Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health

Amazon.com

This comprehensive book explains in lucid, assured terms how to practice the fertility awareness method (FAM), a natural, scientifically proven but little-known form of birth control (which is not to be confused with the woefully ineffective "rhythm" method). Author Toni Weschler has been teaching fertility awareness for almost 20 years, and it's only just now gaining in popularity. As the book explains, by using simple fertility signs including peaks in morning body temperature and changes in cervical position and cervical mucus, it's possible to determine when ovulation is taking place. Fertility awareness is therefore useful for not only couples who are trying to conceive, but for those who are aiming to avoid pregnancy without the use of chemical contraceptives. It will be of special interest to those women who have suffered from infertility; many FAM practitioners have told the author that by filling in the detailed charts in the book, they've realized that they were chronically miscarrying, even when their doctors told them they weren't conceiving at all. As the book explains, by charting body temperature, it's simple to tell when pregnancy has occurred--and when there's danger of miscarriage. Taking Charge of Your Fertility also explains how to choose the sex of your baby by timing intercourse according to certain fertility signs. It also features thorough, easy-to-understand explanations of hormones, the menstrual cycle, and menopause, along with fertility tests and treatments and their long- and short-term side effects, plus a topnotch resource section. Recommended for any woman who wants to better understand her body. --Erica Jorgensen

Book Description

Celebrating 10 years of helping hundreds of thousands of women achieve pregnancy, avoid pregnancy naturally, and gain better control of their health and lives, the 10th Anniversary Edition of the classic bestseller will include:

•New 'Preface to the 10th Anniversary Edition"

•Updates on new fertility technologies

•Natural approaches to conception

•Updated Resources and Books

For any woman unhappy with her current method of birth control; demoralized by her quest to have a baby; or experiencing confusing symptoms in her cycle, this book provides answers to all these questions, plus amazing insights into a woman's body. Weschler thoroughly explains the empowering Fertility Awareness Method, which in only a couple minutes a day allows a woman to:

•Enjoy highly effective, scientifically proven birth control without chemicals or devices

•Maximize her chances of conception or expedite fertility treatment by identifying impediments to conception

•Increase the likelihood of choosing the gender of her baby

•Gain control of her sexual and gynecological health

Customer Reviews:

Info for Every Woman.......2007-10-06

Whether you are trying to get pregnant or trying to avoid it, this is information that every woman should know about her body.

Necessary Book for all Women.......2007-10-06

This book was recommended to me by my doctor. It reads easily and is very interesting, even funny at times. The advice inside is easy to follow, and the results are empowering. I believe it's an essential for all women, so they know their own bodies better than anybody else does.

TCOYF is Awesome.......2007-10-05

The book is amazing... It's everything your health teacher and your mother never taught you! And Amazon got it to me quickly.

Thanks to this book I have my baby!.......2007-10-05

This book is wonderful - it's very simple and easy to follow with lots of example to illustrate more complicated concepts.
I have so called "lazy ovaries" and only menstruate around 4-5 times a year. With a better understanding of how my body works and how to know the best time to conceive, we bingo'd on our first try to have a baby. Enough said!

A little work brings big rewards.......2007-10-04

This is a well written book that makes understanding your hormones and fertility logical and reasonable. I bought this book on a recomendation from my Sister In-Law and I am so glad I did. Side effects of birth control pills can be hard on a woman's body both physically and mentally. This book provides lots of information for understanding the ins and outs of fertility. I have used it succesfully in both avoiding and achieving pregnancy.

Your Pregnancy Week by Week, Fifth Edition

Average customer rating:

This is THE book to get you through pregnancy!
Conservative & Out of Date - Don't Trust Your Health to Them!
Very random information
This book tries to scare you!
Disappointing

Your Pregnancy Week by Week, Fifth Edition
Glade B. Curtis , and Judith Schuler
Manufacturer: DA CAPO PR, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1555613462
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Amazon.com

Pregnancy should be a time of wonder and hope, but these days, it's associated more often with paranoia. Dr. Glade Curtis is keenly aware of the anxieties heaped upon expectant women: he has written several pregnancy-related books. So while he covers pretty much any topic that an expectant mom might be concerned about, he does not overload the reader with extraneous information or horror stories that can be found in that other best-selling pregnancy guide. In this completely revised and updated edition, Curtis describes the physical developments from weeks 1 through 40--or 41 or 42!--such as the size and weight of the baby, emotional changes in the mother, typical medical tests offered, and nutritional requirements. (The iron found in prenatal vitamins may exacerbate morning sickness, he writes, because iron supplementation is usually not needed until the final trimester.) It is too bad that Dr. Curtis does not recommend more alternative-medicine approaches for treating common pregnancy discomforts. In the chapter covering Week 8, he rightly describes sciatic-nerve pain as excruciating, but does not advise yoga or chiropractic treatments for its relief. However, he *is* hip to the use of doulas, or labor coaches, he encourages breastfeeding, and includes numerous tips for making your partner feel included in what should be a thrilling experience for you both. --Erica Jorgensen

Book Description

A totally revised and expanded new edition of the best-selling doctor-authored pregnancy book--the only one organized week by week.

