Category Archives: Reviews

“Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?” by Jena Pincott

For more than one reason, I was overcome with excitement when I saw the title of Jena Pincott’s latest book, Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies?: The Surprising Science of Pregnancy.

This book was written for me. And if you love little known facts and interesting information about everything from how what we eat influences our child’s gender to the effect Mozart has on the baby, this book is for you, too.

There are so many factoids I’ve spouted off over the years from things I’ve read in books and magazines and conversations I’ve had with doctors and midwives. Little gems such as, “it’s been proven if you eat chocolate while you’re pregnant, you will have a child with a sweeter disposition” and, “studies show that if you consume breakfast with a higher fat content you’re more likely to have a boy.”

I’ve read the studies and love to relay the facts, but I never knew the “why” of many of these tidbits.

Pincott compiles the information and fleshes them out in great detail. She explains the “surprising science” with humor and wit as she weaves in her personal pregnancy story.

In this book some of questions answered are:

Why are our pregnant dreams more vivid?
Is a little tipple really so terrible?
How are all sons are mama’s boys?
Will exercise strengthen baby’s mind?
What happens in the golden hour after birth?
Do we really forget the pain?
Are breast-fed babies really brainier?

and of course:

Do chocolate lover’s have sweeter babies?

I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed reading a pregnancy book as much as I enjoyed this one.

Books, Reviews

What Baby Needs

Holly Leave a comment

My husband and I practice Attachment Parenting– a phrase coined by Dr. William Sears. Essentially, this means we:

respond quickly and consistently to our baby’s cries
practice daytime and nighttime parenting equally
hold our babies often
wear our babies in slings or other carriers
breastfeed until the child is ready to wean, which is often well into toddlerhood
sleep in the same bed or room with our children

This is obviously not the norm, and we are used to feeling “counter-culture” and fielding lots of questions from curious friends.

Since it isn’t mainstream, most of the books on the market preparing kids for a sibling depict images that my son hasn’t experienced- a baby sleeping in a crib, drinking out of a bottle, and using a pacifier.

I was thrilled to find a book by Dr. Sears called What Baby Needs which highlights the important new role an older brother takes on, and is full of cartoons illustrating the lifestyle my son knows: breastfeeding, babywearing, and the newborn snoozing near the parents’ bed in an adjacent co-sleeper.

There are also notes for parents on what kind of information and experiences might be helpful to share with a child who has a new sibling.

If you’re expecting a new baby and are looking for a book with a fresh perspective, this one is worth adding to your collection.

Books, Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding

Holly 1 Comment

One would think since I have been breastfeeding for almost 3 years straight that I wouldn’t feel the need to read up on it looking for more tips and tricks, however that’s not the way I operate. I research everything to death.

Last week I read two breastfeeding books cover-to-cover (as my newborn napped on my chest) and I have to recommend one of them.

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (La Leche League International Book)

This book validates every thought I have about nursing, and truly supports my natural instincts as a mother. This is in sharp contrast to many books on the market that muddle our minds with rules, schedules to follow, “the right way” to do things, etc. which only make most of us feel inadequate in our mothering skills.

If I had to choose one book about breastfeeding to recommend to a new mom, or a mom who has years of experience breastfeeding, this book is it.

Books, Reviews

Ice Pop Joy

Holly 1 Comment

Receiving a copy of Ice Pop Joy by Anni Daulter for review was one of the best things that could have happened to me this spring!

First of all, my son LOVES popsicles, and asks for them constantly. I have had a hard time finding store bought pops that have quality ingredients, and the recipes I’ve tried haven’t been that exciting. Secondly, I am very pregnant- which in my case means I am really hot, all the time. What could be better than an entire book devoted to “Organic, Healthy, Fresh and Delicious” Ice Pops?

“I wrote this book for parents who stay awake at night worried that their children aren’t getting enough protein or veggies because their kids flat out refuse to eat them. As a mom, I’ve had those concerns and know how frustrating it can be to try to get kids to eat something when they’re not in the mood,” said Daulter. “We need as many tools in our parenting bag as we can get.”

She definitely delivers on the tools! Daulter opens the book with suggestions on how to get your children to eat healthy foods, including:

Don’t hide ingredients from them
Have your children help choose the ingredients you will use
Keep offering veggies many times, even if they reject them at first

Daulter is so creative with her recipes, and the book is organized into chapters according to the main ingredients- which include Veggie Pops, Herbal Tea Pops, Tofu Pops and Chocolate Pops to name a few.

Every recipe I tried was easy to use, and resulted in a delicious ice pop! One of our favorites (so far!) is the Pink Princess. We took the bounty of our strawberry picking adventure and put it to good use!

They are delicious!

Another favorite was the Ice Pops for Breakfast. How fun it was to wake up one morning and ask my son if he’d like to have a popsicle for breakfast! He looked at me like I was the most wonderful person in the world. (That right there was worth every second it took to make those pops, which wasn’t very long!)

The book also includes a valuable resource and reference section- listing online sources for the ingredients and further nutritional information.

The photos themselves are so beautifully shot, that looking at each page makes me want to whip up that particular pop right then and there.

I love Ice Pop Joy. Thanks Anni, for another great book!

You can find Anni Daulter at Conscious Family Living. She has also written a wonderful baby food making book- Organically Raised: Conscious Cooking for Babies and Toddlers.

Books, Nutrition

Strawberry Picking

Holly Leave a comment

I took my 2 year old strawberry picking for the first time yesterday. He was so excited- the minute we got out of the car he spotted the patch and squealed with delight- “SCRAWBERRIES!!!”

One of his favorite books is “Blueberries for Sal”, and because of that he insisted he take along a little tin pail to collect his berries. Just as I suspected, I never heard the “kuplink, kuplank, kuplunk” from strawberries hitting the bottom of the pail, because he pretty much ate every single berry he picked.

My son loved seeing the strawberries on the vine, and asked me endless questions about how they grow. I really feel that going on these “pick your own” adventures is not only fun, but an amazing learning experience. It helps him appreciate his food more as he sees the way it exists in nature and gains a deeper understanding for the work that goes into growing and harvesting. Yes, I believe this is even sinking in at 2 and a half, but I know he’ll learn more and more the older he gets.

So far we’ve eaten tons of fresh strawberries, cut them up and put them on our oatmeal, made a delicious Strawberry Spinach Salad, and made strawberry ice pops. I plan to freeze the rest for our summer smoothies.

Strawberry picking isn’t the easiest activity with a 7 months pregnant belly, but I’m really glad I didn’t think about that too much before we went- it was worth every minute of it!