Friday, May 31, 2013

30 Before 30 Update: May 2013 Edition

This month has just flown by!! (If you’re just joining me recently, I put together a 30 Before 30 list back at Christmas time. You can view my list here.) I met my goal of reading 1 fun book and 1 educational/devotional book this month – see my book reviews at the end of this post!

I also started practicing the piano again. It’s been a few years, but it’s something I would like to get back into. Eventually, I’ll be able to meet my “Play the piano in church” goal. Wow, my fingers are rusty, though! #1 seems to like listening to me play and I figure it’s never too soon to expose him to good music. Although, with my clunkers, it’s not always “good”.

Side note, did I tell you M has decided to nickname the baby “Number 1”? True, he is our first child, so that fits, but I think it has more to do with M being slightly disappointed that I didn’t care for his name suggestion of “Riker” (Star Trek Next Generation reference, just in case you’re not into Sci Fi).

Anyway, the books I read this month were:

The Baby Chronicles by Judy Baer (the sequel to The Whitney Chronicles from last month). Just like the Whitney Chronicles, the Baby Chronicles is an easy read, and very enjoyable! I flew through the book in a couple of days and particularly enjoyed the character development in this story. Many of the characters from the Whitney Chronicles made an appearance… I have to say, Whitney’s co-workers remind me of mine sometimes.

They synopsis of the story is that Whitney (now married for about 2 years) has decided it’s time to start a family. To make things more interesting, her co-worker, Mitzi, has also decided she wants to have a baby (and ends up with triplets!)… not to mention Whitney’s best friend, Kim, has decided to adopt. Babies, babies everywhere! There’s so much pregnancy humor that I could relate to… I just had to laugh. And laugh… and laugh…

And cry, too, apparently. What would a good book be without an unexpected dramatic situation? Maybe it’s my baby hormones on overdrive, but I cried with the characters as they muddled through the tough stuff… and rejoiced with them when everything worked out.

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon.  I confess, I wasn't too keen on Ms. McCutcheon's writing style and I found her opinions and how she expressed them slightly annoying. She came across as very "my way or the highway".  That said, I'm glad I took time to read the book, as it was very informative.  M and I used her practice exercises every night to prepare for labor and will continue to do so until the baby's born.  Disclaimer:  there is pictures of naked ladies in the book. I sort of thought, "Is that necessary? I mean, does anyone deliver a baby naturally while wearing clothes?" Just so you're aware. Some people find that offensive.  I'm not crazy about the photos, but the information was solid and helpful.  If you don't care about having pics to illustrate the exercises or find the pics offensive, you can find the same info in Husband Coached Childbirth by Robert Bradley, which I also read and recommend (I prefer his writing style as well).  

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