Because of the rapid rate of change to both mother and baby, doctors refer to a pregnancy in increments of weeks, not months or even trimesters; expectant mothers look for changes and compare the details of their pregnancies based on the same weekly schedule. The best-selling Your Pregnancy Week by Week doles out focused information in this medically appropriate way, making it the most mom-recommended pregnancy guide on the market.

Now carefully brought up-to-date, this expanded Fifth Edition will also be the most medically current and comprehensive pregnancy guide available. Always reliable and now re-designed to be even more accessible, weekly chapters include illustrations, descriptions of baby's growth and developmental milestones, information about a mother's average weight gain and what she might be feeling or becoming aware of, and the medical testing that corresponds to the week in question. New features include:
* Information on cutting edge obstetric technologies-from 3D ultrasound to pre-natal genetic testing
* The very latest diet, nutritional and fitness recommendations for expectant mothers
* A new chapter devoted to overdue (post-term) pregnancies
* An expanded 15-page glossary of pregnancy and childbirth terms
* A handy Due Date Prediction Calendar

Customer Reviews:

This is THE book to get you through pregnancy!.......2007-10-04

This is a great book! I read it during my first pregnancy and I loved it! Now I'm in my second pregnancy 5 years later and I'm reading it again! It's so much better than What to Expect. This book takes you through each week of pregnancy, gives you illustrations of the baby, tells you what your body and baby are going through, gives nutritional tips, tells you about all the tests and possible complications of pregnancy, and so much more! This book and The Girlfriends' Guide are the only two books any pregnant woman needs to get her through pregnancy. I ended up donating all my other books to goodwill.

Conservative & Out of Date - Don't Trust Your Health to Them!.......2007-09-16

I was shocked at the out-of-date medical information in this text. They have a very strong warning about home births, about how dangerous they are. I agree that if you have complications, you should not have a home birth. But many thousands of women have home births without any problems.

What really got me was their total misinformation on episiotomies (the cut that doctors used to do to prevent you from tearing when the baby came out). They argue that episiotomies are better than natural tearing. They are completely wrong, relying on out-of-date and conservative medical myths. The US government just did a review of many studies on the issue, and their advice? The headline of their report read, "Routine Use of Episiotomy in Uncomplicated Births Offers No Benefits to Women." In fact, episiotomies tend to leave women with more pain and more sexual side effects than natural tearing. Of course, in some small amount of cases, an episiotomy is better, but in the large majority of cases, they are not.

I would not trust my health to this book. It is tainted with old-school medical advice that simply is not backed up by research. They need to read up on the latest studies and get with the times!

Very random information.......2007-09-13

I like this book shows actual size of the baby at certian stages, but there is a lot of random information put in the book. The info is kind of thrown in, not in any order. I know the updated version is different but this one is kind of confusing. I did not care for it too much.

This book tries to scare you!.......2007-08-27

I bought this book because I liked the little pictures it shows each week of the babies development. However, I would NOT recommend this book to another mom-to-be, because there is way too much information which appears to be included just to scare us. There are things like "What if you get cancer while pregnant", too much emphasis on rare pregnancy complications, and it tells you that normal pregnancy symptoms like nausea might mean you have appendicitis! We pregnant women are anxious and stressed out enough; we dont need books like this making us more so.

Disappointing.......2007-08-26

I bought this book during my first pregnancy. I started reading it during my second and stopped. To be honest, I got a lot more useful information out of the "What to Expect" book. This book seems way more medically focused, and I think it is a little more out of date on some medical issues. I must admit I did not read the book all the way through--I got to like 12 weeks. But I stopped because frankly it added very little and left much out IMO compared to "What to Expect" which I got a lot more useful information from. Buy the "What to Expect" book instead--you will get much more out of it.

The Pregnancy Journal, Revised Edition: A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy

Average customer rating:

I love this pregnancy journal!
The Pregnancy Journal
Favorite Pregnancy Book
The Best!
wonderful!

The Pregnancy Journal, Revised Edition: A Day-to-Day Guide to a Healthy and Happy Pregnancy
A. Christine Harris
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0811846970

Amazon.com

Whether this is pregnancy number 1 or number 10, nothing makes it easier to connect with a growing baby than knowing exactly what magical development is happening every day. Filling the need for practical information, medical data, emotional and spiritual fuel, and even "pregnancy trivia," The Pregnancy Journal is easily one of the best books available for a woman or couple expecting a baby. The journal contains about half a page of information for each day from conception through delivery. Nutrition, how to avoid discomforts associated with pregnancy, childbirth customs in other cultures, and practical parenting tips are among the topics touched on. Many days in the journal have a great section called "Did You Know"; for example, from Day 49: "The baby's arms at this point are only as long as this printed 1." At the bottom of each page is a quote from a literary or historical figure; some are sentimental, some pithy, some humorous, all inspiring.

