Many moons ago, when I was single, a lot of fine young men would ask what I liked to read. Somewhat sheepishly I replied that I wasn’t much of a reader–I got my scriptures in, but was burned out from all the required reading I’d done as a student and felt I was too busy to read anything else. Thankfully Dustin married me anyway and I’m coming around.
Recently I’ve gotten really excited about reading books that will help me with my now very full-time job of being a wife and mother. Thinking about the quite large chunk of change we’d just spend on books for Dustin’s classes, and having some time on my hands as a nursing mother, I decided it was time to invest in some books for myself. I’m taking it one at a time, not buying the next one until I’m finished with the first. And I only read books that have come highly recommended from others I know and trust.

Here’s what I’ve been reading:
Everyone knows I’m big on this book: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
A child who sleeps well = Happy Parents. It’s been delightful to refer back to it and get Cameron started off on the right foot, rather than waiting until things got bad. It’s done wonderful things for my sanity.

And as I just mentioned, I’m a big fan of Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High. I just finished this book on Monday, and loved the review of everything I learned in the Crucial Conversations training.

Arriving just hours after I finished Crucial Conversations was this book recommended to me last week: Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense. I have felt that JJ’s eating could be improved for quite some time, but wasn’t sure what to do about them. In just the few days since I’ve had the book, things have dramatically improved!!! As a parent, you know you need to be somewhere in the middle of being totally controlling and totally permissive. But the day to day decisions of what’s worth a battle and what isn’t can be so difficult. This book has really helped me recognize how I can do better at the table–in a nutshell: as a parent you determine meal and snack times (making sure your toddler eats every 2-3 hours) and provide a well-rounded meal. The child then decides what they eat and how much. No more battles over finishing your peas (oh wait, that was me) or keeping him from eating just olives for dinner. He tries things when he’s ready, and because we’ve taken all the pressure off and aren’t restrictive, he can naturally get the nutrients he needs. The studies noted in the book have found that almost all kids get all the nutrients they need when allowed to eat this way, as long as they are provided with a variety of quality options. I’m a fan!

As soon as I’m finished with this book, here’s what’s in the lineup:

Totally Organized

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families

And I think a few others I’m forgetting. It has been a great experience to learn from the experts and cut out so much of the difficulty that come with trying to figure things out on your own. If you have recommendations please share in the comments! And my apologies to all of the friends that have invited me to GoodReads – once upon a time I set up an account, but have never taken the time to get back there and figure out what to do with it! At least now I’m reading!

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