Birth Parents

Doulas empower mothers to plan for and secure the birthing experiences they want. Lindsey Bliss provides the resources for creating a sound birth plan and having a positive childbirth experience.

Respected Waldorf educator Rahima Baldwin Dancy explains the different stages of learning that children go through from birth to age six, giving you the wisdom and understanding to enrich your child's natural development in the right way at the right time. A trusted classic for over 20 years, this newly revised edition contains updated resources and additional information on discipline, early childhood programs, toilet training, using home life as curriculum, and more. From language and cognitive development to appropriate toys, Dancy speaks up for a rational approach to child-rearing.

Psychotherapists and sleep specialists Jennifer and Jill, the dynamic "girlfriends" all of Hollywood calls on to solve Junior's sleep problems, have perfected their sleep technique that will get any child snoozing in no time - most often in fewer than three nights. The key to their method? It addresses the emotional needs of both the parent and the child (yes, how to handle the crying!) - a critical component of why most other sleep methods fail.

Healing isn't possible, though, without first uncovering the hurts—starting with adoption's central players: adoptees, who are so often in pain, suffering from what the latest brain science validates as the long-term emotional effects of separation trauma. By encouraging others to vulnerably share their stories, the authors discover that adoptees aren't the only ones in the adoption constellation who are hurting. Birth parents regularly shut down after being shut out by adoptive parents.

New fathers grapple with both practical and existential questions: How do I change a baby’s diaper? What kind of car seat do I need? How can I afford a baby? In what ways will my life change after the baby’s born? Fatherhood is here to answer all of these questions, and more. This comprehensive guide from the editors of Fatherly, the largest online advice platform for dads, walks fathers through everything they need to know and do during pregnancy and over the course of the first year of a baby’s life.

Pediatrician Nimali Fernando and feeding therapist Melanie Potock (aka Dr. Yum and Coach Mel) know the importance of giving your child the right start on their food journey-for good health, motor skills, and even cognitive and emotional development. In this updated, second edition of Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater, they explain how to expand your family's food horizons, avoid the picky eater trap, identify special feeding needs, and put joy back into mealtimes.

It’s the hottest day of the 1976 heatwave and there’s not a breath of fresh air in the labour ward at Lincoln County Hospital. Michelle is having her fourth child, a girl, while beloved husband Dean is sipping a cold pint in the pub. Their little house is already bursting at the seams, but Michelle is sure they’ll find a way to stretch their budget and continue life as a blissfully chaotic happy family. They name their new baby Donna.

What can parents do to help their youngest children in their task of self-formation? How does the Montessori method of hands-on learning and self-discovery relate to the youngest infants? This authoritative and accessible book answers these and many other questions. Based on Dr. Maria Montessori's instructions for raising infants, its comprehensive exploration of the first three years incorporates the furnishings and tools she created for the care and comfort of babies.

The million-copy bestseller by “the man who remade motherhood” (TIME) has now been revised, expanded, and bought thoroughly up-to-date. The Searses draw from their vast experience both as medical professionals and parents to provide comprehensive information on virtually every aspect of infant care. The Sears Baby Book focuses on the essential needs of babies—eating, sleeping, development, health, and comfort—as it addresses the questions of greatest concern to today's parents.

Despite a happy childhood, successful entrepreneur Addison Fox has always yearned to find her birth mother. And with the unexpected death of her adoptive parents comes a renewed determination to fill in the missing pieces of her life - to find her "other" family. But she's too late. Addison is the sole survivor of her bloodline - a line that a killer is determined to make extinct. World-weary detective Randall Talbot has little regard left for life, but he may be the only man capable of saving hers....

When her child went off to school, Maya Smart was shocked to discover that a good education in America is a long shot, in ways that few parents fully appreciate. Our current approach to literacy offers too little, too late, and attempting to play catch-up when our kids get to kindergarten can no longer be our default strategy.

When you find out you will be a parent, you realize you have no idea what you have gotten yourself into. You sway between the confidence of being the best parent to your baby and self-doubt of failing your little one. It only becomes more daunting as you learn so many things no one ever talked to you about.

In this groundbreaking book, adoption advocates Betsy S. Kylstra, Lisa C. Qualls, and Jodi Jackson Tucker-an adoptee, a birth mother, and an adoptive mother-reveal that adoption is rooted in both loss and redemptive victory. And healing is needed by all in the adoption triad-adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents-to experience restoration and wholeness.

In this audiobook, I’ll guide you on what you can expect from your little baby in the first month, including the hospital process following birth, in-depth instructions on breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, changing diapers, possible complications, and many tips.

Should you really read to your baby? Can teaching a baby sign language boost IQ? Should you pipe classical music into the nursery? Dr. Jill Stamm translates the latest neuroscience findings into clear explanations and practical suggestions, demonstrating the importance of the simple ways you interact with your child every day. It isn't the right edutainment that nurtures an infant's brain. It is as simple as attention, bonding, and communication, and it's within every parent's ability to provide.

Through Adopted Hearts explores the world of adoption from the viewpoints of both birth and adoptive parents. In this follow up to Through Adopted Eyes, author and adoptee Elena Hall guides listeners through a diverse collection of true stories filled with powerful insight into the rest of the adoption triad. If you are an adoptive parent, birth parent, adoptee, or just curious to learn more, this audiobook provides thoughtful and challenging perspective into how adoption shapes and changes lives.

Your first pregnancy is an exciting time in life! It can also be a bit terrifying. You have many questions and you don’t know what to expect. Questions like, how do you choose the right OB-GYN? What foods can you eat? What if I go into labor earlier? Every new parent goes through this. Some parents tuck these thoughts away but there’s a better way to get rid of the anxiety. You get informed. You make the choice to educate yourself about what you don’t know. It takes time and effort but it’s worth it. And that’s what this book will help you do.

The Twenty Things Adoptive Kids Wish devotional gives adoptive families encouragement as they seek God to work through the emotions unique to their family. Powerful prayer prompts help you navigate through difficult topics such as rejection, the missing faces in their lives, and much more. As you pray together through these tough topics, you will become the greatest prayer warrior for your adopted child and God will knit your hearts together in his love.

The transformation to parenthood is arguably the most pivotal and vulnerable journey of a person’s entire life. Despite this, pregnant and new parents are often only provided resources regarding how to care for their baby—not for themselves. Parents need to see an authentic representation of what the transformation to parenthood is really like so that they can come out on the other side resilient, whole, and thriving. In Then Comes Baby, Jessica Vernon draws from her own experience as an OB/GYN and mom to delve into the physical and mental parts of birth and the postpartum journey.

Are you about to be a first-time dad? Overwhelmed with worries and uncertainties? This guide is your compass to navigate the challenges of fatherhood confidently.