Books!

[DrJones]

I'm not a parrent, but I do love books.

When my Brother and his wife announced they were having a kid, I did a lot of research and talked to a lot of people about what books to get them. I ended up getting them a few, but by far, the one she found the most useful (and the one most recommended) is What to Expect When You're Expecting (http://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-When-Youre-Expecting/dp/0761148574/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202323439&sr=1-2). (That link is for the 4th edition, out in April, if you need one now the 3rd edition is out and at most stores).

This book seems to have it all. Every possible question you could have is answered in this book. It's probably worth reading through, just to familiarize yourself with what's inside, but it also works great as a reference.

Once the baby comes, there is another in the series called What to Expect the First Year (http://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-First-Year-Second/dp/0761129588/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202323439&sr=1-1) which covers all the details about what to do once the baby comes. Again, if you have a question about what is happening with your kid, this will explain it.

Finally, after that you can move onto the next one which is about the toddler years. I'm not sure on that one, since their kid isn't quite old enough (he turns 2 this weekend).

I'd recommend those three to any expecting parent.

[stu]

With the What To Expect When You're Expecting book, my recommendation is to use it as a reference guide. If you just sit down and try to read it straight through, you'll give yourself a headache. It is interesting, but it gets to be like reading a dictionary.

We use ours just like a dictionary, it's great.

I've got a funny book called Daddy Needs a Drink that is just a light humored book by an already author. He just tells a bunch of funny stories from his first two kids; mostly his oldest daughter.

[Mario]

I've referenced both the books that DrJones listed, and they are great. But like Stu said, don't read them front to back. I think that's the mistake that most parents make, they think something is wrong if their child is in a certain set of guidelines.