The information and quotes seem to invite musings and speculation on the miracle unfolding inside the womb; there is some space for recording data and thoughts, but if you want to write more than just a few lines every few days, you might want to have a blank journal to accompany The Pregnancy Journal. The format of this book makes it much more manageable and inviting than most books on pregnancy, and the information is made even more accessible by the inclusion of a glossary/subject index in the back. Don't wait until the shower to give this excellent resource and thoughtful gift--moms-to-be will want to have it from the very beginning. --Katherine Ferguson

Book Description

Since its publication in 1996, this definitive journal for expectant families has sold over a million copies. Author A. Christine Harris brings a revised and thoroughly updated edition to today s parents-to-be. Still featuring daily entries, a personalized timeline, and pregnancy glossary, the revised edition provides a clearer picture of the baby's in-utero development and the latest advice about giving a growing baby every advantage prior to birth.

Customer Reviews:

I love this pregnancy journal!.......2007-10-04

I love this journal - I bought it for myself, and a girlfriend of mine, since I loved it so much! There is info about the baby every day and space to record your own thoughts and progress - lovely!

The Pregnancy Journal.......2007-09-21

This is a beautiful discovery of what happens in a woman's body throughout pregnancy and a wonderful way for you as a couple to bond with your baby. The book takes you through the journey and it is a real discovery.

Favorite Pregnancy Book.......2007-07-07

If you are looking for a blank journal - this isn't the book for you. If you are looking for a way to daily connect with the child growing within your womb - this is the perfect book for you. It was a psychological lifesaver for me. When my back was aching and nausea overwhelmed me I would often go to this book and read and it always reminded me that all the tough times of pregnancy are well worth it! I love the in depth detail on the estimated events that are happening. I realize that we all progress differently so the timing may not be perfect. However, as a nurse I am impressed with the accuracy of the material.

I have two sons and purchased a book during each pregnancy. I love reading through my notes in the books and recalling the sweet (and not so sweet) memories of pregnancy. We are planning on trying for another baby soon and this is the top book on my list! It will be a very special part of each of our children's memory chest.

The Best!.......2007-07-02

I bought this journal in 2000 for my first pregnancy and I bought it again in 2006 for my second. It's very user friendly and has just enough space to write down all the important things you want to remember. I love the day by day explanation of what's going on with my body and the baby. I highly recommend this!

wonderful!.......2007-06-27

Best pregnancy journal around...the day by day details are exciting to read and very informative.

Breastfeeding and Human Lactation (Jones and Bartlett Series in Breastfeeding/Human Lactation)

Average customer rating:

FANTASTIC

Breastfeeding and Human Lactation (Jones and Bartlett Series in Breastfeeding/Human Lactation)
Jan Ed. Riordan
Manufacturer: Jones & Bartlett
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0763745855

Book Description

This is THE reference text for lactation consultants. In its third edition, the text has been updated to reflect new knowledge in the physiology of breastfeeding, milk supply, positioning, the management of breastfeeding, and the role of the lactation consultant. The text is divided into 5 sections that cover the sociocultural context of infant feeding, anatomy and biological imperatives, the prenatal, perinatal and postnatal periods, beyond postpartum, and contemporary issues. It is accompanied by a CD-ROM and color insert, both of which accurately depict positioning, the normal breast, and breastfeeding problems.

Customer Reviews:

FANTASTIC.......2007-03-27

I love this book. It's well organized and easy to read even though some info is quite technical. I'm taking the IBCLC exam soon and out of several books I'm using for review, this is my favorite.

Average customer rating:

A must-have for a nervous husband!
Excellent purchase.
Great book!
Helpful Resource
Worth reading!

The Birth Partner, Second Edition
Penny Simkin
Manufacturer: Harvard Common Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Child Care | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1558321950

Amazon.com

The role of birth partner is a tough one. A birth partner may be expected to help a laboring woman make decisions and help her get through the pain and discomfort of childbirth. During this high-intensity time, the birth partner--whether father, partner, or friend--needs a book that can give thorough information for studying ahead of time, yet can be easily referenced in an emergency or for quick answers during labor and delivery. The Birth Partner fills both needs.

Penny Simkin, P.T. (Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn) has written a clear, informative guide that includes a thorough description of everything a birth partner can expect. For a quick brush-up, or for sudden emergency situations where a birth partner is thrust into the role unprepared, the book also provides vital information and emergency tips that are clearly marked on pages with darkened edges. Every section includes a description of a stage of labor or circumstance, a description of what the caregiver (doctor, nurse or midwife) might do, and suggestions about what the birth partner's role should be.

