Getting ready

I can't believe the ticker is down below 20! Having a baby is something I've wanted for a long time, something I've been quite focused on for two years now, but it still feels surprising to be so close now. I've been preparing in my own way: making tons of things for him, designing his room, researching baby carriers, but above all reading about pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, infant care, child rearing & more... A few books I got from my midwives or from friends, & I can't remember the titles. Here's what I've borrowed from the library or bought:

• Amy Butler's little stitches for little ones : 20 keepsake sewing projects for baby and mom
• The baby name wizard : a magical method for finding the perfect name for your baby
• The baby signing book : includes 350 ASL signs for babies & toddlers
• The birth partner : everything you need to know to help a woman through childbirth
• Birthing from within : an extra-ordinary guide to childbirth preparation
• Breeder : real-life stories from the new generation of mothers
• Buy, buy baby : how consumer culture manipulates parents and harms young minds
• The complete organic pregnancy
• Dr. Jack Newman's guide to breastfeeding : the Canadian expert offers the most up-to-date advice on every aspect of breastfeeding
• Green babies, sage moms : the ultimate guide to raising your organic baby
• Handmade beginnings: 24 sewing projects to welcome baby
• Ina May's guide to childbirth
• Last child in the woods : saving our children from nature-deficit disorder
• The mother of all pregnancy books : an all-Canadian guide to conception, birth & everything in between
• Parenting, Inc. : how we are sold on $800 strollers, fetal education, baby sign language, sleeping coaches, toddler couture, and diaper wipe warmers--and what it means for our children
• The parents' guide to baby signs : early communication with your infant
• The pregnancy book : a month-by-month guide
• Pregnancy, childbirth and the newborn : the complete guide
• Taking charge of your fertility
• Trying again : a guide to pregnancy after miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss
• What to expect the first year
• What to expect when you're expecting
• A woman doctor's guide to miscarriage : essential facts and up-to-the minute information on coping with pregnancy loss and trying again

None of these books were entirely useless, though some were definitely better than others, in my opinion: the titles in bold were the ones I'd definitely recommend. The italicized ones I'm still reading... If you have any suggestions of books or questions about the ones I've read, let me know.