March 2011 Reading List

6. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
This was a reading assignment for counseling. And, as everyone says, if you haven't read it yet - what on earth are you waiting for?

7. To Train Up A Child by Michael & Debi Pearl
This was a short and easy read. While I don't agree with everything the Pearls wrote and I believe they could have expounded more on the Gospel and our motivation to discipline our children, I really liked their practical examples and instruction. They gave specific situations and how they handled their children (or other people's children) in those instances and I found that very helpful. Coupled with some other books Danny and I reading I think this is a good resource.

8. Diaper Free by Ingrid Bauer

Very interesting book. It was less about potty training and more about attachment parenting than I realized. It did make me feel like if I wasn't willing to go "diaper free" then I didn't desire to have a close bond with my child, as mothers that do Elimination Communication "obviously" want to have such a close connection with their child that they intuitively "know" when they need to "go." But it did get me observing Cannon's signals a little closer, trying to put him on the toilet every so often just to get him use to it, and gave me another tool in my parenting belt.

I did like that it emphasized that rough days and mistakes are okay. That all learning processes are just that - processes that ebb and flow. I was encouraged that anything I am trying to teach Cannon does not have to be learned and mastered overnight.

Overall it was an interesting read on a new perspective for me.

9. Top 100 Finger Foods by Anabel Karmel
I got this book hoping it would give me some more finger food ideas for Cannon. He's ready to try eating more on his own, but still gags easily. This was a little advanced for a baby under one year old, but it had GREAT and creative ideas for healthy food ideas for toddlers. I will definitely be referencing this again in the future.

10. The Healthy Baby Meal Planner by Anabel Karmel
Anabel Karmel is a little less conservative when it comes to feeding your baby than Ruth Yaron (of Super Baby Food). Karmel promotes lots of flavors and varieties. So, I really liked the recipes and new ideas I got for feeding Cannon from this book. Sometimes I get tired of feeding him the same food over and over again - he's bound to be tired of eating it!

11. Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron

This is like the exhaustive bible on baby food. I'm not sure I'd recommend everyone read it cover to cover as it's a little intense and thorough (and it covers other random topics like birthday parties, homemade household cleaners, and arts and craft ideas), but I found this book to be an invaluable resource.

When I wanted to know how old Cannon should be before I fed him pureed broccoli, I turned here. When I wanted to know exactly how to make and prepare chicken for Cannon this book had the answer. It gave me new foods to try with Cannon each month and told me more than I needed to know about buying, preparing and feeding them to him. So, I would highly recommend it as a reference book for your shelves - unless of course you're going the "Baby-Led Weaning" route - but that's a book for next month's review.