Good beginners book?

[BusyBeeMom]

What's your favorite book to give to a mom who is pregnant for the first time. She plans on/wants to breastfeed, but is very anxious about having pain, etc. She's a woman who has extremely high expectations of herself, and can put a lot of pressure on herself.

Thanks for ideas!!

[jeanine123]

"So That's What They're For!" by Janet Tamaro. Really easy, really fun, very informative read. I love, love, LOVE that book!

[miss_sonja]

"So That's What They're For!" is a great book for first-time moms, especially those from a more mainstream background. It's easy to read, funny, yet full of accurate breastfeeding info.

The most important thing is for your friend to let go of the perfectionism. That attitude can lead to an all or nothing "I can't do it right so I won't do it at all" that'll spoil a nursing relationship.

The LLL book is a great reference to have on hand for answers to those questions that always come up.

[BusyBeeMom]

I'm happy to see everyone recommending "So That's What They're For!" It's actually been the book that I've given to several first-time mom friends, each of whom has gone on to terrific BFing success and who were thrilled w/the book! I just wanted to see if there were other ideas.

On a related note, I wanted to prepare a little pregnancy/BFing pack for her. Just some useful info, nothing overwhelming or intimidating. She's past the morning sickness phase now. I was thinking putting "So That's what They're For" and Mothering pregnancy/BFing back issues in there. And yes, she's fairly mainstream...any other ideas?

[Googy]

I like Dr. Jack Newman's Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers a lot--it will make a lactivist out of anyone! It totally dispells a lot of breastfeeding myths, has lots of great pictures, and has great solutions for lots of common breastfeeding problems.

[Breastfeeding Insomniac]

Originally Posted by Googy

I like Dr. Jack Newman's Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers a lot--it will make a lactivist out of anyone! It totally dispells a lot of breastfeeding myths, has lots of great pictures, and has great solutions for lots of common breastfeeding problems.

ITA, this is a great book!

[songbh]

My new favorite book for such situations is Breastfeeding Made Simple: Seven Natural Laws for Nursing Mothers by Mohrbacher and Kendall-Tackett.

The seven "laws" very effectively explain the principles that underlie good breastfeeding management. It is easy to read, makes breastfeeding sound like something that you CAN do, and also includes information in each chapter about how to handle problems.

[turtlewomyn]

I fourth "That's What They're For!" A great book for moms who are more mainstream, a little bit nervous, and have really high expectations of themselves.

[Tine]

I like Breastfeeding with Confidence by Sue Cox.

[bluegrassgirl]

I actually really liked "The Pregnancy Book" and "The Birth Book" by. Dr. William Sears when I was pregnant with both of my daughters.
When I first got pregnant, the only book I could find at Wal-Mart on the subject was that horrible "What To Expect..." book, and it was so negative when it came to natural birth and breastfeeding. After I read the whole thing through and giving it to a used book store for credit, I picked up a copy of the Dr. Sears books and LOVED them! They were so positive sounding and had lots of information on natural birth.
The Pregnancy Book even had sections that you could fill it regarding your weight, emotions, what you were eating, ect. for each month.

If she is also wanting a breastfeeding book, I really liked 3 books: "So That's What They're For!: Breastfeeding Basics", "The Complete Idiots Guide to Breastfeeding", and "The Nursing Mother's Companion". All 3 had excellent sections for new mom's and on different breast pumps (the Idiots guide even had photos of several pumps and bottles that were good for pumping and feeding).

Jessie
(single mommy to Emma, 4 years and Angela, 2 1/2 years)