April 2018 Book Reading List

Time sure is flying. My son is already over a month old. I finished my second-to-last (penultimate!) class for my Master’s degree. And it’s already another month, so time to report what I read last month.

Just like in last month’s book reading list I only finished one book. Well, one book for me. I’ve already started reading to my son, although he isn’t quite yet able to appreciate it.

Husband-Coached Childbirth

I began reading Husband-Coached Childbirth while my wife was still pregnant and had hoped to finish it before she gave birth. I utterly failed that goal. True, my wife gave birth two weeks early (or rather, her due date was two weeks late!) - but I didn’t even finish by the actual due date!

I read this book because my wife and I were taking a Bradley Method class. The Bradley method of natural childbirth isn’t as anti-medicine or anti-artificial as some other “natural” proponents for other things. Rather, Dr. Bradley, the doctor behind the method, only believed medical intervention was necessary for a small fraction of pregnancy and births.

The book itself was mostly written by Dr. Bradley. It had a religious undertone to it, often referring to the Creator, but was not denying of science that Creationists typically do. For instance, he would sometimes refer to evolution as to why our bodies are the way they are.

He admits that his language and mannerisms may be a bit old-fashioned, particularly in referring to the couple as “husband” and “wife,” but he believes “Husband-Coached” is an appropriate term since the word “husband” probably shares an etymological root with “husbandry” as in “animal husbandry.” That is, the person who helps the pregnant one through the process of pregnancy and giving birth is called a husband regardless of the legal relationship or gender of the individual.

I would suggest any pregnant couple to take such a class. We met weekly, and not only was it good information wise, it also served as a form of group therapy (mostly for the pregnant women in the class), allowing everyone to share what we were currently going through. It was a bit pricey ($300), so it might not be within everyone’s budget.

The website to find a Bradley Method class is http://www.bradleybirth.com/.

Children’s Books

More important than the books I’m reading for me are the books I’m reading for my son.

I’ve only read three different books to him so far, at least as memory serves:

• Snuggle Puppy!
• Who Lives Here? (Baby Einstein)
• Spot Loves His Dad

I’ve read the first two several times to him; the third I’ve only read once. My wife has read a few more. Pretty much all of the books, if in fact not all, have been bought used. My wife is pretty good at finding deals.

Oh, and did you notice that two of the books were dog-related? My wife and I are obsessed with dogs. Well, more so me than her - my other blog is a dog blog. We did meet because of our mutual love for our dogs, though.