The different sections include preparing for the birth, helping labor begin (in certain situations this is necessary), early labor , the stages of labor, strategies for special situations, the medical side of childbirth, and ways to assist after the birth. Of special note is a clear chart describing various drugs, their desired effects and secondary reactions, and the stages of labor in which each of them may be appropriate.

Book Description

Definitive guide for preparing to help a woman through childbirth, and the essential manual to have at hand during the event.

Customer Reviews:

A must-have for a nervous husband!.......2007-09-25

This is our first pregnancy, and my husband is honestly more nervous than me! Letting him know what to expect is great for him.

Excellent purchase........2007-05-21

This was one of the best purchases we made in terms of labor and delivery for our first child. Well worth reading for the mom-to-be and anyone else who is going to be involved in the labor and delivery.

Great book!.......2007-03-29

This book was extremely helpful in learning how to support the laboring mom. There were so many helpful resources to use. I will be taking this book to births with me for quick reference.

Helpful Resource.......2007-03-24

The Birth Partner was a great book for anyone that wants to learn more about being a partner in the birthing/delivery process. I was a complete novice and found it so helpful to prepare me for my role in being a birthing coach for my friends home birth.

Worth reading!.......2007-03-08

The only downside to the book is that it is not concise. That means, you will pretty much need to read it cover to cover. But, the information in there is extremely important for anyone supporting a soon-to-be mother. Well worth the money!

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth

Average customer rating:

take it or leave it
A nice change of pace...
Great read for every pregnant woman
more comical than informative.
Waste of time and money

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth
Jenny McCarthy
Manufacturer: Perseus Books Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

ASIN: 0738210072

Book Description

The acclaimed national bestseller-a no-holds-barred account of what you can really expect when you're expecting

Oh, the joys of pregnancy! There's the gassiness, constipation, queasiness, and exhaustion, the forgetfulness, crankiness, and the constant worry. Of course, no woman is spared the discomforts and humiliations of pregnancy, but most are too polite to complain or too embarrassed to talk about them. Not Jenny McCarthy!

In the New York Times best-selling Belly Laughs, actress and new mother Jenny McCarthy reveals the naked truth about the tremendous joys, the excruciating pains, and the unseemly disfigurement that go along with pregnancy. Never shy, frequently crude, and always laugh-out-loud funny, McCarthy covers it all in the grittiest of girlfriend detail. From morning sickness and hormonal rage, to hemorrhoids, pregnant sex, and the torture and sweet relief that is delivery, Belly Laughs is must-read comic relief for anyone who is pregnant, who has ever been pregnant, is trying to get pregnant, or indeed, has ever been born!

Customer Reviews:

take it or leave it.......2007-10-05

My sister in law bought me this book because people told her it was soooo funny. But I wasn't really that impressed. It was funny but I wasn't laughing at loud or anything. Probably not a book I would read again or buy as a gift for anyone else.

A nice change of pace..........2007-09-12

I bought this book seeking something other than the typical "What to expect when you're expecting", and that's exactly what I got. I am a sarcastic, slightly cynical person... this book was perfect for me. Jenny McCarthy is straight to the point, and shockingly honest. The book is sincere, but with the comedy edge that makes it less cheesy than most pregnancy books.

Great read for every pregnant woman.......2007-09-10

The book is very honest and very funny. Jenny does a great job at sharing all her embarassing pregnancy stories and reasures us that what we are expieriencing is in fact normal!

more comical than informative........2007-09-07

This book is easy reading however, its not as informative as I'd hoped. I am pregnant for the first time (writing under my husbands name!), and was looking for something funny AND informative. The best book for this topic I've found is "The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy" by Vicky Iovine. She is hilarious, and VERY informative and covers every topic. This book basically tells stories of Jenny's pregnancy - which is great - but only one persons story.

Waste of time and money.......2007-09-06

This book was a complete waste of time (the whole hour it took to read it) and money. I found many other books much more informative, upfront and honest.

The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition)

Average customer rating:

take this book seriously & your life might be a mess!
Thorough and Loving
Every expectant Mom needs this book!
Baby Bible!
A great resource for "attachment parenting"-friendly parents

The Baby Book: Everything You Need to Know About Your Baby from Birth to Age Two (Revised and Updated Edition)
William Sears , Martha Sears , Robert Sears , and James Sears
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Sears, Dr. William | Authors, A-Z | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0316778001

Amazon.com

In their excellent (and hefty) resource guide, The Baby Book, attachment parenting specialists William Sears and Martha Sears have provided new parents with their approach to every aspect of baby care basics, from newborns to toddlers. Attachment parenting is a gentle, reasonable approach to parenting that stresses bonding with your baby, responding to her cues, breastfeeding, "wearing" your baby, and sharing sleep with your child. For those parents who worry about negative effects of this attention, the Sears say, "Spoiling is what happens when you leave something (or some person) alone on the shelf--it spoils."

