The Wonder Weeks

The Wonder Weeks: A Stress-Free Guide to Your Baby’s Behavior by Xaviera Plas-Plooij

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can’t express how wonderful this book is. I was told of this book before my daughter’s arrival into this wonderful world and began reading it right after her birth.

First of all – this book is a god sent. It’s broken down into leaps, aka baby phases. I usually read one leap ahead just to prep myself for what is about to come next. Each leap explains a child’s milestone and their development progress. It also describes their behavior. It makes it so much easier to understand what the baby is going thru. As a first-time mom – this book is such a wonderful guide. Every time it lets me know that I am not the only one in this situation, all babies go thru this stage, I am actually a good mom. It gives me a better connection with my daughter. Each chapter, also known as a leap, includes exercises and games that are appropriate to play with the babies at the assigned age that helps with their development, and are fun activities for mommy/daughter time.

I have read a few books, and a million mommy blogs and searched for what to expect, or baby advice. This book is basically all the books and blogs combined into a few pages. That’s another beauty of this book. The chapter for each leap/phase is 15-20 pages long. Us, new parents, do not have time to read and this book is like a flashcard for new parents: short, straight to the point with examples.



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Twelve Hours’ Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old

Twelve Hours’ Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old: A Step-By-Step Plan for Baby Sleep Success by Suzy Giordano

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Received this book as a gift when my baby girl was born.

The good part – it’s a fast read since a new mom does not have time to sit down and read any book. My advice for new mommies is to read this book before your baby is born. Or you will end up like me stretching the read throughout five weeks.

The bad part – there is not a lot of useful information. Basically, 90% of the book is about baby sleep whisperer and how good she is at her job (I’m sure she is very good as she has built her career on this great skill), and only 10% of actually useful info.

Well, by the time I was able to finish the book, my baby girl was already sleeping thru most of the night. An author, the baby coach as she likes to call herself, lists many good tips in the book that should help with training your baby to sleep twelve hours per night. I’ve used my own methods (combined pieces of advice from other baby books and family and friends) for my daughter’s sleep training, however, I’ve applied a few tips from the book to my daily and nightly nap/sleep routines and I can tell that 90% of the time it did work. Hence not a total waste of time reading the book.



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Bringing Up Bebe

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

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I came upon this book by multiple recommendations and it was way better than I expected it to be.

First of all, the book is created in two parts. In the first part, the author describes her life as a mother in France and her parental shock on the difference of bringing up the baby in a completely different baby culture. As she outlines french baby care and compares it to the American one that she has experienced herself, we see a drastic difference. When American parents are pushing their kids into the educating world and trying to raise their IQ at an early age, french parents taking a step back, letting their kids “discover” the world, and take their time to simply be a child.

The book concentrates not only on how to raise the child but also on how to keep the relationship between the parents.

The author does not praise one set of cultural parenting, but simply compares the two. Lists explanations and examples. While there are multiple differences not only in the culture between the two countries, the author also sheds the light on the French government and the help it offers for the parents and kids, which must have been taken into consideration while comparing the parenting techniques and styles between the countries.

I’ve read a few books on parenting and must admit that this book was the best. It’s easy to read, very simply explained and I love the examples. And cant wait to use many of the listed tips when the time comes.



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The Secret Diary of a New Mum (aged 43 1/4)

The Secret Diary of a New Mum by Cari Rosen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed parts of the book. Although I am not in my forties, however, I found many similarities between my and the author’s experiences. Overall the book was very entertaining and offers some good guidance. I have expected the book to be more educating, however, the author’s writing was focused on her personal experience and outcome. I found good info in the book. It was like discussing my own experience with a friend.

I did feel bad for the author, she went thru a rough experience not just pregnancy-wise, but more mental discouragement and judgment. It is sad to see there are people who would judge the new mother because of her age. And instead of accepting the judgment, an author took this experience and made it into a book. I applaud her for her sense of humor, for standing up to the “bullies” and proving that motherhood may be challenging in the forties, but not less exciting and enjoyable.

Good and quick read. Thank you NetGalley for a free and advanced copy of the book.



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