Pregnancy and New Mom Reads

Mom-To-Be-To-Dos:

• Register for a ton of baby stuff 
• Go to a ton of doctor appointments 
• Buy a ton cute maternity stuff. Elastic waistbands - wahoo!
• Freak out at the enormous responsibility that's literally growing inside of you. 
• Read a ton of books because you're now up in the middle of the night and you've got shit to learn. 

During my pregnancy, I inhaled pregnancy and new mom info. If someone recommended anything - I read it. Email newsletters - sign me up. I wanted to know every labor tip, new mom tip, registry tactics and then some. Last weekend, I retired Ingrid's 3-6 month clothes and these Mom-to-be-Classics to the attic. I thought I'd share some of my faves.

• What to Expect....
  Some of these questions were hilarious. I would laugh at these fictitious women and their insanely dumb fake questions - then a week later I would be frantically paging through this for any nuggets of info about Braxton-Hicks. I flagged the Dad chapters, which went unread. Which lead to a Knocked-Up-inspired dramatic monologue preformed by yours truly. The phrase "You didn't read the baby books! How can you not read the baaaabbbby books?" was exclaimed...more than once.
  
  
• Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth  I had a lot of people recommend "funny" books to which I rolled my eyes and even uttered out-loud, "Oh brother!" Baby Laughs was a another story, this was real, candid and Jenny had a wicked pregnancy. I counted my lucky stars I didn't experience half of the stuff she did. Now, I'm awaiting Baby Laughs to be returned to the Bay View Library (stop hoarding, whoever you are!)
  
  
• BabyWiseI know. How could I, right? BabyWise?! This book was so controversial, I had to know what all the fuss was about - I still don't know what all of the fuss was about. This is all about Parent Directed Feeding (aka, mom and dad tell you when to eat instead of baby). I read this when Ingrid was six or seven weeks old and at that time, it made some sense. I would say read this after having a baby otherwise your expectations will be out of whack. The biggest take away I had was this quote - it left my nodding my head in total agreement:
  
  "Time and experience are prerequisites for building any friendships. Children enter this world with neither. Wisdom, self-control, and the experiences earned over time must be trained into a child by those granted this unique privilege - the parents. Responsible parents are their children's teachers. The parents lead the children, as students, follow. Of course, fun times are welcome. Have fun along the way, but never at the expense of needed leadership."

• Then, the mother of all baby books...The Happiest Baby on the Block.
  I love the ease of this book. I love the DVD. Dan loved the DVD. I love the whole fourth-trimester idea. I love the 5S's. I'm like the Daily Affirmation girl. I love this book.
  

Everything. In hindsight, I can't even remember half of what I read (let's blame the dreaded new mom brain, shall we?), but in an effort to stay current with The Development of Babies - I'm asking for your recommendations. What books did you enjoy during this new mom stage? Ingrid is six months and anything from How to Raise a Normal Kid to comic relief is welcomed.