Book Description

Customer Reviews:

take this book seriously & your life might be a mess!.......2007-10-09

I would NOT recommend this book for starting out in parenting. My husband and I just had this book for the first few months of our baby's life. What I got out of the book was the author's ideas that the mom should breastfeed the baby (which I do support), carry the baby in a sling for at least four hours a day, feed the baby every time it fusses, rock the baby to sleep, hold the baby for 20 minutes until she's fully asleep then hope she doesn't wake up when you put her down. Then he talks about a sign in his office that says "The best gift you can a baby is a well rested mother."
His ideas had me teaching the baby not to sleep the night, no routine or expectations, baby was not napping, and had my whole family exhausted and wondering if we were going to live through this!
Luckily, when our baby was four months old a friend lent me "The Baby Whisperer." We soon had a great flexible routine, baby slept through the night, and everyone was happier-including baby! I've also heard many great things about "Baby Wise."

The book has helpful information in the back about illnesses and medicine in the back - I would only buy the book for that. (The book is also very against bottle feeding, so don't look for any support there!)

Thorough and Loving.......2007-10-08

I got this book when my baby was eight months old, and I heartily wish I had gotten it sooner. I had been basically following the attachment parenting model without even realizing it, but at times, people would make me feel guilty about it. It's amazing that people can be against (what seemed to me to be) natural baby caring principals like picking him up when he cries (and even when he doesn't!), soothing him back to sleep, wearing him around instead of leaving him in some sort of mother substitute (seat, swing, etc), sleeping with him some of the time, and the most natural thing of all, breastfeeding.

The hostile reviews of this book astound me. Dr. Sears comes right out and says that this style of parenting is not for everyone, and that you should pick and choose what parts work for you and what parts don't. The entire premise of the book is that mothers know how to care for their young, and that you should follow your instincts. As far as the father's role, I actually thought that he was adamant about getting the fathers involved. As a single mother, I was wondering sometimes, what am I supposed to do about [some problem that he solved with the father helping]?

No where in the book can I find this "my way or the highway" that some reviewers talked about. This is the only baby book that I've read that really acknowledged that all babies are different and no one method can be applied to all of them. The section on high-need babies was worth it's weight in gold. How many mothers of these kinds of babies (myself included) have suffered from the just-put-him-down-and-he'll-get-over-it parenting advice. Some babies might stand for that, but high need babies? Hell no! And other baby books will say that this is most definitely the parents fault without even nodding a head to the fact that babies have totally different personalities and demand different styles of care.

Dr. Sears approach to parenting is not for the parents who believe that children are basically a nuisance and need to stay in their place. Having a baby is not like it is on television, it completely changes your life. But his principals are not some sort of formula that are set in stone, they are a just seven things that are good for babies, and I take them at that and do them to the extent that I am able and my son responds to them.

Parenting styles aside, this is an invaluable information resource. I have the mayo clinic baby care book and this is way more thorough (and interesting to read) then that.

Every expectant Mom needs this book!.......2007-10-03

Anyone that is excecting should have this book in their collection. I read every page before my daughter was born (when I actually had time) and referred to it many times in her first year. It has good sound advice and isn't too weird. I like the excerpts of his wife detailing actual situations they encountered while raising their children. It is easy to find information and is, in my opinion, one of the best books on the market for baby's first year. Would recommend highly!

Baby Bible!.......2007-10-01

This is my official shower gift for new moms. I used this on at least a weekly basis when my baby was first born (sometimes at 3am!). It totally saved my life that year and answered SO many questions. I don't totally agree with every single thing that Sears says, but like with anything you take what you need. This has a lot of good information and comforted me when I wanted to just freak out about something (like green poo - totally normal).

A great resource for "attachment parenting"-friendly parents.......2007-09-29

This was one of the most useful "baby" books in my extensive collection - I referred to it over and over again for a wide range of issues, from fevers to sleep problems. Each time I opened it I would find helpful, child-friendly information from a source that seemed warm and sympathetic towards me and my parenting challenges. I was reluctant to pass this book on to my sister when she had a baby, as I did most other books of this type, since I was still finding it useful in toddler-hood; fortunately, she was given a copy by someone else so I didn't need to part with it. "The Baby Book" became her most-referenced book as well.

That said, I can see how some people would be put off by this book. It definitely describes mother-oriented parenting in its promotion of breastfeeding (which my husband has, to his great happiness, not been able to attempt). My husband is the main caregiver in our family (stay-at-home dad) and I'm a work-at-home mom, and neither of us felt judged by any of the authors' books - but we're both pretty thick-skinned towards gender-role judgments. And after having our daughter it was clear that there was just no substitute for Mom sometimes - her behavior was consistent with the gender bias in the book. Whether that was because her two favorite things were located on my chest or for some subtler gender-based reason, I couldn't say. But sometimes the best thing that my husband could do for her was to bring her to me. Fortunately, he was fine with that.

