A Good Read

There are three things you'll always find on my nightstand -- an alarm clock, glass of water and a good book. Over the past seven months I've definitely been reading plenty of "mommy material" (see photo) but I've tried not to COMPLETELY consume my life with "mommy stuff." Everyone needs that "escape" in a good read before a weeknight sleep. Recently I've read  All Souls: A Family Story from Southie, The Help, and The Heretic's Daughter. All very different, and all very good!  I usually get into bed about 45 minutes before the lights go out -- read Mommy material for fifteen minutes and then pick up my book of the week for a bit before shutting it down. 

Regarding the Mommy Material, I highly recommend the assortment displayed in the picture above. Baby Bargains is great -- it has a ranking system/grades for all baby products based on consumer reports, customer satisfaction, product longevity, past product recalls, etc. I found this book extremely helpful when choosing which crib to invest in, the safest car seats, best strollers, etc. I haven't used the Baby411 book yet, but its a quick reference guide for parents and again has same format as Baby Bargains. 

What to Expect When You're Expecting - SOMEONE will buy you this when decide to spill the beans. It's nice because chapters are outlined by month and progression of your pregnancy up until the care of your little one.

The Happiest Baby on the Block is a great reference guide by M.D. Harvey Karp to help soothe your baby and keep him/her happy using natural methods. I also have the DVD.

The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy - GET IT... written by Mom's who tell you the whole (hilarious) truth and nothing but the truth. Whenever something bizarre happens to me I grab that book and sure enough it's covered and I'm laughing out loud within seconds/minutes.

I've subscribed to a few magazines -- Parenting Magazine, American Baby and Fit Pregnancy (all very good - American Baby is a free subscription for the year for first-time Mom's)