If You Did What I Asked in the First Place


Lori B. Duff - 2019
    Duff bares the creaky, embarrassing parts of our high school cafeteria-scarred souls for us, leaving us no choice but to laugh at our failures, no matter how spectacular, and rejoice in our successes, no matter how itty-bitty. She shows women that each one of us is a wonder in our own way, with the ability — whether we know it or not — to make the best of life’s often absurd situations. Reading If You Did What I Asked In the First Place is like sitting down with a good friend who helps you make it through the day. Pour yourself a glass of whatever makes you feel better and take off any constricting undergarments: Let loose with the knowledge that you are not alone. You have Lori at your side.

Snooze: The Lost Art of Sleep


Michael McGirr - 2009
    The arrival of baby twins, however, made him realize that he’d never before known true exhaustion. And while he celebrated these small children who brought him so much joy and tiredness, he found himself on a desperate and bone-weary journey in search of just a few extra winks a night. It was an adventure that would teach him more about what exactly sleep is, why we need it, and what it means when we don’t get enough of it.In Snooze, McGirr delves into the mysterious world of sleep, including its many benefits, its stubborn elusiveness, and exactly what our brains really get up to while we’re in bed. He offers readers a tour through the odd sleep patterns of some of history's greatest minds, including Aristotle, Homer, Shakespeare, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Edison, and more. He looks, too, at the demise of sleep in our increasingly fragmented modern world—and examines what that means for everyone from the Average Joe in the workplace to those with serious sleep disorders. The result is both entertaining and enlightening—the perfect book for those sleepless nights.

The Discontented Little Baby Book


Pamela Douglas - 2014
    The first 16 weeks of life are a neurologically sensitive period, during which some babies will cry a lot and broken nights are to be expected. Attempts at quick fixes are often part of the problem. The Discontented Little Baby Book gives you practical and evidence-based strategies for helping you and your baby get more in sync. Dr. Pamela Douglas offers a path that protects your baby’s brain development so that he or she can reach his or her full potential, at the same time as you learn simple strategies to help you enjoy your baby and live with vitality when faced with the challenges of this extraordinary time. With parents’ real-life stories, advice on dealing with feelings of anxiety and depression, and answers to your questions about reflux and allergies, this book offers a revolutionary new approach to caring for your baby from a respected Australian GP.

You're Doing a Great Job!: 100 Ways You're Winning at Parenting


Biz Ellis - 2017
    Authors and co-hosts of the popular comedy podcast One Bad Mother, Biz Ellis and Theresa Thorn, know firsthand that raising kids is tough. They also know that, most likely, parents are winning more than they’re failing. This book reminds parents that it’s okay to have a low bar. Celebrate what did happen, not what didn’t, including gems such as:  Did you get up this morning? Great! You’re doing an awesome job!Your kid fell asleep? Even if it was just for two hours, that’s amazing. Good job!Has your kid eaten? That’s probably your doing, so yeah, you’re a winner!  The perfect gift for the growing family, You Are Doing a Great Job! is the much-needed reminder to screw all expectations and advice. It belongs on the shelf next to Go the Fu*k to Sleep and Let’s Panic About Babies. Or better yet, tear out the pages and hang them up.

The Whole 9 Months: A Week-By-Week Pregnancy Nutrition Guide with Recipes for a Healthy Start


Sonoma Press - 2016
    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.

Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason


Alfie Kohn - 2005
    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.

And Baby Makes Three: The Six-Step Plan for Preserving Marital Intimacy and Rekindling Romance After Baby Arrives


John M. Gottman - 2007
    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.

Daddy, Stop Talking! And Other Things My Kids Want But Won't Be Getting


Adam Carolla - 2015
    Using his own crappy childhood as a cautionary tale, and touting the pitfalls of the kind of helicopter parenting so pervasive today, Daddy, Stop Talking is the only parenting book you should ever read. Here, too, is sage advice to Adam’s own kids—and to future parents—on what matters most: dating; drinking and drugs; buying your first house and car; puberty; and what kind of assholes his kids (and yours) should avoid becoming. Even if his own son and daughter pretty much ignore everything he says, you shouldn’t. And you’re welcome. Again.

Growing Up Social: Raising Relational Kids in a Screen-Driven World


Gary Chapman - 2014
    While technology can benefit us, it can also erode a sense of togetherness and hinder a child’s emotional and social development.In Growing Up Social, Gary Chapman and Arlene Pellicane will empower you with the tools you need to make positive changes . . . starting today. Through stories, wit, and wisdom, you’ll discover how to take back your home from an overdependence on screens. Plus, you’ll learn to teach the five A+ skills that every child needs to master: affection, appreciation, anger management, apology, and attention.Learn how to:Replace mindless screen time with meaningful family timeEstablish simple boundaries that make a huge differenceDiscover what's working for families that have become screen savvyEquip your child to be relationally rich in a digital worldLearn healthy ways to occupy your child while you get things doneNow is the time to equip your child with a healthy involvement with screens and an even healthier involvement with others.

