books...lotsa books

So, in getting ready for the birth of my first kid, i've been doing a ton of reading. Here in no particular order are the books i've been through so far, as well as what i think about them. I got most of them from amazon - who given that they snubbed me for a job, i shouldn't be buying from anymore, but whatever:

• The Expectant Father, by Armin Brott
• Baby Bargins, by Denise & Alan Fields
• Caring for your Baby and Young Child, by the AAP
• The Baby Book, by Sears and Sears

The expectant father is a great resource for knowing what's happening with your partners' body, moods, etc. I'm still using it as we get into the ninth month.

I just picked up baby bargians and it seems to have a great deal of product information which is key. I continue to believe that an effective male contraceptive is the Babies 'R' Us super stores. Way too many chioces...L commented that living in a communist country would be much easier.

Just got the AAP book as well - looks great. Lots of diagrams on the how-tos. For someone who has never changed a diaper, wiped a snotty nose, rarely held a baby, it seems to be promising.

The Baby Book is more of a philosphy book than i expected. The AAP book is more direct - "here is what you do to change a diaper" while the Baby Book is more along the lines of "changing a diaper in the sunlight is good for your baby and helps to soothe it." I actually like the way its written for the most part, but only time will tell if its usefull.

L picked up some books as well for the pregnancy stage:

• The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby
• What to Expect When You're Expecting
  

We shied away from the perenial favorite "what to expect..." book early on as it seemed too preachy based on the many amazon.com reviews. However, we did get a copy later from someone else and its not too bad - though i haven't actually read a word of it.

The "unofficial guide" is huge...almost too much information, but its a good resource to have to help answer those "can i eat this" or "what is that' questions that seem to come up.