PREGNANCY RESOURCES

Written by two nurse practitioners, this is the practical GO TO book that should literally be handed out to all parents with a positive pregnancy test.  It provides that practical, high-yield advice on how to consider sleep education, schedules, and how newborns' schedules naturally change. Myself, and all of my ob/gyn friends who used this book had their babies sleeping from 7-7 by 12 weeks. So honestly, for that alone, it's worth it. The most succinct, high-yield, best no-drama book ever.

Of note: This book is highly religious, each chapter starts with a Bible verse. neither here nor there, just FYI facts.

I am low-key obsessed with Emily Oster. She is an Economics Professor at Brown who is a data-junkie like myself. When she was pregnant, she reviewed all of the primary literature on the common questions that come up during pregnancy. More importantly, she provides an amazing framework for how to think about making decisions when there is not a clear answer. This is an absolutely invaluable way to think about how to make decisions in the "grey zone" - both during pregnancy and as new parents.

This book is about an American journalist who is raising her three children in Paris.  This is definitely more light-hearted and more fun than the previous two, which is why I put this third. However, I really loved this book because it highlights the different cultural aspects of parenting between the US and France. I like this because it is a reminder that your parenting style has to work for YOU -- and if no one else around you is doing it your way, it doesn't mean that it is the wrong way :)

Okay - this is for all of my nerds out there. This book is written by a child psychologist expert who writes about child development both from a research point of view but ALSO from the evolutionary "this is how we developed" point of view. She also interweaves her experiences (personal) as both a mom and a grandmother. I absolutely loved this book because it really provided some amazing insight about child development which helped me prepare for the toddler phase. yikes.