Mar 3, 2010  •  In Books, Pregnancy, Reviews

Pregnancy Book Reviews

As an avid reader and a book whore, one of the first things I did after getting a positive pregnancy test was to head to the bookstore and buy a pregnancy book!

I have since bought quite a few more (and been gifted a great one) so I thought I’d share my thoughts on them with my readers…

What to Expect When You’re Expecting, 2 stars

Widely considered a “must-have” book for all expecting women, this was one of the first books I purchased.

My personal thoughts on it? Eh. Everything in the book can be found online. In fact, I’ve found that online resources like BabyCenter have much more information than this book. I really think it’s overhyped and not organized well.

 

Your Pregnancy Week by Week, 3 stars

I personally found this book to be better than What to Expect. But, as with What to Expect, nothing in the book can’t be found online.

 

The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy, 2.5 stars

I was really excited about this book because it’s gotten such great reviews. But I have to say I was disappointed. The author isn’t that funny, nor is her writing that great. As for the advice? There was nothing I read in this book that I haven’t heard before.

 

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth, 3.5 stars

I really, really liked this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it also made me make a copy of a page and post it on the fridge for my husband to see.

This is not the book to go for if you are seeking cold, hard facts, but it is certainly an entertaining read and a great introduction to “my body will do what?” questions.

 

Baby Bargains, 8th Edition, 4 stars

My sister bought this for me when I first found out I was pregnant. Her boyfriend’s sister had claimed it as the “best baby book ever” and I can’t agree more!

As I’ve stated in above reviews, practically everything you need to know about pregnancy can be found online. This book goes into what you will need to prepare for the baby. Not only does it distinguish between the essentials and the frivolities, it gives you the best items in multiple price levels, as well as reviews for every brand.

J and I are pretty practical when it comes to purchasing things for the baby (for example, we will rely on a lot of hand-me-downs and we’re perfectly fine with that) and I can’t imagine myself ever spending over $1,000 for a stroller that the baby will never really appreciate. This book has really cut the clutter and helped me budget. I very, strongly recommend it for all new mothers!

 

What to Expect When You’re Expected: A Fetus’s Guide to the First Three Trimesters, 1 star

I had high hopes for this book; I really did. But the fact of the matter is, the book is not funny and not worth the money.

 

Do you have any recommendations for pregnancy books?

You may also like:

One Response to “Pregnancy Book Reviews”

  1. Amber says:

    The only reason I had WTE was because my OB gave it to me free! I think it was alarmist and pessimistic. I liked the week by week one too, just so I could see what cool things were happening at that time. The "dad" tips are totally ridiculous, though. LOVED Belly Laughs- Baby Laughs is great, too.

    Girlfriends Guide was lame, Baby Bargains was super useful!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *