Mommy Reads

This shelf provides so much for upon daily basis. Isn't it cute? It used to be a window. But when the house, which was built in the 40's, was added on to in the 60's, this window became a little bookshelf. On it we have (top to bottom) board books and knick knacks, mommy books, ultrasound pics and puzzles and CDs along side the much desired kewpie, baby and childrens books galore, empty shelf aka imagination station.

I keep the board books at the top an rotate them into the reachable book shelf because they take up so much room. Not entirely sure what is in that top basket. The kewpie is something I've had for years and years. The littles always want to get their hands (and mouths) on it which has resulted in some paint on the eyes coming off, so it's off limits and just to look at now. CDs are a few lullabies and Putumayo Children's collection and some things handed down from Jordan for when they are a bit older. But we usually listen to Lullaby or Toddler Radio in Pandora. I like vintage children's books so we have a lot of those mixed in with some other good books about nature and God and life lessons or art. Not a fan of Disney or TV characters so there aren't many of those aside from a couple Pooh and Veggie Tales stories. The bottom shelf used to house stuffed animals but I tired of cleaning those up and now it can transform into anything from a grill to a train station.

Let's go back to the mommy shelf. There are some great things up there. Alon side the journals use to write to my children's future selves are some good books. Here's my list:

The Baby Book by Sears*
Baby-Gami by Sarvady
Husband-Coached Childbirth by Bradley
The Vaccine Book by Sears
Breastfeeding Made Simple by Mohrbacher*
Twice Blessed by Leonard
Conception, Pregnancy And Birth by Stoppard
Mommy Diagnostics by Parker
The Sucessful Child by Sears
The Discipline Book by Sears
The Emotional Life of the Toddler by Lieberman
The No Cry Sleep Solution by Pantley
Raising Children Raising Ourselves by Aldort
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by mcCutcheon*
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Gaskin*
How to Raise A Healthy Child In Spite if Your Doctor by Mendelsohn
(and a few name books)


*My recommended reading list for new moms. 

I've read through all the ones about birth, breastfeeding and health. The rest I've mostly skimmed and done selective reading. There are a few I'd like to add to hand down when my littles are parents. There's probably more great books out there too that I don't know about. There's not much room left though because I love the rocks someone made for us that hold them together. They remind me of The Rock that holds us together. That holds me together. My foundation.

This is what I'm reading right now. Also on the recommended reading list! It's SO good. It's written like a workshop. So you read a little, there are some fun cartoons to help you understand scenarios for using the techniques, and then some self work activities you can do with your partner, and homework. They suggest doing one chapter a week so you have time to practice and implement the new technique before moving on. Great stuff in here moms and dads! And any one really, this can be used in all relationships. We started using it with our oldest and have seen significant results just in the first week! And... he found the book and started reading it! So he's learning to do it too, which is really. truly. amazing. 

If you're like me and don't have much time to read, you can just look through the cartoons and get an idea of what the technique is so you can start to try it out. Easy.