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The Go-To Guide Book
One main theme will permeate through your pregnancy (no, we don't mean swollen ankles or sheer panic): questions. You will start to question everything. What is the Bradley method? Can I stay on Prozac? Can I drink tap water? What about pesticides in fruit? Where do I buy a good crib? How do I handle daycare? When do I stop taking my prenatal vitamin? Frankly, you'll drive yourself crazy with it. To quell your insatiable thirst for answers, keep a copy of The Complete Organic Pregnancy with you at all times. This comprehensive guide to all things healthy pregnancy will satiate your hunger for knowledge, but not your hunger for tomato sauce or chocolate ice cream—that you'll have to handle on your own.
($10, www.amazon.com) |
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The Scoop You Can Trust Book
Many consider this book to be the bible when it comes to the real deal on baby gear from cribs to strollers to car seats to maternity wear. Baby Bargains rates all the top brands based on quality, safety, durability, usability and more. With detailed descriptions and explanations, this book becomes your constant companion for the next nine plus months.
($17.95, www.windsorpeak.com) |
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The Mighty Triumvirate of Organization Books |
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During Your Pregnancy:
Collect all your important information, to-dos and how-tos in The Essential Pregnancy Organizer: 40 Weeks +. Pregnancy can be overwhelming—so much to do, so much to get, so much to learn. This small and sleek organizer doubles as a journal of long day's journey into parenthood.
($19.95, www.pregnancyorganizer.com) |
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Once Baby is Here:
Yes, once baby is here there will be a period of time known as the wall-walking time—meaning you will be walking into walls during this time. Thanks to sleep deprivation, you will find yourself forgetting even the simplest of things like when your precious went number two last or had a bottle. Baby Daze saves the day(s) as the ultimate logbook, helping new parents keep track of medical information, feeding, sleeping, diaper changes, gifts and more.
($19.95, www.babydaze.net)
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When You're M.I.A (Mom In Action):
Once your little ones are on the go, the need to stay organized compounds. Sure you could BlackBerry or Treo, but since day planners are all rage again, get yourself—and your family together—with a momAgenda. With spaces for your life and theirs, you can keep track of play dates, doctors' appointments, birthday parties and all those everyday family affairs that formerly lived on stickies, used envelopes, magazine tear-outs and the palm of your hand. ($119.50, momAgenda Portfolio Planner; $42, momAgenda Desktop, (www.momAgenda.com) |
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The Post-Baby Body Saver Book
Youe six weeks is up and you've been cleared to exercise—gee, thanks! While you still may not feel up to getting back into a diet and exercise routine, the sooner you do it, the better you will feel. When you are ready to get your body back, go to Lose That Baby Fat by exercise guru to the stars LaReine Chabut. Her mom-friendly fitness program, written in a month-to-month format, gives moms all the step-by-step details of safe and smart weight loss in a post-natal world. ($12, www.amazon.com)
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The How Mama Got Her Groove Back
If you think the term sex life is an oxymoron—and believe us, at some point this will be your truth—then you've got to read Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic. Written by Esther Perel, a marriage and family therapist, this provocative look at intimacy and sex gives parents the tools they need to bring the lust home. This powerful and marriage-changing book should be part of the welcome packages in the maternity ward—that is, if you ever want to get to baby number two.
($24.95, www.harpercollins.com)
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| Click here to check out this month's must-read interview with Esther Perel. |
