I promised I wouldn’t become a motherhood blog, but I stated that I would share bits and pieces of this journey with you all, because this blog is focused on my thoughts and on mental health, both which have been tied to motherhood lately.

It’s also been a while since I posted a book review (but don’t be fooled- I’ve read over 80 this year) so I thought I would tackle a question I was asked recently by a friend.

What pregnancy books have a truly loved?

I know at least two of these titles are popular ones, but the other two I’m not so sure about, the fact is that almost all my books this year have been based on what my local library has available on e-book. In total I have read eleven books on motherhood this year, from pregnancy to baby books. What can I say, I like to be as prepared as I can. But here are my top four!

Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong – and What You Really Need to Know

By Emily Oster

This book goes through all the cold hard data from pregnancy studies, it removes the sponsored studies that are extremely biased, it removes bad information without big enough focus groups, it makes connections that the certain studies are purposefully overlooking, and so forth. As someone who can’t breastfed because of my bipolar medications, I really enjoyed her going into the breastfeeding studies and talking about how the higher IQ that was supposedly linked to breastfeeding was actually linked to parental class, seeing how wealthier women normally breast feed longer.

There are a lot of topics covered in this book and I couldn’t recommended it more.

And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready

By Meaghan O’Connell 

This book was so raw. It was about an unexpected pregnancy (unlike my own) but I found myself relating to the anxiety well documented in the memoir. The constant worry that something is wrong in your womb, where you can’t watch the baby and check on them as you wish you could. The excessive studying (I told you I read 11 books so far). Then this books gives you a stark look at post-partum depression, which I really appreciate the honesty of because it is a topic that needs to be talked about. The writer didn’t realize that she had PPD right away, she just struggled through it, but by sharing that time in her life she helps readers know signs to look for in their own post-partum journey.

Things I Wish I’d Known: Women Tell the Truth About Motherhood

By Multiple Authors (list here)

This book was an honest look at motherhood and the reason I liked it so much is because it had a bit of humor mixed in with a ton of different voices. By having so many contributors this book covers a lot of different types and styles of mothers, which I loved, it didn’t feel like one voice telling you what they thought was best, it was just honest stories and lists from honest mothers. I loved it.

Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting

By Pamela Druckerman

I felt of all the baby books I liked this one the most. It gave a look into a different culture, yes, but it also gave practical small things that can help shape your child. Some of this wisdom I don’t feel like is completely French, but I do agree that American motherhood has drifted pretty far from the rest of the world. We are very hyper active, and in some ways that is great, but in some ways it’s not helping our kids. I think this gave a brief but firm reality check to the typical American parent!