I hadn't known my husband for more than two months before he started in on me to have a baby. His constant pestering lead to progressively harsher responses from me, starting from"eventually", "someday", "not me, not now", "leave me alone", to "have your own damn baby".

Last Spring something in me started to shift and I became more and more serious about the possibility of having a baby. After months of internal dialog, I finally gathered the courage to share the news with my husband who was expectedly ecstatic. (I haven't told the dogs yet - they are going to be devastated!)

Sharing the news with Loren, my husband, opened the flood gates and I finally started researching what to expect, what to eat, what to do to prepare, and what the birthing process would look like....which at first was pretty anxiety provoking, as I started out by watching "The Business of Being Born" (not recommended as a place to start).

Here I plan to document interesting, perception changing information I come across in what will be a successful journey towards a positive pregnancy and childbirth.


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Book Reviews


WINNER!! 
still worth reading







vs.













These two books are similar in that both authors explore different methods of child rearing in other countries.  The reader quickly comes to find out that the American way isn't the only way and in addition, (spoiler alert) is not necessarily the best way.   Druckerman focuses on her experience of being from NYC and bringing up her daughter in France, while Hopgood's discusses parenting strategies from cultures around the globe.

If you're going to read one and not the other I would definitely recommend "Bringing Up Bebe".   It's not just a matter of depth vs. breadth.  Hopgood referenced a lot of interesting practices that  I enjoyed reading about from an anthropological perspective, but not many of them were applicable.  For example there would have to be a major change in our social norms if men were to start allowing their babies to suck on their nipples to sooth them while their mothers were away as the tribesmen she talks about do.   Although it did help me connect the dots on a recent Hollywood trend I've been hearing about where celebrities are letting their babies roam diaperless in order to speed potty training.  Apparently this is based on common practice in China.  However, in certain parts of China it's the norm so parents can be consistent with this practice when in public, where as I don't think babies pooping on the sidewalk or subway would go over so well.  My thoughts after finishing this book were - wow this is interesting and it's reassuring to think about the fact that there are lots of different ways to raise a happy, healthy baby, but it doesn't seem as though many American readers are going to take away much more from the book than that.

"Bringing Up Bebe" highlighted more applicable parenting techniques that could be easily incorporated within our American culture.   It challenges the widely accepted American belief that babies and children have a natural tendency towards brattiness that cannot be control.  It's written in a way that doesn't make you feel defensive while allowing you to look critically at ways we coddle and over parent our children.  It's appealing because not only do children learn to lead more enriching lives, parents learn to continue to have a life of their own as well.

Both books were interesting and easy to read.  I'll definitely think more about the information I got from reading "Bringing Up Bebe", but don't regret the time I spent reading the other.
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