Wednesday 14th October 2009

I have spent much of my pregnancy trying to gain information about our baby and how to give him the best start in life. We were lucky enough to find a local bookshop which was selling off its stock which meant that I got a lot of books for just a third of their usual price. I wanted to share the books I have read and the ones I am still to read. Not all of them I own, some of them are thanks to a great local library, visits to which I intend to make a regular feature of our baby's life too.

Hypnobirthing - The Mongan Method, this comes with a CD of relaxation techniques and is a very detailed book about how to manage a natural birth. The book is brilliant, but the CD is not as good as I expected and in fact the visualisation exercise on the Tara Lee Pregnancy Health Yoga DVD is far better for the birthing process, in my view.

Teach Yourself Green Parenting (Lynoa Cattanach), a guide from pregnancy through the early years as how to bring your child up in an environmentally friendly way. Very good and informative.

From the same series I also have another book: Teach Yourself Yoga for Pregnancy and Birth, which also comes with a CD, the book is very thorough and the CD can be used both during pregnancy, during labour and post-natal, so a really good buy.

What to expect when you're expecting (Heidi E Murkoff) - this has been my handbook and bible from the moment that I knew I was pregnant and has answered every possible question that I have had and has kept me in touch with my own and my baby's growth. We also have the next step - What to expect the first year.

Birth and Beyond - from minus 9 to plus 9 months (Yehudi Gordon) - another very comprehensive guide to everything you need to know, from a more natural birhting perspective than the one above.

Labour Pain - Discover the Secrets of an Easier Labour (Nicky Wesson). - I only picked up this book by chance in the library and it was brilliant, a very detailed account of labour and how to cope with it. A bit scary in places, but very practical and it had some great chapters for birthing partners too.

Other books I have to read, but have not yet read include:

Birth Skills (Juju Sundin)

Life after Birth (Kate Figes)

The best friend's guide to surviving Motherhood ( Vicki Iovine)

So, today's tip: Enrol at your local library and USE it. There are many great books there that will give you perspective on everything you want to know and getting into the habit of using a library now will be brilliant for your baby.

And so, to today's outfit (below). One I am particularly proud of for it thrift and fashionista qualities:

The dress I am wearing has a slash / boat neck and came from Primark for a mere £14. Now, I know this isn't the most ethical place to buy, but as long as you accept what you are buying and do something to offset your guilt (charitable donation?) and don't make a habit of it, there a few (very few) things worth buying in here. This tunic dress screamed out Scandinavian cool to me and I have used the included belt to belt the area above my bump (i.e. I haven't used the belt loops) to stop the whole thing looking like a tent. I am wearing this with thick wooly grey Mothercare tights. Primark clothes tend to come up a little on the large size so, whilst they don't do maternity wear, I just bought this dress in the size above my usual one. Brilliant. And the lady in the building society called her friend over for a look at it too, as they couldn't believe it wasn't designer!