Lose the Guilt, Love Your Instincts If the latest “breakthrough” child-development theory, parenting technique, or child-appropriate diet makes you worry or groan (or just want to lie down for a nap), it’s time to make way for Momfidence! Paula Spencer, parenting expert and mother of four, provides refreshing, down-to-earth proof that most of the business of raising confident, healthy children involves nothing more complicated that trusting your instincts, using common sense, and above all, hanging on to your humor. Momfidence! is: •Using “perfect” only to describe such wonders as a ripe peach, a cloudless day at the beach, or a husband who does diapers and dinner. . . It has no application whatsoever in describing motherhood. •Recognizing that there are appropriate times and places for lying, yelling, threatening, bribing, and saying “I told you so” •Sending yourself to time-out—preferably with chocolate and/or your spouse •Being completely amnesiac about the day’s exasperating transgressions when you peek in your children’s bedrooms at night and watch them sleep Based on her popular Woman’s Day and Parenting columns, Momfidence! explains how obsessing less and winging it more can keep you sane—and your kids healthy and happy. It’s a hilarious look at “perfect motherhood” that cuts parents a long-overdue break by reminding us that we’re not the amateurs here—we’re all experts, too.

Read Amy Tiemann's posts on the Penguin Blog. MOJO MOM helps you answer the question, "Who Am I Now that I'm A Mom?" What is Mommy Mojo? It's the feeling you get when you're a parent at the top of your game, juggling the kids and the many facets of life, and keeping your own needs in balance. Motherhood is a tremendous gift, but it's also a huge identity shift. Becoming a Mojo Mom means bringing your self and your dreams back into focus, while still giving your family the loving attention it needs. It may sound like a fantasy, but it can be done. Mojo Mom shows women practical ways to: *Prepare to become a Mom without losing your identity *Survive and enjoy the intense early years *Save some of your best energy and creativity for your own ideas and dreams *Reenter the workplace or take on a new path with confidence and ease *Learn the key elements to the long-term success of your marriage *Become a Naptime Activist-and change the world in just an hour a week *Rise above the "Mommy Wars" between stay-at-home and working moms *Use motherhood as an opportunity for reinvention Getting your mojo back is not just another item for your to-do list-it's your right. Amy Tiemann, MomsRising.org executive team member and founder of MojoMom.com, will help every woman explore her true self.

For 21st century mothers, there seem to be just two choices: be a Super Mom or be a Slacker Mom. One's bad for you; one's bad for your kids. So what's a momma to do? In You're a Good Mom (and Your Kids Aren't So Bad Either), the Internet's favorite momma, Jen Singer, tells all. Turns out you can raise perfectly good kids in that sweet spot between flash cards at breakfast and "donuts for dinner, kids!" It's for every mom who's pressured to be perfect yet lost under the laundry, wondering if she's a bad mom. It's for every mom to wants to enjoy-not endure-motherhood while still giving her kids what they truly need to succeed. Filled with "that happened to me, too!" stories and wrapped in the wit that could only come from the creator of Please Take My Children to Work Day, this book offers giggles and a pat on the back for today's moms, whether they're deep in diapers or petrified by puberty.

The author of the monthly Momfidence column in Woman's Day takes a hilarious and sanity-saving look at perfect motherhood and gives readers renewed confidence in their innate parenting skills.

In a culture that rarely sees pregnancy as a journey to self-discovery, Body, Soul, and Baby offers a fresh perspective on this transformative life experience by showing women how to tune in to the cues offered by their bodies and souls—as well as by the babies growing within them—for a healthier pregnancy, a more fulfilling birth experience, and a deeper bond with their baby. Drawing on the best of both complementary and conventional Western medicine, Dr. Gaudet has written a groundbreaking guide that shows you how to become an active participant in your pregnancy. By working with the natural processes of pregnancy, you can discover how to: • Pick up important signals from within about what you need, what your body needs, and what is right for both you and your baby • Tune in to cues that can alert you to early signs of problems • Use the mind-body connection to reduce stress, explore this remarkable life change, and bond with your baby • Nurture your whole self, including your evolving sexual and sensual needs • Make informed and conscious choices that reflect both your personal feelings and the latest medical information • Collaborate with your doctor or midwife, and build a supportive health-care team Empowering, inspiring, and respectful of the wisdom of the female body and spirit, this invaluable book also includes advice on eating right and staying active, and natural and alternative approaches to pain relief. Whether you’re already pregnant or preparing to be, the time to start listening to your inner wisdom is now, and the guide to doing it is here.

