reading list

As a type-A researcher, I started reading books on babies and parenting as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I think that reading a variety of books helped me to be informed about how I want to parent Hayden (and future teeny-tinies!) and about the different theories and methods out there. Of course, so much of parenting is instinctual, but it's nice to have some ideas to fall back on as well. Here's my list of books that I have read/are in the process of reading/waiting on my bedside table to be read:

1. The Happiest Baby on the Block By Karp, Harvey: I read this one while still pregnant and I watched the DVD as well. I think that this book really helped us keep Hayden calm and happy as a newborn. It also helped us get some much needed rest, since we followed the 5 S method fairly religiously the first couple months.

2.  The Attachment Parenting Book By Sears, William: This is on my to-read list. I don't know if we're totally into all the principles of Attachment Parenting, but raising a secure, happy, compassionate child is certainly high on our priority list!

3. The No-Cry Sleep Solution By Pantley, Elizabeth/ Sears, William : I've read excerpts of this book and put it on my list so that I can read the whole thing. We are currently letting Hayden sleep according to his own schedule (which sometimes happens to be all the way through the night!) but as he gets older, I want to be better informed on sleep-training. 

4. Simplicity Parenting By Payne, Kim John/ Ross, Lisa M. : In an age where there's so much "stuff" and technology, Nick and I want to raise Hayden and future littles to not want so much. We live in an area where wealth is fairly prevalent so we want to raise our children to be satisfied with what they have (Similar to how we feel we were both raised). For this reason, we purposely didn't register/buy every baby item/toy out there, instead choosing thoughtfully and finding out what Hayden's interested in first.

5. Baby-Led Weaning By Rapley, Gill/ Murkett, Tracey: I've read the theory behind this book and plan on reading the whole book in the next couple months, so that we're prepared when it's time to start introducing solids to Hayden.

6. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk By Faber, Adele/ Mazlish, Elaine: My sister (a social work grad student) recommended this one for future communication strategies. 

So, that's my parenting reading list. I'm curious; parents out there, what are some of your top book recommendations? Have you read any of these books? What are your thoughts?