New Mum Reading List – My Essential Books for New Parents

With breastfeeding I’ve found a lot of my time as a new Mum has been taken up confined to the sofa or bed and whilst I have binged ALOT of TV sometimes nothing beats a good book! So I thought I’d share with you the books that I’ve been devouring in the last few weeks so that you can start your own new Mum reading list.

1. Happy Mum, Happy Baby – Giovanna Fletcher

I’ve always had a soft spot for Giovanna, I was a closet McFly fan and am a hopeless romantic so I loved that Tom wrote Obviously about her and now they’re married with little ones! This is a really lovely book about Giovanna’s experiences becoming a mum. It’s funny and refreshingly candid, no sugar coating or dream life (although they do have a bit more loose change than the rest of us!). This book actually makes me quite emotional as it just brings up all the feelings from the last few weeks, having Theo and loving him so much. It’s also a nice easy read and just shows that as a new mum, you’re not alone in feelings of frustration, panic or total joy.

2. The Wonder Weeks – Hetty van de Rijt Ph.D, Frans Plooij Ph.D

If you haven’t heard of The Wonder Weeks, it’s all about the developmental “leaps” that babies make as they discover the world. The theory is that all babies experience these progressions in their development at around the same times and it explains periods of fussiness/difficulty.

There’s a mobile app available for £2.99 that you can add your child’s details to and it gives you a calendar of the leaps, stormy and sunny periods. The app gives you a brief overview of the leap and what’s involved but I wanted MORE! So I bought the books. I’ve really enjoyed reading them – I haven’t read ahead so am only a little way in but the extra detail is so much more informative and there are checklists to tell if your baby is entering the leap and has developed the necessary skills. So far the book has been very accurate about Theo’s development as it gives you a range of a couple of weeks. The app slightly less so as it goes off due date and Theo was born a week early and he seems to be entering each leap a week early so yesterday I changed it to his actual birth date to see if it falls correctly.

The book also gives you ideas of toys and games to play with your baby after each leap which is really useful. I’d definitely recommend the book to any new parent, the app is useful for a quick refresher and a glance at the calendar if the baby is being particularly fussy or unsettled – it explains a lot!

The review above is for the original The Wonder Weeks book, I did also buy the Milestones book that is also in the photo but I must admit I haven’t read it yet… will update the post once I have!

3. Baby at the Table – Michela and Emanuela Chiappa

Ok so I’m a bit keen with this one, current advice is not to wean until 6 months of age but I’ve wanted this book for ages, actually since I was pregnant with Adam, and it has not disappointed!

The premise is that you can make family meals without much modification for babies and toddlers, introducing them to a variety of flavours and textures early on to avoid them becoming fussy eaters. The authors are all mums so it’s not packed with gadgets to buy and a long list of ingredients and the recipes are quick and easy. I am so excited to try this in a few months time, it’s a mix of traditional weaning with some elements of baby led weaning which I’m really on board with and centres on ensuring your child is getting enough nutrition first and foremost. I’m so pleased with it, it’s well worth the money!

4. Your Baby Week by Week – Simone Cave & Dr Caroline Fertleman

One of my best friends gave me this (along with a load of clothes that her baby had grown out of – thank you again, Jayne you absolute star!) and it’s a really great handbook for dealing with the essential in the first few months of baby’s life. Starting from birth, the book covers nappy changes, feeding (breast and bottle), sleeping and other milestones. We’ve found it really, really useful for some tips and reassurance, I highly recommend it.

5. Magician (and the rest of the Midkemian novels) – Raymond E Feist

Ok so this has nothing to do with being a mum or parenting but it is my favourite book of all time. I have at least 5 different editions of it including a couple of signed ones as well as the kindle edition! I’ll be honest with you, at 2am when I’m feeding the baby I don’t want to absorb information about parenting, I want something to entertain me and my fuzzy brain so I’ve been rereading this epic saga – there are actually a few series that make up the whole saga and I haven’t read the very last one so thought I’d go through from the start. I’m up to book 4 of the Demon War Saga.

These are classic fantasy novels; magic, battles, dragons, prince and princesses – the whole nine yards! And I bloody love it! If you like Game of Thrones or Once Upon A Time then give this a go, you won’t be disappointed!

I hope you’ve found my new Mum reading list helpful! Do you have a parenting book that you couldn’t have lived without? Or just a favourite novel that’s got you through the night feeds? Comment below and let me know!