I'm a Joke and So Are You: A Comedian’s Take on What Makes Us Human


Robin Ince - 2018
    F ull of warmth, wisdom and affectionate delight in the wonder and absurdity of being human.' Observer 'Funny, honest and heart-warming.' Matt Haig What better way to understand ourselves than through the eyes of comedians - those who professionally examine our quirks on stage daily? In this touching and witty book, award-winning presenter and comic Robin Ince uses the life of the stand-up as a way of exploring some of the biggest questions we all face. Where does anxiety come from? How do we overcome imposter syndrome? What is the key to creativity? How can we deal with grief? Informed by personal insights from Robin as well as interviews with some of the world's top comedians, neuroscientists and psychologists, this is a hilarious and often moving primer to the mind. But it is also a powerful call to embrace the full breadth of our inner experience - no matter how strange we worry it may be!

Politically Incorrect Parenting: Before Your Kids Drive You Crazy, Read This!


Nigel Latta - 2010
    Practical commonsense answers and real life examples, logical and realistic strategies, and innovative behaviour modification tools that work in the real world - all from a parent and family therapist who's seen almost everything there is to see and offers some hard-won battlefield wisdom. Written in down-to-earth language, this book needs to be handed out at birth, an essential guide for the struggling parent who knows family life can and should be better. Clinical psychologist, bestselling author, and father of two, Nigel Latta specializes in working with children with behavioural problems, from simple to severe. A regular media commentator and presenter, he has had three television series adapted from his books - BEYOND tHE DARKLANDS, tHE POLItICALLY INCORRECt PARENtING SHOW and tHE POLItICALLY INCORRECt GUIDE tO tEENAGERS (all of which screen in New Zealand and Australia) - and has had a regular parenting segment on National Radio.

The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting


Bunmi Laditan - 2013
    Trying to convince your defiant darling to do something as simple as put on her shoes can feel like going to war. It’s not all blood, sweat, and tears, though. Toddlers can be charming little creatures, with their unfettered enthusiasm, wide grins, and ready hugs. In fact, what makes toddlers so fascinating is their unique blend of cute and demonic behavior. A toddler will take your hand and say "I love you," then slap you in the face.Now, The Honest Toddler provides an indispensable guide to parenting that places the toddler’s happiness front and center. Who better to instruct parents on the needs of toddlers than a toddler himself?In a voice that is at once inimitable and universal, The Honest Toddler turns his sharp eye to a wide range of subjects, including play date etiquette, meal preparation, healthy sleep habits, and the pernicious influence of self-appointed experts and so-called doctors. The result is a parenting guide like no other, one that will have moms and dads laughing through tears as they recognize their own child in the ongoing shenanigans of one bravely honest toddler.

The Kind Mama: A Simple Guide to Supercharged Fertility, a Radiant Pregnancy, a Sweeter Birth, and a Healthier, More Beautiful Beginning


Alicia Silverstone - 2014
    In other words, it will help you get knocked up, have a goddess pregnancy and birth, and grow the healthiest, happiest child! I’ll be including valuable and inspiring information from doctors, friends, and other women (as well as a section for kind-dads-to-be) and, of course, my own journey through pregnancy, birth, and raising my little one. I hope that it will be a great resource for families looking to bring their baby into a happy, healthy, and natural world.

Anatomy of an Illness: As Perceived by the Patient


Norman Cousins - 1979
    It started the revolution in patients working with their doctors and using humor to boost their bodies' capacity for healing. When Norman Cousins was diagnosed with a crippling and irreversible disease, he forged an unusual collaboration with his physician, and together they were able to beat the odds. The doctor's genius was in helping his patient to use his own powers: laughter, courage, and tenacity. The patient's talent was in mobilizing his body's own natural resources, proving what an effective healing tool the mind can be. This remarkable story of the triumph of the human spirit is truly inspirational reading.

Baby Bible: A Guide to Taking Care of Your Bump, Your Baby and Yourself


Bec Judd - 2018
    From carrying a baby, delivering it, feeding it and raising it, Bec has experienced almost everything motherhood can throw at you and she wants to share the secrets and stories that she has learned along the way. Not to mention all those things about pregnancy, birth and motherhood that often come as a complete surprise. Join Bec and her dream team of experts (an obstetrician, a midwife, an ultrasound specialist, a women's health physio and a paediatric sleep specialist) as they take you month by month through your pregnancy. They will share their insider advice on the best ways to eat for two (or three!), stay in shape and get you and your baby sleeping well. This gorgeous, comprehensive handbook contains a wealth of honest, practical and sometimes hilarious advice to prepare you and your baby for life after birth.