Book recommendations?

[PunkElmo]

I'm looking for good book recommendations for the following

Breastfeeding

(I have the womanly art of breastfeeding in my amazon cart)

Elimination Communication

Infant Swimming

Birth in General

(have Ina May's book & Orgasmic Birth in the cart)

Attachment Parenting/Co-Sleeping

Vaccines

(I know Dr. Sears' book is supposed to be the BIBLE, but I've heard mixed reviews)

Any other books you'd recommend for a fairly crunchy first time mom 

Thanks in Advance!

[samstress]

EC:  the diaper-free baby is a great general how-to

birth in general:  what ina may book do you have?  this is the one i love. 

i also loved birthing from within and natural childbirth the bradley way and the thinking woman's guide to a better birth.

attachment parenting and other general parenting books that i love include:  becoming attached,  becoming the parent you want to be, parenting from the inside out and unconditional parenting.

happy reading!

[lyndie]

me too!  

[PAgreenmama]

breastfeeding:  i have the dr.sears breastfeeding book and i found it helpful when nursing dd.  i know i turned to it many times in those first few months.  i also have the womanly art of bf but i read that much later.  and the MDC forum is a great resource. 

birth:  i really like ina may's guide.  the bradley book was pretty good and i really like marie mongan's hypnobirthing book even though her techniques weren't helpful to me.  i still think her description of what is going on in labor was really helpful.

attachment parenting/co-sleeping:  i really like the dr.sears books and i turned to the MDC forum A LOT.

vaccines:  i loved the vaccine guide by randall neustaedter 

[LacieD]

The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin is great for your DH/partner/whomever to read!  

[camprunner]

I second Natural Childbirth the Bradley way!

If you are Chrisitian and must use the hospital, I also like Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize

[LeighPF]

I started my book search by taking everything out from the library and reading or skimming them (I love to read). The ones that annoyed me got returned unfinished and the ones I loved best I bought as reference. There are some terrible parenting books out there and there are legitimate different ideas about parenting. After that it comes down to tone and style of the author and what works for you.

I am just finishing the Sears Vaccine book and think it is a great starting point. Not pro or anti but about having information to make informed choices with. I am loving the details on how vaccines are made. It will totally change our vaccine choices with our second child.

I never needed anything more than the womanly art of breastfeeding and the new versions is wonderful.

I have the AAP Birth to age five book and get a lot of use out of it. I like the development information, which provides a good survey of what you child should, may and could be doing at any point and what their basic needs are. It is also a great starting point for diagnosing minor illnesses and figuring out what that rash is. It is AAP so it can tow the party line, but they usually put that in a special box and at least mention other points of view. I have several other general childcare books, but this one suits me best.

Also do some reading on sleep. After you get nursing figured out, the next few years will be all about sleep (with periods of eating) and the more information you have the easier it will go (or at least the more calm about it you can be).

[Nutter]

As a doula, my #1 recommended book re: breastfeeding is "Breastfeeding Made Simple" 2010 ed.  If you read nothing else pre-birth, this one will get you off on the right foot. 

The Nursing Mother's Companion 2010/25th Anniv. ed. by Kathleen Huggins; anything by Dr. Jack Newman; Womanly Art of Breastfeeding 2010 ed... are all good reference/troubleshooting books.  Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding is a nice pre-birth read too.

For birth itself - I think "The Birth Partner" by Penny Simkin covers all the nuts and bolts, while "Orgasmic Birth" covers all the inspiring and beautiful possibilities.  They are the only two books I asked the friend who is going to be our doula, to read.

[becca_howell]

Hale's Medications and Mother's Milk is a good source because a lot of doctors do not have correct/up-to-date information on what medicines cross into breastmilk and at what quantities. Dr. Hale has done extensive (that's an understatement) research on this.

I love the Sears Family of books. I have several on my registry. The Vaccine Book is very good. From reading that book I came to the conclusion that my kids didn't need any vaccinations.