Infant Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents


Vimala McClure - 1982
    She shows you why a daily massage can be one of the greatest gifts you give your child...and yourself.  For generations mothers the world over have known that the soft stroke of their hands soothes, calms, and communicates their love to their babies. Now scientific research proves that massage can do all that and more.In Infant Massage, McClure shares how massage benefits children--easing discomfort, releasing tension, helping premature infants gain weight, even helping asthmatic children improve breathing function.  She explains each step of the massage process with simple easy-to-follow instructions and delightful photographs demonstrating each stroke. You'll also find: Specific routines tailored to help relieve colic, fever, chest and nasal congestion Modified instructions for premature infants and babies with special needs Helpful hints on dealing with crying and fussing Lullabies, rhymes, and games to enhance the massage experience Guidance for teaching children about "good touch" A special chapter dedicated to fathers Compassionate advice for foster and adoptive parents And much more

The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night


Elizabeth Pantley - 2002
    If you don't believe in letting your baby cry it out, but desperately want to sleep, there is now a third option, presented in Elizabeth Pantley's sanity-saving book The No-Cry Sleep Solution.Pantley's successful solution has been tested and proven effective by scores of mothers and their babies from across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Based on her research, Pantley's guide provides you with effective strategies to overcoming naptime and nighttime problems. The No-Cry Sleep Solution offers clearly explained, step-by-step ideas that steer your little ones toward a good night's sleep--all with no crying.Tips from The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Uncover the stumbling blocks that prevent baby from sleeping through the nightDetermine--and work with--baby's biological sleep rhythmsCreate a customized, step-by-step plan to get baby to sleep through the nightUse the Persistent Gentle Removal System to teach baby to fall asleep without breast-feeding, bottlefeeding, or using a pacifier

Beautiful Babies: Nutrition for Fertility, Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and Baby's First Food


Kristen Michaelis - 2012
    Based on her research of the nutrient-rich diets of healthy and fertile populations around the world, she lays out exactly what you should and shouldn't eat when trying to conceive, during pregnancy, and while breast-feeding. In the first half of the book she explains the ways industrialized foods can prevent pregnancy, how a low-fat diet can increase your likelihood of infertility by 85 percent, what to do if breast-feeding doesn't work for you, why babies can't digest cereal, and gives step-by-step instructions on how and when to introduce your baby's first foods. In the second half of the book she equips you with more than 50 recipes for incorporating traditional fertility-boosting foods into your diet. Beautiful Babies provides you with everything you need to know about having a healthy pregnancy and nourishing your growing baby.

Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems


Richard Ferber - 1985
    Richard Ferber, the nation’s leading authority on children’s sleep problems.Does your child have difficulty falling asleep? Wake in the middle of the night? Suffer sleep terrors, sleepwalking, or nighttime fears? Have difficulty waking for school or staying awake in class? Snore, wet the bed, or head bang? In the first major revision of his bestselling, groundbreaking classic since it was published, Dr. Richard Ferber, the nation’s foremost authority on children’s sleep problems, delivers safe, sound ideas for helping your child fall and stay asleep at night and perform well during the day. Incorporating new research, Dr. Ferber provides important basic information that all parents should know regarding the nature of sleep and the development of normal sleep and body rhythms throughout childhood. He discusses the causes of most sleep problems from birth to adolescence and recommends an array of proven solutions for each so that parents can choose the strategy that works best for them. Topics covered in detail include: Bedtime difficulties and nighttime wakings, effective strategies for naps, sleep schedule abnormalities, a balanced look at co-sleeping, new insights into the nature of sleep terrors and sleepwalking, problems in setting limits, and sleep apnea, narcolepsy, bed-wetting, and head banging. Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems offers priceless advice and concrete help for a whole new generation of anxious, frustrated, and overtired parents.

Husband-Coached Childbirth: The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth


Robert A. Bradley - 1974
    Now this new, updated edition of the groundbreaking work by Robert A. Bradley, M.D., has all the information you need to approach a natural childbirth safely, confidently, and wisely. From the reasons to choose the Bradley Method to the steps you will take as your birth day approaches—and after the birth of your baby—this book is designed to help couples share completely in the birthing experience. •Build better, deeper, and more trusting communication skills with your partner in preparation for a drug-free childbirth•Learn the physical, emotional, and mental relaxation techniques essential to a natural childbirth•Discover how you and your doctor can work together toward your natural delivery •Monitor your weight, nutrition, and your overall well-being during pregnancy•Use natural prevention methods for the most common pregnancy problems•Get the most out of the bonding experience you will share with your baby and your partnerWith its time-tested wisdom, medical soundness, and reassuring first-person accounts of natural childbirth, this book is the “gold standard” of childbirth books. The Bradley Method is an essential guide for anyone considering childbirth without unnecessary medications or medical intervention and to share fully in your child’s arrival into the world.

