Review : Real Food for Mother and Baby

I've been a fan of the eating Real Foods movement for quite awhile now. So I was super excited to be able to review Nina Planck's new book "Real Food for Mother and Baby"! It's a brand new book and a must read for any woman of birthing age!

I've read multiple real foods/whole foods/traditional foods books, but never did any of them completely focus on mom and baby. From beginning to end, this book is chock full of useful information! She talks about how diet effects fertility and ways to increase your chances of conceiving. Then goes into diet and nutrition during pregnancy and nursing, and ends with baby's first foods.

I really can't say enough good things about this book! I truly wished I had read a book like this prior to my first pregnancy. And even for all the reading and research I've done on eating a real foods diet, I learned so much from this book. This truly is the best book I've read on nutrition for mom and baby and I'm lucky to have read it. Especially now that I have a new little baby!

All in all, you have to read this book!!!

And I actually have 2 copies to give away! (Nina's people are generous aren't they?!) But right now I'm deciding how to go about doing the giveaways, cause seriously, this is one of the awesome-est I've done. :-) So I'm thinking about it (have ideas for me - send them my way) and we'll get a giveaway going next Monday for you all.

Boost Your Baby's Brain Power

I recently had the opportunity through Mom Fuse to read over a brand new book titled "Boost Your Baby's Brain Power". This book covers multiple topics concerning your brand new baby.

• Factors that influence brain growth in the womb
• Fattening up the brain
• Windows of opportunity
• Development of language, vision, hearing, & motor skills
• Red flags in your baby’s development
• Uncovering your baby’s temperament

While I originally thought this may be one of those books that tries to tell you your kid can be college ready by the time they're 5, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of information in it based on real facts. This book moves throughout your baby's first year of life showing you what they are learning at each stage and how the mind is actually making different connections that will help set your child up for easier and better learning. I found the chapters on vision and hearing especially informative, but my favorite chapter was the one on temperament. Maybe it's the fact that I have another babe on the way, but it's so neat to hear how babies can be so different even inside the womb and at birth!

All in all, this is a well written, informative book for parents and caregivers! And while our children will always reach their developmental milestones at different times, reading a book like this can help you realize how to maximize your kids own potential.

The Vaccine Book

After waiting what seemed like forever on the library hold list, I finally received this book written by Dr. Sears. I may actually go out and buy this one now that I've read it, as it had way to much information to digest in one read. Dr. Sears covers all the shots in the American Pediatrics recommended schedule, with each chapter devoted to one particular disease/vaccine. For each one he explains what the illness is, how dangerous it is, and how common. He also explains not only the ingredients in each vaccine, but also how it is made.

What I really liked about this book is that it's not written in an extremist point of view. He's not anti-vaccine, but then again doesn't tell you your children will die if they don't get a vaccine, like some pediatricians do. Plus it was also published last year, so the information in it is very up to date. There is also a website that has further updates at www.thevaccinebook.com Extremely interesting and a must read for parents of very young children or parents-to-be.