying for a baby and Fertility troubles and assisted conception: what might be causing fertility troubles and what you can do about it, plus the process of IVF or other assisted conception if it's needed. You'll find expanded sections on genetic problems, the caesarean debate, how to care for premature babies, choosing the right nappies for you plus information especially for partners from boosting their fertility to what they should do during labour. The Rough Guide to Pregnancy and Birth has everything you will need to know about the scary parts, the funny parts and your private parts.

    The first pregnancy journal devoted 100% to you and your belly, The Belly Book is organized by trimester and includes pages for “time-lapse” belly photos and ultrasound images, as well as prompts for writing about morning sickness, food cravings, maternity clothes you never want to see again, and much more.96 two-color pages (guided), 8 x 9 inches, with a concealed wire-O binding

    A broken heart can be mended. And lost dreams can become the greatest source of hope. But there is so much more to the story of Ruth. Ruth was not afraid to step out of her comfort zone and embrace new possibilites. She ventured past cultural limitations to discover a life of fulfillment. She was willing to risk it all and be stretched.  For those who feel an affinity to this woman of God, it's time to break boundaries and conquer new territories. This is the core of The Ruth Anointing: a courageous, bold, faith-filled, and resolute pioneering spirit.  MICHELLE McCLAIN-WALTERS SHOWS HOW OPERATING IN AN ANOINTING SIMILAR TO RUTH'S WILL REVEAL THE REDEMPTIVE WORK OF JESUS ALL OVER THE WORLD.

    Catholic homeschooler Cari Donaldson here relates how her friend’s newborn baby, a portrait of the Virgin Mary, and the words of the Miraculous Medal called her forth from a selfish, small way of life into the welcoming arms of the Church.

    The Calm Birth School teaches and supports modern women (and their families) how to create calm and positive birth experiences that make them want to shout from the rooftops for all the right reasons. This comprehensive how-to guide will teach you all you need to know about hypnobirthing without morphing you into a new-age hipster. You’ll learn: The science and psychology behind why you don’t have to give birth in agony. How to work with your body and breath, defying the birthing horror stories you’ve heard and allowing your body to do what it was designed to do. A total mindset overhaul that will not only create a calm, positive birth but which will also empower you in every area of your life.Breathing techniques to enable you to deal with any stressful situation calmly and effectively: before and during birth, and beyond.Exactly what you need to do to enjoy every step of your pregnancy and birth, whether things go according to plan or not.So if you are a control freak; if you’re scared out of your mind about giving birth; if you believe in your body but do not want to waft a joss stick around your lady parts… This book is for you. With lots of juicy bonuses like birth preferences planners, a confidence building Mp3, practice schedule and lots more included you'll have everything you need to create the positive birth experience you deserve. Suzy Ashworth is a pregnancy coach, hypnotherapist and psychotherapist with two children and a growing bump. She has a passion for showing women exactly why they can and should believe in themselves, empowering them to create mind-blowing birth experiences.

    --Theodore Sectish, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; program director, Children's Hospital Boston Dr. Le-Bucklin's new parenting book is the first by a pediatrician who is also a mother of twins. No other pregnancy and parenting book for multiples offers this unique and much-needed perspective.Twins 101 features practical advice and well-researched information in an easy-to-read format. From maintaining a healthy twin pregnancy to meeting the daily challenge of caring for twins, Twin 101 guides families through each stage with insightful tips, practical advice, useful resources, and inspirational stories.

    It also contains descriptions and eight pages of in-utero photographs."

    Nor is it always easy to raise, care for, guide and teach a highly sensitive child. Because the highly sensitive child experiences the world a little differently, and that can be difficult to understand. This book aims to help you experience the world from the child’s perspective, so that you can better understand them and help them to grow and thrive. In this simple, concise guide I distil the reams of information available on the highly sensitive child so that you can get the knowledge you need quickly and easily. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: ‘And those who were seen dancing were thought to be crazy by those who could not hear the music.’ The highly sensitive child isn’t crazy. Nor are they slow, or weak, or just ‘not tough enough’. They simply dance to a tune that not everyone can hear. This book helps you hear the music to which the highly sensitive child dances. Once you know the tune exists, and you listen for it carefully, you’ll find it’s beautiful, moving, powerful music.This is what Elaine N. Aron, Ph.D. thought of the book. Elaine is the author of the worldwide bestsellers The Highly Sensitive Person and The Highly Sensitive Child she has pioneered the research into Highly Sensitive People.“As the author of this truly brilliant little book, Jamie Williamson explains that he is not an academic or a psychologist. I am simply a man who feels very passionately about the subject. He is highly sensitive and so is one of his daughters, and he writes about sensitivity with both simplicity and depth. His sensitivity also shows in his book’s briefness. Caregivers of children need an author to get to the point so they can go get groceries, pick up the kids etc. Jamie’s book can be read in an hour, yet it has charming examples as well as great suggestions and a full, scientifically accurate description of the trait. Jamie is reaching out to all parents, carers and teachers of sensitive children and whether through this book or on his website, he is a wonderful resource.” – Elaine N. Aron.

    We'd just toss out our birth control pills and before we knew it, we'd be rocking our little one to sleep. Little did we know what was in store for us, or the energy it would take to face all of the crazy, unpredictable and (sometimes) irrational emotions we felt along the way. Neither did our husbands. Sound familiar?If your idea of foreplay is screaming, "I'm ovulating; it's time!!!" to your oblivious husband... If your ovulation schedule is ruling your life and every trip to the drug store includes a bulk purchase of pregnancy sticks... If you're running out of answers to the chronic questioning from the pregnancy paparazzi about your plans for parenthood ... Then this is the book for you. Whether it's been three months or three years since you've been trying, the more complicated and overwhelming the process becomes.The Conception Chronicles shares candid humor, hold-nothing-back banter and practical advice on everything that goes along with trying to start a family: from dealing with your fertile friends to the battery of tests you may have to face; from surviving "sex on demand" to navigating the ins and outs of high-tech fertility treatments. This book will guide you through the emotional journey to motherhood, offering compassion and laughter like only your best girlfriends can. And we promise you'll never hear us say, "Relax and you'll be pregnant in no time."