Read a little, learn a lot! Oh, baby! In one book, 100 leading parenting experts offer must-have advice for expecting and new parents. The Experts’ Guide to the Baby Years is the all-in-one companion to raising your baby with confidence, knowledge, and style, while maintaining your own sanity. As a brand-new parent, Samantha Ettus, creator of the Experts’ Guide series of books, went on a search to collect invaluable insights and practical know-how from the world’s experts in the field of parenting. The result is this wonderfully informative and entertaining guide to preparing for, welcoming, and caring for your new baby like an expert. In bite-sized chapters that even the most sleep-deprived new parents can digest, you’ll find advice from an expert on the top 100 parental concerns, from budgeting for the baby to bathing, breastfeeding, and beyond. And it doesn’t stop at Baby. The Experts’ Guide to the Baby Years includes plenty of chapters devoted to you, too–such as getting in shape after childbirth, maintaining a happy marriage, and setting up a playdate. Bestselling author and pediatrician Harvey Karp provides secrets for calming a crying infant; travel guru Pauline Frommer reveals her best tips on planning a vacation with your child; and Iron Chef Cat Cora offers her techniques for making baby food. Each of the contributors brings a matchless blend of knowledge, passion, and experience to ensure that you make the most of your child’s first years. From choosing a name and preparing for your baby’s arrival home to making the transition back to work, The Experts’ Guide to the Baby Years brings an unparalleled breadth of practical and authoritative information to the alternately joyous and exhausting journey through the baby years.

Believe it or not, the Catholic family isn’t primarily a human institution. It’s a divine one. By uniting with the sacramental life of the Church, your common, ordinary, crazy family becomes something sacred, a “domestic church." Family therapist and parent Gregory Popcak and his wife, Lisa, are back with Parenting Your Kids with Grace. Building on their best-selling book Parenting with Grace, first published twenty years ago, this new volume draws on the same parenting principles and provides up-to-date research to guide parents through each stage of child development from birth to age ten. Practical, faithful, and humorous, Parenting Your Kids with Grace addresses four key questions: Are Catholic families called to be different from other families in the way we relate to one another in the home? If so, how? What does an authentic, family-based approach to Catholic spirituality look like in practice? What can the latest research tell us about creating a faithful home and raising faithful kids? How can Catholic families be outposts of evangelization and positive social change? By checking our basic assumptions about parenting against both the Church’s vision and what science can teach about living out that vision in healthy ways, we can discover God’s plan for parenting healthy, godly kids.

Nursing a baby - it's the most simple, natural thing in the world, right? Then why is it so fraught and freighted for so many women? In Unbuttoned, a collection of essays edited by Dana Sullivan and Maureen Connolly, 25 women share their thoughts and feelings about breastfeeding, all from the standpoint of personal experience. By turns enlightening, entertaining, moving, and thought provoking, their stories are sure to get readers talking. The essays are as varied as women themselves. Best - selling author Julia Glass describes nursing her two sons after being treated for breast cancer. Rebecca Walker remembers breastfeeding her seriously ill baby in the neonatal intensive care unit. And humorist Suzanne Schlosberg milks the logistics of nursing twins for laughs, while columnist Patricia Berry defends her decision to bottle - feed her three daughters. Linda Murray, editor - in - chief ofBabyCenter.com, contributes a thoughtful foreword. The essays are organized in a way that echoes the chronology of the nursing experience itself. In Part One, Latching On, women share their stories about starting breastfeeding; by Part Four, Letting Go, they've moved on to the sometimes - wistful, sometimes - welcome process of weaning. In these pages are laughter and tears, love and longing, tenderness and temper tantrums - and above all, a multifaceted portrait of what it means to nurture a baby. Unbuttoned makes a wonderful gift for new or expectant mothers, not to mention their partners. It's also an intriguing selection for book groups or moms' groups, who will surely find much to discuss among the essays. Even women whose nursing days are well behind (or ahead) of them will find food for thought in this insightful collection.

Expert, practical advice for complete mental and physical maternal health Kate Rope's Strong as a Mother is a practical and compassionate guide to preparing for a smooth start to motherhood. Everyone knows the secret to having “the Happiest Baby on the Block.” This is your guide to being the Sanest Mommy on the Block. It will prepare you with humor and grace for what lies ahead, give you the tools you need to take care of yourself, permission to struggle at times, and professional advice on how to move through it when you do. This book will become a dog-eared resource on your nightstand, offering you the same care and support that you are working so hard to provide to your child. It will help you prioritize your emotional health, set boundaries and ask for help, make choices about feeding and childcare that feel good to you, get good sleep, create a strong relationship with your partner, make self care an everyday priority, trust your instincts, and actually enjoy the hardest job you will ever love. This book is here to take care of you.

With ample pages to record your discoveries and feelings, and a pregnancy guide offering concise time-targeted information, this companion journal helps light the path and preserve the wonder as you move toward motherhood! The 224 pages for journaling also feature helpful tips and insightful facts about your baby's development; your growing body; and your ever-changing emotional landscape. Measures 7" x 9," with a covered wire-o binding and an elastic band place holder. Inside back cover pocket.