The best Single Parenting books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

I’ve recommended this before https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Kid-You-Love-Hate/dp/1608324206/ref=nodl_ Dr. Farmer is legit and there are some great tips. Good luck and ENJOY your new place!

My wife and I both really enjoyed this book: The Simplest Baby Book in the... https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736894706?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Also check with your hospital to see if they offer any classes

I really liked this book The Co-Parenting Handbook as it shares multiple perspectives that you might have as one of the participants in a divorce and good advice regarding communication, etc. If your ex is willing, have them read a copy as well and then you can both point to the book and say "I think it's a good idea to stick to what the co-parenting handbook suggests."

33 weeks and we have most of the baby prep done! I just realized though we don't have enough bottles and we're short on 0m - 3m clothes.

I also want to do a minor book recommendation for newborn care called, "The Simplest Baby Book" by Stephen Gross. It's not 100% perfect, but I feel like its something I can tell my husband to refer to since it has step by step instructions with picture guide. Also so he doesn't rely on me to tell him how to do things LOL. I have a feeling I will want to sleep as much as I can post-partum.

Question for everyone regarding bottles: do you recommend getting variety of bottles or should I stick to the bottles that are compatible with my breast pump? Meaning, I just screw on a nipple top to the storage bottle and use it to feed the baby.

I liked The Newborn Handbook! It was an easy read, short, and informative, written by a mother who’s a pediatrician. This book also has good reviews (saw it recommended on Instagram) but I haven’t read it yet so I can’t vouch for it: https://www.amazon.com/Simplest-Baby-Book-World-Grab/dp/1736894706/ref=pd_gwm_ci_mcx_mr_hp_btf_m?pd_rd_w=Ve3Oo&content-id=amzn1.sym.95cd80c5-0435-4910-8fcc-13f3c8197ad7&pf_rd_p=95cd80c5-0435-4910-8fcc-13f3c8197ad7&pf_rd_r=BXZCR3XN8TTD0...

Everything you need to know for every scenario but not in long-form text…

The Simplest Baby Book in the World: The Illustrated, Grab-and-Do Guide for a Healthy, Happy Baby https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736894706/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Q4SBDFS40M7XN7SB2QE5

So much easier to consume to answer vital simple questions.

Maybe try this one! The Simplest Baby Book in the World: The Illustrated, Grab-and-Do Guide for a Healthy, Happy Baby https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736894706/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ZN4N8BGJFVBZCFFDFHE1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

My husband and I both loved this one! Dad’s Expecting, Too.

Dad's Expecting Too: Advice, Tips, and Stories for Expectant Fathers (Gift from Wife for Fathers to Be or New Dads) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1402280645/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_QRBKWE84AK6QYX4R3VHH

I highly recommend the book The Coparenting Handbook.

https://www.amazon.com/Co-Parenting-Handbook-Well-Adjusted-Resilient-Separation/dp/1632171465

Both of you read it, and it will keep you on the same page as you start the transition. Also, not to be a downer, but lots of people start off the process very amicably but then only when they get through the legal grinder do things break down and the "we're still great friends and want the best for each other" breaks down. I'm not trying to scare you, I've just seen it many times.

Here is a well-recommended book for co-parenting.

What stood out to me reading your description of them is that they could probably benefit from structured and scheduled time to discuss the kids and how they’re doing. The fact they are not hostile is such a weight off this. But if they aren’t living together, perhaps that spontaneous communication that happens as life happens has gone away. It seems like intentional time set aside could be very helpful for them.

And they may not have the bandwidth for this because we are all taxed, but keeping a quick journal of stuff that happens or that needs to be discussed could be helpful. Maybe it’s just a quick note in a notebook, “Timmy struggling with school later in afternoon” and that can be a point of discussion and collaboration between them.

Go for humor about parenting like...

Fowl Language: Welcome to Parenting

I <3 My Little A-holes

Buchtipp, das Elternschaft zeigt wie sie ist. https://www.amazon.de/Fowl-Language-Parenting-Brian-Gordon/dp/1449479677/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=fowl+language&qid=1604242028&sprefix=fow&sr=8-1

I'd send your coparent an email that says something straightforward like "Hey, I wanted to let you know that I've started seeing someone. His name is X and he has met [son] a few times now, so I thought you should know."

That's it. Your son is young enough that he probably doesn't have ball games and plays yet, but you've at least laid the groundwork now for you to bring your new partner to those things in the future without blindsiding your ex.

I highly recommend the book The Coparenting Handbook which has a whole chapter on introducing new partners. It's helped me in a bunch of situations.

I highly recommend the Co-Parenting Handbook. It has great tips for keeping your kids at the forefront while reducing triggering communication with your ex. Some suggestions I found helpful: use the tone in emails/texts you would with your boss, not even a peer colleague. It keeps things respectful and may seem a little formal and weird at first, but it really helps eliminate the emotion. Create a separate inbox or rule to forward things from your ex to a folder, and check it at most once/day. If it's an emergency, he can call. Don't respond right away, no matter how calm you feel. For me, once I started to set real boundaries and say "no" to my ex, about things big and small, I started to feel so free and was able to do it more and more. If you are a people pleaser, just learning to do this is so important.

We actually started doing both. Some foods I pureed and what I was comfortable with I did blw. Its been easy for us doing it that way. This was the book recommended to me for blw. We started at 6 months. She is 11 mons now and i can hand her most things and she just eats it (ex. I washed a nectarine off and handed it to her, she ate everything except the pit. Now she thinks she needs any food she sees haha!)

If you're interested in BLW route here is my brieff story:

bought a bunch of books to help me learn about BLW, and my favourite by far is Born to eat (https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1510719997/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_o0H.BbRGT7KPP)

I started with very soft/steamed broccoli, sweet potato, carrots, avocado, mashed potato.. added some soft fruits banana, kiwi, pear, strawberries, raspberries etc. I even got a little adventurous and did tender meats like pork, beef, and chicken then moved to seafood like salmon, shrimp and tuna.

The first few months are for exploration - do not stress about how much they eat. You will start seeing it in their poop when they do start eating it lol.

Have fun! This is all a cool learning experience for everyone involved and I treated it like that. No pressure, no stress.

You choose where they eat and what they eat, they choose how much. I still use this mantra at 19 months old.

I really liked "Born to eat" as a resource and cookbook to start our BLW journey. It has great ideas and also a lot of nutrition background information and steps of readiness for each stage. While this may not be exactly what you're looking for, we eat basically how we did before LO and give her the same thing we eat.

Born to Eat: Whole, Healthy Foods from Baby’s First Bite https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1510719997/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_5G2nBbFGJPTPF

I'm a Dad, and my friend suggested Dad's Expecting Too! for me. It was broken down in to quick time-frames and was most valuable for the period leading up to and including childbirth. I had never had a close family member go through it before, so I was completely in the dark. The problem with most dad books, that I found anyway, was that many of them were too campy. Some either went the "snowflake" route: "daddy's have feelings too," and others were too "HEY BRO ITS A BABY, TIME TO STEP UP."

This one was a good balance. Though I took issue with how the book tended to treat expecting mothers as being made of fragile glass, both physically and mentally. Every woman is different, I suppose. I did love how it included personal anecdotes from actual readers of the book that were submitted over time. Those real bits were the gems.

There are some really cute picture books for grandfathers, and while this one isn't specifically for granddaughters and grandfathers, it has fairly good reviews: Grandpa Rules: Notes on Grandfatherhood, the World's Best Job

Get both of them this book to read.

Buy a digital voice recorder, these things hear everything you do and can fit right in your pocket.

Document everything.