Seeking Good Book for Breast Feeding and Great Mags for Babies

Updated on September 10, 2008
S.M. asks from Blackwood, NJ
23 answers

Hello,
I am a soon to be first time mommy and I would love to know the names of good book on breast feeding. I am would also like to subscribe to a baby magazine. I know there are a bunch out there, but need to know what one if the best.
Thanks.

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K.K.

answers from Reading on

YOu got a lot of great responses. My favorite breastfeeding book is "So that's what they are for" Simple and easy to understand, and amusing.

Another series that's great is "The girlfriends guide to pregnancy" and following books. Funny funny funny.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.G.

answers from Scranton on

Hi S.,

I am a first time mom too and found the book "So That's What They're For!" a great breastfeeding book. Baby magazines that I enjoy are "BabyTalk" and "American Baby".

Good luck to you~!

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J.M.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi S.,

Congrats on your pregnancy! My favorite baby magazine is American Baby. I used to get it at the OB's office and I would read it cover to cover. There are lots of great articles. My favorite new mom book is "Girlfriends guide to the first year" - it is great because it is all about you instead of being about the baby. And it is super funny too! I wrote two articles on breastfeeding that you may want to read. Here are links to them: Breastfeeding tips: <http://www.breastfeedingtips.net&gt; and Pumping Tips: <http://www.pumpingtips.com&gt;.

Congrats again on your baby-to-be!

J.

A Mother's Boutique
Maternity & Breastfeeding clothing, Nursing Bras, Breast Pumps, Slings and Accessories.
MamaSource members save 10% off their first order (excluding breastpumps) with coupon MAMASOURCE
http://www.mothersboutique.com

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M.N.

answers from York on

Dr. Jack Newman is hands down, the best. I've seen him speak many times and he's just wonderful. He has a website www.drjacknewman.com which sells fantastic instructional/informational DVD's and he also has several published books. My favorite, and the one that I refer to clients to first, is The Ultimate Breastfeeding Question and Answer Book. Best wishes!

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L.J.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hands down, for a magazine I'd recommend Mothering. It is an amazing read and I make time to read it cover to cover when it comes. Its articles are empowering and speak to you as a mother and a woman. It also has lots of great resources - for breastfeeding and many other topics. Good luck with everything!

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H.H.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi S., I never heard of the Womanly Art books, but I DO Love the series of books by Drs. Sears & Sears. Very cool. "The Breastfeeding Book: Everything You Need to Know About Nursing Your Child from Birth Through Weaning" was the one about breastfeeding. I got it as a gift while I was pregnant and still find it very useful! Best wishes! I also liked how they talked about using slings to facilitate breastfeeding on the go or in public, which was part of the basis for starting a small sling business for myself. (Lydi-Bug.com) I hope you find it helpful too - Best wishes!

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J.K.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi S.!

Congrats on being a mommy for the first time. It's an amazing journey. Best Mag i can suggest for you is mothering magazine. http://www.mothering.com/ This one by far has helped me the most.

Enjoy!
J.

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D.G.

answers from Philadelphia on

Go to American Baby.com and sign up for their free magazine. Also Baby Talk offers a free magazine also. I love both, they are light reading and I usually find time for them.

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A.P.

answers from Allentown on

Hi, S.!
My best advice for you is to start attending La Leche meetings now. Get to know your Leaders a bit & meet some of the other moms & get some tips. THEN, bring the Leaders #'s to your place of birth!!! That way if you wind up w/ a horrible lactation consultant (or there isn't even one there) you have some help at the tip of your fingers.

Also, as mentioned, bookmark www.KellyMom.com right now! Mothering Magazine & The Complete Mother are great mags!!

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, Bestfeeding, The Breast Book & Nursing Mother, Working Mother (if that's applicable!) are all great books!

I'd also highly recommend checking out www.BirthWithoutBoundaries.com for some more information on just about anything you can imagine (from birth to circumcision choices, to parenting styles, vaccines, breastfeeding..... You name it!). It's an awesome site! And they have a whole new section on breastfeeding since they just recently launched a breastfeeding campaign funded by the PA Dept of Health.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your pregnancy & have a beautiful birth!
A.

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J.M.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I reccommend The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding or the Nursing Mother's Companion. If you plan on taking a breastfeeding class (which I would highly recommend) be sure that the person teaching the class has some breastfeeding training. Unfortunately, some hospitals are allowing nurses to teach bf classes when they have no training in bf, not even personal experience. Make sure that they are taught by a lactation educator or a lactation consultant. I would also highly reccomend that you check for a la leche league group near you and attend a meeting or two while pregnant.

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L.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi S.,

My favorite breast feeding book is: The Nursing Mother's Companion, by Kathleen Huggins. It only has a little "propoganda" in it, compare to the Womanly Art. (I found it too militant). I think this is a must have book.

Also, the What to Expect Books have some good advice in them, both at the end of the pregnancy book and beginining of the first year book.

I also recommend the Dr. Sears "Baby Book." It covers the first two years, all kinds of topics. He's also really pushing his agenda ("attachment parenting") but has lots of great advice -- especially on food and he's a proponent of co-sleeoping, if that's something you're considering.

Best of luck. The first six weeks of BF can be rough, but its soooo worth it after that! Learn the side-lying latch on as soon as possible.

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S.A.

answers from Reading on

Hi S.! For BF, I read the Womenly Art of Breast Feeding. It's a book that is put out by laleche. My only word of caution is to read everything with a grain to salt. My eldest didn't follow any of the "norms" and since she was my first, I believed too much of the book. It's good for basics, tips and for holds, but don't expect your son to follow the "rules" because he might not. My daughter didn't follow any of the eating patterns that it said all kids followed. Congrats on both your son and your masters degree!

