Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful is a treasury of wisdom, information, and inspiration for pregnancy and motherhood based on the spiritual and physical practices of Kundalini yoga, which Gurmukh has taught for the last thirty years.With illustrated, step-by-step instructions, she teaches time-tested techniques, meditations, and exercises that will help you physically, mentally, and spiritually. In the timeless way that women have passed down wisdom surrounding birth and child rearing to one another for centuries, Gurmukh weaves folk stories and contemporary testimonials into a program designed to help you get profound results in the shortest possible time.The sections in this book cover each trimester of pregnancy as well as delivery and life with the baby. In her wise, gentle, and comforting voice, Gurmukh suggests meditations, exercises, and yoga positions to respond to the various needs of expectant and new mothers as you undergo dramatic body changes. Gurmukh also helps you explore and, when necessary, heal your own history and unconscious attitudes about pregnancy, birth, and parenting.In Bountiful, Beautiful, Blissful, Gurmukh gives you all the tools you need to have a healthy and happy pregnancy while increasing your connection to your partner and building compassion and prosperity. The ancient practices of yoga can lead you back to your own power as a woman, capable of more than you ever dreamed. All you need is a belief in the possibility of change and a commitment of as little as three minutes a day. Gurmukh has helped thousands of women and their families find fulfillment through the healing movements and meditations of Kundalini yoga---and she can help you, too!

    Expert advice from a registered nurse-midwife on caring for baby from birth through the first year of life.

    An appendix looks at a wide range of disorders including allergies, asthma, and hyperactivity, and how to teach a child who is reluctant to eat. The author also discusses the benefits and drawbacks of giving young children vitamins.

    Dr. Tovah Klein runs the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development, the laboratory at the forefront of understanding toddler behavior and development.Why do some children thrive, and others struggle?The answers may surprise you.New research indicates that the seeds for adult success are actually planted in the toddler years, ages two to five. In How Toddlers Thrive, child psychologist and director of the renowned Barnard Center for Toddler Development Dr. Tovah P. Klein cracks the preschooler code, revealing what you can do to help your toddler grow into a fulfilled child and adult—while helping you and your toddler live more happily together, every day.Dr. Klein’s research and firsthand work with thousands of toddlers explains why the toddler brain is best suited to laying the foundation for success. New science reveals that drivers such as resilience, self-reliance, selfregulation, and empathy are more critical to success than simple intelligence. Dr. Klein explains what you can do today to instill these key qualities in your toddler during this crucial time, so they are on track and ready to learn when they enter school at age five.How Toddlers Thrive explains why the toddler years are different from any other period during childhood, what is happening in children’s brains and bodies at this age that makes their behavior so turbulent, and why your reaction to their behavior—the way you speak to, speak about, and act toward your toddler— holds the key to a successful tomorrow and a happier today. This provocative new book will inspire you to be a better parent and give you the tools to help you nurture your child’s full potential. Stop fighting with your child and start enjoying every minute of your time with them . . . while planting the seeds of happiness and success that will last a lifetime.

    With more than 150 easy recipes, as well as storage tips and allergy alerts, Meade covers the three major stages of a baby's learning to eat: 4-6 months, 6-8 months, and 8 months and up.With courage, humor, and gentle motivation, this book show parents that their baby's food doesn't have to come from a jar to be healthy and safe. In fact, the healthiest, safest, and tastiest (not to mention least expensive!) foods for babies are those cooked from real ingredients in the kitchen at home, and this book has the added benefit of setting the stage for a child's lifelong love of healthy and wholesome foods.Move over Gerber—parents are getting into the kitchen!

    Part handbook, part handholding, Adrian’s words will comfort and prepare even the most terrified dads-to-be. Your partners will thank you, I promise!”—Jill Smokler, founder of Scary MommyBeing a great first-time dad doesn’t mean being perfect. It means having the tools you need to be a supportive partner during and after pregnancy—which is exactly what We’re Pregnant! The First-Time Dad’s Pregnancy Handbook is all about.From heartburn and headaches to birth and breastfeeding, We’re Pregnant! features practical, action-oriented pregnancy advice from the author of the Dad or Alive blog, Adrian Kulp, a (once clueless) dad who’s been there and done that—three times, in fact!We’re Pregnant! addresses and alleviates the stress first-time dads face through candid pregnancy guidance, including: Week-specific pregnancy milestones so you’re not left wondering what’s happening, what’s going to happen, or what you should be doing during the pregnancy Practical suggestions for supporting your partner’s changing needs during pregnancy and thereafter Action-oriented goals that will support baby’s development, mom’s pregnancy experience, and the wellbeing of your relationship Up-to-date information on “The Fourth Trimester” so you’re as prepared for the first months of baby’s life as you were during pregnancy We’re Pregnant! delivers real-world pregnancy advice with a humorous tone that will get first-time dads ready, willing, and able to carry their portion of the pregnancy weight….pickles and ice cream not included.

    Marshall and Phyllis Klaus take parents and all those who care for new families into this freshly charted world, one they have been exploring for decades. The results of their fascinating research are illuminated by over 120 exquisite photographs, all of babies less than two weeks old. Your Amazing Newborn begins before birth with images of fetuses actually comforting themselves in the womb. We then see newborns less than one hour old crawling unassisted to the breast, recognizing the voices of their parents, and shutting our unwanted sights and sounds. Parents will learn how to discover an infant's clear preferences for certain shapes, smells, tastes, and tones of voice. They will be delighted by the ways babies seem to be able to ensure their own survival, and they will be amazed that within days after birth, newborns can engage in an intimate and reciprocal choreography, and nestle into a parent's embrace as though they had practiced for years. Your Amazing Newborn is a must for parents-to-be, grandparents, siblings, and caregivers; through its stunning photographs we see the first reach, the first mutual gaze-and most wonderful of all-the first spark of recognition that ignites a lifetime bond.

    Jill Stamm's daughter was born almost four months premature, and doctors insisted she would never walk or talk. Now, thirty-two years later, her daughter is living proof that nearly every baby's brain has the potential to adapt and flourish given the right attention. A leading authority in infant brain development, she makes new, remarkable findings accessible to everyone in Bright from the Start. What babies need is as simple as A, B, C: ATTENTION: including how to increase a child's attention span, and how to balance stimulation with down time BONDING: illustrating the importance of developing emotional attachment between a child and a consistent caregiver, and why this is key to cognitive development COMMUNICATION: with breakthrough advice for tapping the correlation between verbal engagement with parents and higher IQ rates among children She also discusses what kind of childcare environment to select, why learning toys don't teach as much as you think, why reading to a baby is critical, and how you can help your child learn how to pay attention. By working with Dr. Stamm's ABCs in Bright from the Start, all parents can help to build a radiant future for their precious little ones.

    Created by two experienced health-care professionals, this unique handbook not only discusses virtually every aspect of preconception that affects a healthy baby, it tells you how to handle each one. The authors spell out what each parent needs to do, starting at least ninety days before conception (the minimum time needed for sperm to mature). The hundreds of topics covered—many for the first time in any book—include• Men’s Health: Building healthy sperm before conception (nutrition, fitness, and medical influences)• Women’s Health: Gynecologic well-being, preexisting medical conditions, genetic legacy, boosting fertility, becoming a mother at an older age • Becoming an Informed Patient: Choosing a doctor, what a complete preconception exam includes, important questions and how to ask them, insurance coverage• Nutrition: Improving the health of future generations, preconception meal makeovers, ethnic Food Guide Pyramids, avoiding food-borne illnesses, vitamin and mineral facts, pre-pregnancy body weight • Fitness: Preconception fitness evaluation and exercise prescription, safety tips and motivational anecdotes, preconception strength and flexibility workout• Medications/Herbs: Baby-friendly ones and ones to avoid • Personal Readiness: Emotional, financial, and environmental issues• Romancing the Egg: Tips for success when ready to “start trying” Plus : Separate questionnaires for the prospective parents to fill out in preparation for their preconception medical visit.This warm, intelligent, and completely informed reference gives aspiring parents exactly the knowledge and support they need to insure the best of everything for their child-to-be.