The book did not seem as judgmental to me as it did to some other reviewers. Though the authors' preferences for co-sleeping are clear, they state that the best place for a baby to sleep is wherever the whole family gets the best night's sleep and describe various options. The same is true for breastfeeding - they express their (well substantiated) opinion that breastfeeding babies is optimal, but they do address how to bottle feed as well in the section "Bottlefeeding with Safety and Love." The area in which the book was probably most judgmental was on the subject of sleep training - the authors obviously consider cry-it-out methods to often be an insensitive way to treat a child and likely to cause parents to fail to respond to important needs of their baby. Even so, they address how to make sleep-training more responsive to the needs of the baby and say "We are not saying that the cry-it-out approach is always wrong, doesn't work, and you should never use it. Instead, we wish you to be careful about jumping right into this method before you deeply understand its ramifications and have carefully considered less drastic alternatives."

All-in-all this is an exceptionally useful book and one that I recommend to most new parents.

Average customer rating:

This book worked for my sons over 25 years ago
This works, but...
Brilliant! - Worked Twice
Not in a day or less
So glad this book is still available!

Toilet Training in Less Than A Day
Nathan Azrin
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

Child Care | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0671693808

Book Description

THE CLASSIC GUIDE USED BY MILLIONS OF PARENTS!

MAKE TOILET TRAINING A TOTAL SUCCESS -- IN ONLY A FEW HOURS!

From two noted learning specialists, here is the amazing, scientifically proved Azrin-Foxx method that teaches toilet training quickly -- in less than four hours for the average child. And after that rewarding learning period, he or she will willingly use the toilet without assistance or a reminder!

Also inside is a wealth of information on related topics, including:

• Unexpected benefits -- your child's newfound pride and independence can increase eagerness to feed and dress him- or herself, and improve responsiveness to parental instruction

• Pre-training techniques every parent should know

• Bed-wetting problems -- and how this method can help end them

• Happy children, happy parents -- how mastering toilet training benefits the whole family, increasing parents' personal time and deepening the parent-child connection.

With more than 2 million copies sold, TOILET TRAINING IN LESS THAN A DAY is the one guide you'll need to make this significant transition a rewarding and pleasurable experience -- for both you and your toddler!

Customer Reviews:

This book worked for my sons over 25 years ago.......2007-10-08

I don't remember much of the book as I had borrowed it from the public library after a neighbor told me about it over 25 years ago. I think the book had just come out and was in its earliest edition, sometime in the 70s, when I first used it. I do remember the book advising that boys were harder to train than girls and it was important to wait until the children were at least 2 years old before training as they might have problems with bedwetting later if trained too soon. It was also based on the rewards system - almost like training a dog. But it worked very well for me with both sons without all the hassles I've witnessed in other children and their parents at that stage. The concept was grasped almost immediately by both sons and it was a very pleasurable experience for all of us. No problems whatsoever. Several years later with the 2nd son, I never had to read or refer to the book again. In fact, I remember showing the book to the first son and he just "understood" from my explaining whatever pictures were there. I didn't even read the whole book, maybe 2 or 3 chapters (?). I just remember praising them highly and making a big deal out of it when they successfully pottied, giving them a piece of candy, and not making a big deal out of it when they blew it. :-) One day they were in diapers, the next day they were in training pants, then on to the fancy superman or whatever briefs, never to return to diapers. Potty training was a breeze that lasted 2-3 days at the most, if that long. And it was so much FUN. Would highly recommend book.

This works, but..........2007-10-08

All three of my boys have successfully toilet trained using the method described in this book. Yes, they were all trained at 2 1/2 years of age. Yes, they were all trained in less than a day. However, it was not easy. It took a lot of preparation and determination on my part. Many of my friends have successfully trained their children using this book, and many have tried and only succeeded in great frustration. Here are some of the things I have heard while troubleshooting this training method with frustrated parents:

"I used a few ideas from the book, but it seemed so involved that I skipped a lot. It didn't work."

"I did everything except to make her 'practice' when she had an accident. She hated that part, and it was just so time-consuming. It didn't work."

"Hey, I've been at this for 3 hours now, and it's not working. He just urinated all over the new carpet! What? Did I help him to practice? What's that? No, I haven't had time to read the book, I'm just looking at it as I go along. No, he didn't teach the doll to practice--we don't have a doll that wets. I'm improvising. What page is this practice thing on anyway? Oh, no, he just wet the floor again! And the new baby is screaming! I gotta go feed the little one now. This doesn't work!"