D.S.

answers from Allentown on

Hi S.,

Contact the La Leche League:

www.llli.org/ or 1-###-###-####

Hope this helps. D.

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J.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

i also liked the nursing mother's companion & so that's what they're for. I still consult them now after breastfeeding for 7-1/2 months. good luck to you,

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K.B.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi S.,

We just had our first baby almost 6 weeks ago and I have been breastfeeding.....have you thought about taking a breastfeeding class? My husband and I took one when I was about 32 weeks pregnant and I really think the information was helpful. It was offered at the hospital and I think cost $25 or so. My husband wasn't crazy about going but in the end thought it was a good class. It was on a Saturday for 2 1/2 hours.

As far as a book, I have "Child of Mine" by Ellyn Satter. It doesn't help with positioning or anything like that but it talks a lot about feeding in general and is really good information.

The only magazine I have gotten so far is Parenting and I think it has a bunch of good information for babies through toddlers.

Good luck!!!!!!

M.W.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi S.,

Congratulations on your pregnancy!! I will second "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding". It's an easy read and after having a difficult first couple of weeks (incorrect latch, cracked nips), it was very helpful. I'm still nursing my 9 month old and we encounter issues that will lead me to the book as a resource often. I must say though, that if you do end up with any troubles with nursing like I did, get "hands on" help! It's a god-send.

I've received several mommy mags and here's my review of each:

Mothering - by far my favorite. This mag encourages breastfeeding, attachment parenting, babywearing, cloth diapering, etc. It's a great resource for natural baby products and organic goods. While I don't always follow all that they promote, I still LOVE this magazine and have vowed to get a subscription for any of my friends/sisters when they get pregnant.

Cookie - CRAP!! What mom has time to make fois gras and caviar at home? Or has the money for $400 baby boots? Give me a break.... I'm not renewing this one.

American Baby - Good. Light on content. Full of good ideas, stories, a light read.

Parenting - also Good. Better articles than AB, at least I think so. Time savers, helpful hints, etc. Good articles on behavioral issues and potty training, which I'll appreciate sooner than I know it!

I get both American Baby and Parenting for free. Parenting came free with my first order from diapers.com. AB started coming to me after I shopped at the Motherhood store and they just started sending me all kinds of stuff.

Also, I have to recommend a GREAT web resource for breastfeeding: www.kellymom.com. It's been a HUGE help with all sorts of issues - low supply, pumping, starting solids, all that good stuff.

Best of luck, S., and enjoy these last few weeks of your pregnancy!

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T.S.

answers from Philadelphia on

I don't have BF book to recommend, although I breastfed both my kids, but I enjoyed Parents Mag and Child Mag. Also, the local freedbies are great to go through...Metro Kids and Parents Express. I was on bed rest and read through them and learned about a lot of different resources in the area that way! As for BF, I highly recommend you get in touch with the Nursing Moms' Association. I know I've posted their website before on MamaSource. You can get a counselor/advisor even while pregnant; that's what I did! TThe NMAC (Nursing Moms' Advisory Council) is a great organization! Good luck and enjoy! :)

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D.D.

answers from Philadelphia on

Hi S.~
My recommendation is "On Becoming Babywise". There are a couple different versions out now, but it gives a reasonable timeline of events to helping you feed and get your baby to sleep through the night. It's a nice "in-between" option instead of demand-feeding on one end of the spectrum and scheduled-feeding on the other. I found it to be very helpful and much in-line with my personality. I didn't follow it to a "T", but kept the general idea in the back of my hand and with my daughter had a very happy, healthy, sleeping-through-the-night baby at 9 weeks. My son, too, is well on his way at 8 weeks.

Hope this helps! Good luck and congratulations!

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R.B.

answers from Philadelphia on

Spilled Milk by Andy Steiner is an excellent book. It is funny and gives you all angles of breastfeeding in the form of personal experiences from hundreds of women. A good read, but search elsewhere for technical advice. My Mother bought it for me after I had my first and it was definitely comforting. I found myself smiling and relating to quite a few stories. Worth a look. Congratulations on your upcoming baby!

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T.B.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Hi S.,

I also had the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and while it was a good resource, it is a bit on the aggressive side. The magazines are a personal choice - there is no "best". Sign up what you can for free (as a new mom, you will have lots of opportunities online and in your OB's office to sign up) and then go from there.

As for breastfeeding support, seek out your hospital's lactation group, or ask your local girlfriends to find out who actually breastfed. Sometimes you don't need an expert - you need someone who can listen and offer advice. My best resource was another mom (who posts to this!), my mom, and the nurse while I was in the hospital (the lactation consultant I had was HORRIBLE - demand someone else if they aren't helpful!)!

Hang in there and enjoy the ride!

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L.G.

answers from Philadelphia on

Glad to hear you plan of breast feeding! I would highly recommend Breast Feeding Made Simple. I really enjoyed mothering magazine. Good luck

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C.D.

answers from Philadelphia on

My biggest tip for someone breastfeeding is to find a local lactation consultant. Breastfeeding is NOT something easily learned from a book. I was luck enough to have help in the hospital and to have found Birthmark. A local store with lots of resources including a breastfeeding support group.
Here is their information:
http://familybirthmark.com/

Birthmark
107 S. Monroe St.
Media, Pa. 19063
###-###-####

33 Bishop Hollow Rd.
Newtown Square, Pa. 19073

###-###-####

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