Shaping The Motherhood Journey - Resources

When Temira and I found out I was pregnant I had done ZERO research on pregnancy or babies. I had been so very focused on each phase of our IVF journey that to be honest, pregnancy and having an actual baby didn’t really come into my foresight. IVF in itself is such a mental challenge without a guaranteed outcome so allowing myself to think of having our beautiful baby girl in our arms was almost a cruel dream.

As I am sure you can imagine, the moment the fertility clinic called to say we were pregnant, aside from being thoroughly overjoyed, I immediately felt myself drowing in my lack of knowing - ANYTHING about what was to come. Now, I will admit that I am an addict of the infamous Dr Google. I am absolutely one of those people who sit up late at night googling every part of something until I am completely freaked out, pestering my wife for reassurance and desperately needing her medical side to step in to calm my farm. Temira was smart enough to banish me from Dr Google very early in pregnancy (she was mostly successful too - kinda). Books became my safe haven for my thirst for knowledge.

Each of the titles listed below has offered something significant to guide the motherhood journey that I am on. Whether they provide factual information or emotional support I am deeply indebted to the words I have and continue to read.

What To Expect, Apple App Store

Why I love it: Day by day, week by week, this app provided new information and images of the pregnancy journey. The app is interactive giving you the chance to connect with pregnant mothers all over the world. I loved checking in each morning to see what new and exciting things were happening inside me.

Up The Duff, Kaz Cooke https://www.kazcooke.com.au/books

Why I love it: Let's just say I love EVERYTHING about this book and it's sequal Babies and Toddlers. I love the layout. The information and the tone with which it is delivered. I loved reading the authors own personal pregnancy journey. I loved the ability to go at my own pace, either skipping ahead or going back to re read as I needed. I loved that every main pregnancy topic was covered. I like the additional resource information offered.

Babies and Toddlers, Kaz Cooke https://www.kazcooke.com.au/books

Why I love it: Not sure what to expect when your little love enters your world? Then this is definitely a book for you. I mean by this point I was already in love with Kaz thanks to her previous book so it was a no brainer to buy this one next. It answered all the questions I had raging through my brain before Shiloh was born in the same great Kaz style I have come to love.

Save Our Sleep, Tizzie Hall https://shop.saveoursleep.com.au/category/2390/

Why I love it: Being first time mums is pretty daunting. When your baby is crying in the initial weeks, it is really hard to differentiate between the various cries. Hungry? Nappy change? Overtired? Soothing? The midwives at the hospital made it look too easy so when we got home our little love home and she would cry endlessly, it felt no matter what we did it wasn't the right thing. Save Our Sleep offers routines for babies from Newborn. It takes the guess work out of mothering. This book helped Temira and I to forge a better relationship with our baby. Having a newborn on a routine is definitely not black and white. We allow alot of room for grey area. But at least now our baby has structured feeds. She has a morning routine to signal the start of her day and an evening routine to signal it's coming to bed time. It works for us (with room for the grey!!).

Beyond the Bump, Sally Shepherd https://www.booktopia.com.au/beyond-the-bump-sally-shepherd/book/9781760529994.html

Why I love it: I loved this book for a plethora of reasons. Written by a clinical psychologist it offers an honest look at life after baby is born. This book spoke directly to the emotional side of me. Gone were facts and figures, I was finally diving into the deep world of feeding my mental health. This book felt good for my soul. It touched on many of the topics I was experiencing anxiety about in a raw and considerate way.

Motherhood, Jamila Rizvi https://www.jamilarizvi.com.au/writing

Why I love it: How many times in your life have you wished you could go back and talk to your younger, less aware self? For me, there has been too many times to count. So many moments I wished my future self could come and sit me down and tell me how this chapter would end and where I would end up. Well that is what Motherhood offers. It's beautiful letters written by mothers with what they wish they could have known initially after birthing their babies. Each story offered me solace and grounding for the journey to come as if the letters were written directly to me in anticipation of what was to come. This is another soul feed book.

Up next on the reading list...

The Wonder Weeks, Xaviera Plas-Plooij (co-author) https://www.thewonderweeks.com/the-mental-leaps-and-wonder-weeks/ (Additional support offered through The Wonder Weeks App, Apple App Store).

The Day by Day Baby Book, Dr Ilona Bendefy https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-day-by-day-baby-book-dr-ilona-bendefy/book/9781405375818.html

With Shiloh's first 'LEAP' just underway I can't wait to sink my teeth into The Wonder Weeks. So if anyone needs me, between feeding, changing, sleeping, snuggling, laundry (the list goes on...) I'll be curled up somewhere watching over Shiloh and doing what her mummy does best - reading!

I hope some of the titles are as helpful for other mums out there as they have been for me!

With love,

By two book loving Mums

xx

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of the link provided above. Where possible I have linked directly to the author or to Booktopia.com.au (because that’s where I personally love to buy my books).