Also, these are not in best to worst order, but in order of my finding and using based on my children's ages and stages. 😉
1. The Nursing Mother's Companion
This book was my first favorite parenting book. It reassured me while pregnant with my first child that I would be able to feed her once she arrived and help her to survive with substantial food I provided. This book provided multiple issues that can occur and multiple ways to help you and your child solve the problems. It didn't make me nervous, and while I was learning how to be a new parent through my exhausted and PPD state, this book never felt shaming but was always encouraging. Because of the easy with which I found nursing to be, I was able to nurse both my children until their first birthdays, after which I called it quits.
2. The Happiest Baby on the BlockThis book was a life saver in my daughter's first year where everything is new in parenting no matter how experienced you are at nannying, babysitting, or from reading books and blogs. This book helped both my husband and I figure out how to answer the screaming or crying which was baby's only way to communicate. Again, this book was never shaming, but always encouraging and providing options on ways to make the parent-child relationship an enjoyable journey. Thankfully, once our second kiddo came along we were familiar with these methods, and it was a much quicker adjustment to life with a baby with only a few times needing to glance through this book.
3. The Happiest Toddler on the Block
This book was a life saver when our oldest began testing EVERYTHING. Limits, patience, boundaries, you name it. How do we deal with this?! What is this tantrum about?! Why won't she talk to us?! This book answered these questions. I think out of all the books that we've read together, this was my husband's favorite. "They are little cave-people!" He tells anyone who is willing to listen on his new philosophy on toddlers.
4. 1-2-3 Magic: 3-Step Discipline for Calm, Effective, Happy Parenting
This book was really helpful once we had both kids acting up and the older was no longer a toddler. It as helped us as a family get through the grocery without meltdowns and embarrassment. This book was really good to build on what had already learned from "The Happiest Toddler on the Block." Both kids know that when I start counting, I mean business and will typically get a move on.
5. Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting
This is the newest book that my husband and I are reading. While all the other books have been great, and have helped us feel more confident as parents, we are now entering a stage where our oldest is simply tuning us out. She doesn't seem to hear us when we ask her to do something, once, twice, three times. She doesn't hear us start to count until we are yelling, and we are only yelling because she is totally and completely ignoring us speaking to her. So far we've enjoyed this read and are very hopeful that this will be the next book to help us in our parenting journey of making a happy, healthy home for our family.
What are some of your favorite parenting books? Have you read these? Let me know your thoughts, I'd love to hear them!