In this book, the authors clearly lay out a specific method designed to quickly toilet train young children. In addition, they discuss the importance of adhering to the method in order to achieve and maintain the desired results. Just owning the book will not help to train your child.
If you do read the book and don't agree with the method, or don't think you can carve out the time required, or are unable to find someone to care for your other children during the initial training period, just don't do it. If you read the book and decide that this is something that you can give adequate time and attention to, this works.

Read the book. Prepare well. Follow the training method. Be consistent in the days following. With preparation, patience, and determination, your child can be toilet trained in a day, too!

Brilliant! - Worked Twice.......2007-09-22

My family and I just returned from a short term work assignment overseas. When we were down to only two weeks left in our trip my wife was becoming very anxious. Our 3-year-old son was to enter preschool as soon as we returned and he was supposed to be potty trained. I had previously trained our daughter at 2-1/2 years using the book but wasn't sure my boy was ready. He showed no inclination for potty training and seemed perfectly happy to continue to wear diapers. Despite the reservations I went ahead and trained him according to the book. He seemed to enjoy it for the most part and thought it a bit of a game. He quickly grasped that the potty was were he was to do his job, but over the next few days he had random accidents during the day and wet his bed almost every night. With our daughter we had deviated from the book's recommendation and put pull-ups on her at night. This was a big mistake and prolonged her gaining control. With the boy we were determined to follow the book and a few middle-of-the-night ordeals ensued. These must have been as unpleasant for him as for us because after a few days he gained control. The BM's were another problem at first, for some reason he was afraid of these and would wait too long. We had to keep extra clothes and zip-lock bags with us wherever we went and were dreading the all-day/all-night airplane flight. We continued to do what the book recommended for accidents and by the time we left for home they were infrequent. We made it through the flight without incident, I think he actually got a kick out of using the airplane bathroom. Today, approximately a month since I trained him he has no accidents during the day or at night and it's been this way for some time.

I think the techniques of the book are effective because they are based on basic principles of human motivation, having fun, approval, mild disapproval (of actions not the child) and are also mindful of how we learn, i.e., precept upon precept based on verbal instructions, visual demonstrations, and the kinesthetics of practice and touch-based guidance. I also thought it was brilliant having the child potty train a doll-that-wets using the same procedure I was using on him! The book is not an easy read however, the technique evolves as the child learns each skill. I found the book somewhat tedious and had to take notes in order to keep the methods straight in my head. I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 because I thought they could have beefed up the section on BM's and nighttime accidents a bit more. Overall an excellent and effective book.

Not in a day or less.......2007-09-20

This book has a lot of good ideas, however, it did not help with training my 3 year old. It requires you to load up your child on liquid so he/she has the urge to go, which is a good idea. However, checking to see if he/she has dry pants every 5 minutes isn't feasible. Your conversation with your child the whole time is supposed to be about going on the potty - however many hours it takes to get them trained. My son got bored with the conversation and didn't pay attention. And once the child gets the whole going on the potty thing, they aren't supposed to tell you when they have to go, they are just supposed to go. The book states that you should put the potty where ever they may be - outside, inside, in their room - so it is easily accessible to them. I would rather have my son come and get me when he has to go.

Needless to say, my son is still not potty trained and it's been 3 weeks since we've received this book.

So glad this book is still available!.......2007-09-13

We used this method with our 22 month old daughter (in 1985) who was to enter a preschool that did not allow diapers. We worked all day Saturday and part of Sunday (probably took longer than a day because of her young age), and she attended preschool on Monday with no accidents. It's important to work through the pre-skills to make sure the child is "ready" to train, but if the child demonstrates the requisite skills, the program is highly successful with typically functioning young children. The process is intensive, but effective. I highly recommend it!

Average customer rating:

Excellent, inspiring read
Heartwarming
drop your stereotypes!!!
A happy discovery
A Must Read for expectant parents

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
Ina May Gaskin
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Family Health | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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Obstetrics & Gynecology | Specialties | Medicine | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0553381156
Release Date: 2003-03-04

Book Description

What you need to know to have the best birth experience for you.

Drawing upon her thirty-plus years of experience, Ina May Gaskin, the nation’s leading midwife, shares the benefits and joys of natural childbirth by showing women how to trust in the ancient wisdom of their bodies for a healthy and fulfilling birthing experience. Based on the female-centered Midwifery Model of Care, Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth gives expectant mothers comprehensive information on everything from the all-important mind-body connection to how to give birth without technological intervention.

