Work in a library for most of your adult life, and the term due date suggests separation, loss, and consequences. “We know you love the book you borrowed from us. Bring it back now, though, or pay up!”
Over the past several months, however, due date has come to mean something else for my wife and me: new life, anticipation, joy, love, and yes, apprehension and fear. We’re expecting our first child…this month! Life will never be the same. Do we know what we’re doing? Of course we don’t! The good news is that millions of parents, doctors and midwives do know what they’re doing, and have written plenty of books to help would-be parents, new parents, and struggling parents. Does your library have these books? Of course we do! Here is just a tiny sample of some of our more recent selections.
Fertility & conception
Plan to Get Pregnant : 10 Steps to Maximum Fertility by Zita West. New York, N.Y. : Dorling Kindersley. (2008).
Making Babies : Stumbling into Motherhood by Anne Enright. New York : W.W. Norton. (2012).
Health, nutrition and fitness during pregnancy
Expect the Best : Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During, and after Pregnancy by Elizabeth Ward. Hoboken, N.J. : Wiley. (2009).
Rea Shiva Mama Baby Yoga by Rea Shiva. Louisville, CO : Gaiam. (c2012.).
Not your first child? How to share the news
Baby On the Way by William Sears. Boston : Little, Brown. (2012).
Baby names
Baby Names that Go Together : From Lily, Rose, and Violet to Finn and Fay – Siblings that Mix and Match in a Perfect Way by Eric Groves. Avon, Mass. : Adams Media. (2009).
Preparing a space for baby
Room for Children : Stylish Spaces for Sleep and Play by Susanna Salk. New York : Rizzoli, 2012.
Don’t forget Dad!
Pacify Me : A Handbook for the Freaked-Out New Dad by Chris Manzinni. New York, NY : Simon Spotlight Entertainment. (2011).
Or, on a more serious note:
The Birth Partner : a Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and Other Labor Companions by Penny Simkin. Boston, Mass. : Harvard Common Press. (2008).
Childbirth
The Mommy Docs’ Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy and Birth by Yvonne Bohn. Cambridge, MA : Da Capo Lifelong. (2011).
Heading Home With Your Newborn : From Birth to Reality by Laura A. Jana. Elk Grove Village, Ill. : American Academy of Pedriatics. (2011).
Pregnancy: from Conception to Caring for Your Newborn Baby. [Hallandale, Fla.] : Revodition. (c2008.).
The Simple Guide to Having a Baby. New York : Meadowbrook Press. (c2011.).
Postpartum
The Pregnancy and Postpartum Anxiety Workbook : Practical Skills to Help You Overcome Anxiety, Worry, Panic Attacks, Obsessions and Compulsions. Oakland, Calif. : New Harbinger. (2009.).
Feeding
American Academy of Pediatrics New Mother’s Guide to Breastfeeding. New York : Bantam Books Trade Paperbacks. (2011.).
The Baby & Toddler Cookbook : [Fresh, Homemade Foods for a Healthy Start] by Karen Alsel. San Francisco : Weldon Owen. (2011).
Of course, the birth of a new baby is just the beginning. The library is here to support parents, and children, throughout the entire journey. Check out the parenting collection, located in the lower floor hallway, just outside the children’s room, for a current selection of books on topics ranging from nutrition and exercise to child development and discipline.
Steve Viggiano
From burial grounds in the Connecticut woods, to the farm fields of Western Massachusetts, to the mountains of New Hampshire and the shores of Maine, take a virtual tour of New England’s graveyards, direct from the pages of Roxie Zweigler’s book: Haunted Cemeteries of New England.