    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)

    Bookstores are filled with month-by-month pregnancy manuals, but the shelves are virtually empty of artful, entertaining, unvarnished accounts of labor and delivery—the stories that new mothers need most.     Here is a book that transcends the limits of how-to guides and honors the act of childbirth in the twenty-first century. Eleanor Henderson and Anna Solomon have gathered true birth stories by women who have made self-expression their business, including Cheryl Strayed, Julia Glass, Lauren Groff, Dani Shapiro, and many other luminaries.     In Labor Day, you’ll read about women determined to give birth naturally and others begging for epidurals; women who pushed for hours and women whose labors were over practically before they’d started; women giving birth to twins and to ten-pound babies. These women give birth in the hospital, at home, in bathtubs, and, yes, even in the car. Some revel in labor, some fear labor, some feel defeated by labor, some are fulfilled by it—and all are amazed by it. You will laugh, weep, squirm, perhaps groan in recognition, and undoubtedly gasp with surprise. And then you’ll call every mother or mother-to-be that you know and say “You MUST read Labor Day.”

    Drawing on what psychology, sociology, and neuroscience have proven about confidence, gratefulness, and optimism, and using her own chaotic and often hilarious real-world adventures as a mom to demonstrate do’s and don’ts in action, Christine Carter, Ph.D, executive director of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, boils the process down to 10 simple happiness-inducing steps.With great wit, wisdom, and compassion, Carter covers the day-to-day pressure points of parenting—how best to discipline, get kids to school and activities on time, and get dinner on the table—as well as the more elusive issues of helping children build healthy friendships and develop emotional intelligence. In these 10 key steps, she helps you interact confidently and consistently with your kids to foster the skills, habits, and mindsets that will set the stage for positive emotions now and into their adolescence and beyond. Inside you will discover • the best way avoid raising a brat—changing bad habits into good ones• tips on how to change your kids’ attitude into gratitude• the trap of trying to be perfect—and how to stay clear of its pitfalls • the right way to praise kids—and why too much of the wrong kind can be just as bad as not enough• the spirit of kindness—how to raise kind, compassionate, and loving children• strategies for inspiring kids to do boring (but necessary) tasks—and become more self-motivated in the process Complete with a series of “try this” tips, secrets, and strategies, Raising Happiness is a one-of-a-kind resource that will help you instill joy in your kids—and, in the process, become more joyful yourself.

    What’s more, every mother wants clear, straightforward information delivered in a calm, empowering voice from someone who knows the facts. Enter Dr. Aviva Jill Romm, an expert in natural childbirth with more than twenty years of experience in both alternative and allopathic medicine. In this newly revised third edition, Dr. Romm takes a holistic approach, emphasizing natural remedies wherever possible and providing up-to-date advice on herbs that promote wellness during pregnancy, and alleviate such familiar concerns as anxiety, fatigue, morning sickness, and stretch marks. With tips for a nutritious diet, exercise and posture, and information on the emotional and physical changes that childbearing brings, The Natural Pregnancy Book is your comprehensive guide to a safe, healthy pregnancy, as nature intended it.

    In this truly groundbreaking book, nationally respected educator Alfie Kohn begins instead by asking "What do kids need — and how can we meet those needs?" What follows from that question are ideas for working with children rather than doing things to them. One basic need all children have, Kohn argues, is to be loved unconditionally, to know that they will be accepted even if they screw up or fall short. Yet conventional approaches to parenting such as punishments (including "time-outs"), rewards (including positive reinforcement), and other forms of control teach children that they are loved only when they please us or impress us. Kohn cites a body of powerful, and largely unknown, research detailing the damage caused by leading children to believe they must earn our approval. That's precisely the message children derive from common discipline techniques, even though it's not the message most parents intend to send. More than just another book about discipline, though, Unconditional Parenting addresses the ways parents think about, feel about, and act with their children. It invites them to question their most basic assumptions about raising kids while offering a wealth of practical strategies for shifting from "doing to" to "working with" parenting — including how to replace praise with the unconditional support that children need to grow into healthy, caring, responsible people. This is an eye-opening, paradigm-shattering book that will reconnect readers to their own best instincts and inspire them to become better parents.

    Lack of sleep, never-ending housework, and new fiscal concerns often lead to conflict, disappointment, and hurt feelings. In And Baby Makes Three Love Lab(TM) experts John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman teach couples the skills from their successful workshops, so partners can avoid the pitfalls of parenthood by: - maintaining intimacy and romance - replacing a culture of criticism and irritability with one of appreciation - preventing post-partum depression - creating a home environment that nurtures physical, emotional, and mental health, as well as cognitive and behavioral development for your baby Complete with exercises that separate the "master" from the "disaster" couples, And Baby Makes Three helps new parents positively manage the strain that comes along with their bundle of joy.