Filled with inspiring birth stories and practical advice, this invaluable resource includes:• Reducing the pain of labor without drugs--and the miraculous roles touch and massage play

• What really happens during labor
• Orgasmic birth--making birth pleasurable
• Episiotomy--is it really necessary?
• Common methods of inducing labor--and which to avoid at all costs
• Tips for maximizing your chances of an unmedicated labor and birth
• How to avoid postpartum bleeding--and depression
• The risks of anesthesia and cesareans--what your doctor
doesn’t necessarily tell you
• The best ways to work with doctors and/or birth care providers
• How to create a safe, comfortable environment for
birth in any setting, including a hospital
• And much more

Ina May’s Guide to Natural Childbirth takes the fear out of childbirth by restoring women’s faith in their own natural power to give birth with more ease, less pain, and less medical intervention.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, inspiring read.......2007-10-08

This book is so inspiring for those who want to try natural childbirth. I loved reading the women's birth stories and Ina May is a great writer, who covers the issues of natural childbirth and medical intervention in a clear and compelling manner.

Heartwarming.......2007-09-28

This is a collection of heartwarming stories of women and their partners who decided to make the birth process their own.

drop your stereotypes!!!.......2007-09-20

this book was so helpful to me. i'm a first time mom who grew up with your basic "get to the hospital for the birth" kind of environment. This book was so amazingly helpful with furthering my instinct that "birth is not an emergency!!" It doesn't have to be a medical procedure! She gives you many reasons/ways to help make your birth as sucessful as possible, whether you give birth at home or in a hospital...without the aide of drugs and unnecessary surgeries/medical procedures. Womens bodies are more powerful then most people let on. An awesome read for ANY pregnant woman or her partner.

A happy discovery.......2007-09-19

I first read Ina May Gaskin's work in the seventies and was deeply inspired.Spiritual Midwifery. It was a delightful surprise to find this book which is even better.

A Must Read for expectant parents.......2007-09-15

This book was helpful as we prepared for our second child. I wish I had read it before I gave birth the first time. The stories are encouraging. The book also contains good information that helped us make informed decisions.

The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips and Advice for Dads-to-Be, Second Edition

Average customer rating:

Nice gift for first-time daddy
Overwrought
GOOD READING FOR THE NEW DAD!
Good for the father (and the mother!)
Great resource for dads from a dad

The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips and Advice for Dads-to-Be, Second Edition
Armin A. Brott
Manufacturer: Abbeville Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Fatherhood | Family Relationships | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0789205386

Amazon.com

An information-packed guide to all the emotional, financial and physical changes the father-to-be may experience during the course of his partner's pregnancy. Incorporating the wisdom of top experts in the field, from obstetricians and birth-class instructors to psychologists and sociologists, this book is filled with sound advice and practical tips for men, as well as New Yorker-style cartoons that will keep anxious fathers-to-be chuckling.

Customer Reviews:

Nice gift for first-time daddy.......2007-10-04

I purchased this as a gift for the father of an expectant friend. He was touched to have received something for himself and thrilled to have a resource on what he can expect and how he can help out through what is a first-time experience for the both of them. A unique gift idea and useful knowledge for the first-time daddy.

Overwrought.......2007-10-02

This book is too much. I think the best example of how far out this book is comes near the end when the author talks about strategies for salvaging the placenta so you can have some kind of ceremony with it later on.

The "Be Prepared" book is much better to read, entertaining, gets the information out there, and isn't overwrought like this one.

GOOD READING FOR THE NEW DAD!.......2007-08-26

As a pediatrician, I think this easy to read book is a "must have" for the new dad. I love the format of this book and helps future dads feel like they have some idea on what to expect and how to avoid some important parenting issues. Bravo! AVOIDING THE 15 BIGGEST MISTAKES PARENTS MAKE: A PEDIATRICIAN'S PERSPECTIVE

Good for the father (and the mother!).......2007-07-30

This is the first pregnancy book I've read, and while I'm not a man, I thought it was immensely helpful. The author follows the normal stages of pregnancy, from morning sickness to swollen ankles to delivery and beyond and discusses them in a sensitive and helpful manner. Some of the topics are ones that are best discussed BEFORE conception (for example, money), but overall, he hits them as they would come into play during an actual pregnancy. However, the book is best read at one time, not month-by-month as a pregnancy progresses.
The author has two children whom he loves very much, and he makes a lot of mention about how men are stereotyped as babysitters instead of parents. He's also from San Francisco and makes several mentions to environmental concerns, which may be irritating to readers, as they occasionally come off as excessive. Aside from that, this book is very helpful and will help the father feel more involved in the pregnancy. Recommended reading for both parents.

Great resource for dads from a dad.......2007-07-12

I bought this book for myself when my wife and I were starting to think about having children and it stayed with me thorough the entire pregnancy.

The month by month sections are great to read and they provide not only advice about what is going on with the baby, but also what is going with you and with your partner.

It has a great balance to it and with resources and an index in the back; it works wonders as a quick go-to guide.

My wife loved that I had it because I was informed and she appreciated how the format not only got me in the loop as to what was going on with her, but also looked at some issues that I might be thinking about.

A great book, and I've just bought the second one (1st year) so I can continue the series.

Good luck to all you future and fellow parents!

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