Good Nights: The Happy Parents' Guide to the Family Bed (and a Peaceful Night's Sleep!)


Maria Goodavage - 2002
    Except for those nagging worries about safety. ("She's so small, I'm so big!") And what your relatives are saying. ("She'll never leave your bed!") And that little foot that always ends up on your face.Worry no more! Good Nights puts your concerns about the family bed to rest, with fun and easy-to-use guidance on safety, coping with criticism, and even keeping the spark in your marriage (albeit outside the bedroom). With warmth and humor, Dr. Jay Gordon, a nationally recognized pediatrician who has endorsed the family bed for decades, and Maria Goodavage, a former USA Today staff writer with training in sleep research, give you everything you'll need in order to thrive - and at times, simply survive - with the family bed. Good Nights provides a comprehensive look at:- SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH - Science is uncovering a wealth of advantages, including possible protection from SIDS, for babies who share their parents' bed.- SURPRISING BENEFITS - Parents of young babies get much more sleep with the family bed! And little ones who spend time sleeping next to parents end up more independent (you read that right!) and closer to their parents than their cribbed peers.- SAFETY - The authors give simple-to-follow advice on how to make your family bed at least as safe as a crib.- SOUND SLEEP - Yes, it can be had. Good Nights lets you know how to overcome the obstacles.- SEX - Ditto.- SAYING GOOD-BYE - Your child really will leave your bed! Good Nights helps you help your child move on when the time is right.If you're among the record number of parents turning to the family bed, turn to Good Nights. It's a bedside companion you won't want to be without.

Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby's First Foods


Nina Planck - 2009
    Nina Planck, one of the great food activists, changed the way we view old-fashioned foods like butter with her groundbreaking Real Food. T hen she got pregnant. Never one to accept conventional wisdom blindly, Nina found the usual advice about pregnancy and baby food riddled with myths and misunderstandings. In Real Food for Mother and Baby, Nina explains why many modern ideas about pregnancy and infant nutrition are wrongheaded and why traditional foods are best. While Nina can be controversial—her op-ed in the New York Times on vegan diets for infants was one of the paper’s most e-mailed articles— she’s no contrarian. Readers applaud her candor; they also trust her research and welcome her advice. Nina’s basic premise hasn’t changed—whole foods are best—but some of the details are surprising. Pregnant women need meat and salt, not iron supplements. Nursing will be easier if you act like the mammal you are. Delaying the introduction of certain solid foods doesn’t prevent allergies. Cereals are not the best foods for tiny eaters; meat and egg yolks are better. From conception to two years, the body’s overwhelming needs are for quality fat and protein, not for carrots and low-fat dairy. Even as she casts a skeptical eye on the conventional wisdom, Nina is reassuring. She shows you how to keep your baby healthy on good, simple food. Real Food for Mother and Baby will be the new classic on eating for two.

Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right


Jamie Glowacki - 2011
    Her 6-step, proven process to get your toddler out of diapers and onto the toilet has already worked for tens of thousands of kids and their parents. Here's the good news: your child is probably ready to be potty trained EARLIER than you think (ideally, between 20-30 months), and it can be done FASTER than you expect (most kids get the basics in a few days—but Jamie's got you covered even if it takes a little longer). If you've ever said to yourself:** How do I know if my kid is ready? ** Why won't my child poop in the potty? ** How do I avoid "potty power struggles"? ** How can I get their daycare provider on board? ** My kid was doing so well—why is he regressing? ** And what about nighttime?!Oh Crap! Potty Training can solve all of these (and other) common issues. This isn't theory, you're not bribing with candy, and there are no gimmicks. This is real-world, from-the-trenches potty training information—all the questions and all the ANSWERS you need to do it once and be done with diapers for good.

No Bad Kids: Toddler Discipline Without Shame


Janet Lansbury - 2014
    As a RIE teacher and student of pioneering child specialist Magda Gerber, her advice is not based solely on formal studies and the research of others, but also on her twenty years of hands-on experience guiding hundreds of parents and their toddlers. “No Bad Kids” is a collection of Janet's most popular and widely read articles pertaining to common toddler behaviors and how respectful parenting practices can be applied to benefit both parents and children. It covers such common topics as punishment, cooperation, boundaries, testing, tantrums, hitting, and more. “No Bad Kids” provides a practical, indispensable tool for parents who are anticipating or experiencing those critical years when toddlers are developmentally obliged to test the limits of our patience and love. Armed with knowledge and a clearer sense of the world through our children’s eyes, this period of uncertainty can afford a myriad of opportunities to forge unbreakable bonds of trust and respect.

Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child


Katie Allison Granju - 1999
    William Sears, "attachment parenting" encourages mothers and fathers to fully accept their babies' dependency needs. According to the growing numbers of attachment parenting advocates, consistent parental responsiveness to these needs leads to happy and emotionally well-balanced children. This practical, comprehensive, and first-ever guide to today's most talked-about nurturing style, Attachment Parenting shows how some conventional childrearing advice can be detrimental, and urges you to trust your instincts on such important matters as: Responding attentively to your baby's cries Minimizing parent-child separation Avoiding "sleep training" for infants Breastfeeding according to your baby's cues instead of a schedule "Wearing" your baby in a cloth carrier rather than relying on "baby gadgets" such as plastic carriers and carriages. In addition to expert advice from pediatricians, lactation consultants, and anthropologists -- as well as words of wisdom from hundreds of real parents -- Attachment Parenting includes an exhaustive list of print, Internet, and support-group resources. It's an indispensable, hands-on reference that allows you to confidently and joyfully develop a secure and loving bond with your young children.

Mindful Birthing: Training the Mind, Body, and Heart for Childbirth and Beyond


Nancy Bardacke - 2012
    Drawing on groundbreaking research in neuroscience, mindfulness meditation, and mind/body medicine, Bardacke offers practices that will help you find calm and ease during this life-changing time, providing lifelong skills for healthy living and wise parenting.SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF MINDFUL BIRTHING:Increases confidence and decreases fear of childbirth Taps into deep inner resources for working with pain Improves couple communication, connection, and cooperation Provides stress-reducing skills for greater joy and wellbeing

Baby-led Weaning: Helping Your Baby to Love Good Food


Gill Rapley - 2008
    It shows parents why baby-led weaning makes sense and gives them the confidence to trust their baby's natural skills and instincts. Filled with practical tips for getting started and the low-down on what to expect, Baby-led Weaning explodes the myth that babies need to be spoon-fed and shows why self-feeding from the start is the healthiest way for your child to develop. Your baby is allowed to decide how much they want to eat, how to eat it and to experiment with everything at their own pace. Baby-led weaning is a common-sense, safe, easy and enjoyable approach to feeding your baby. No more purées and weaning spoons, and no more mealtime battles. Simply let your baby feed himself healthy family food.

From the Hips: A Comprehensive, Open-Minded, Uncensored, Totally Honest Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Becoming a Parent


Rebecca Odes - 2007
    medical childbirth, circumcision, breast or bottle feeding, and work/life options The Endless No:What not to eat, take, and do when you’re pregnant-get the real facts behind the prohibitionsI Want My Life Back:Anxiety, regret, ambivalence, and other rarely discussed postpartum emotionsParents and partners:A look beyond the one-size-fits-all approach to family, with strategies for minimizing perfect-parent pressure and managing your real-life relationships through the changesSorting Through the Voices:A user-friendly guide to the dueling gurus, trendy techniques, and conflicting theories that confuse new parents A forward-thinking book that includes a wide range of voices and approaches, From the Hips reflects the many ways of being pregnant and parenting without suggesting that there is one right way.

The Continuum Concept: In Search of Happiness Lost


Jean Liedloff - 1975
    The experience demolished her Western preconceptions of how we should live and led her to a radically different view of what human nature really is. She offers a new understanding of how we have lost much of our natural well-being and shows us practical ways to regain it for our children and for ourselves.

The Positive Birth Book: A New Approach to Pregnancy, Birth and the Early Weeks


Milli Hill - 2017
    Packed with vital and cutting-edge information on everything from building the ultimate birth plan, to your choices and rights in the birth room; from optimal cord clamping, to seeding the microbiome; from the inside track on breastfeeding, to woman-centred caesarean, The Positive Birth Book shows you how to have the best possible birth, regardless of whether you plan to have your baby in hospital, in the birth centre, at home or by elective caesarean. Find out how the environment you give birth in, your mindset and your expectations can influence the kind of birth you have, and be inspired by the voices of real women, who tell you the truth about what giving birth really feels like.Challenging negativity and fear of childbirth, and brimming with everything you need to know about labour, birth, and the early days of parenting, The Positive Birth Book is the must-have birth book for women of the 21st century.