5 Books I'm Reading to Prepare for Motherhood

As a first time mommy I knew it was important that I prepare for motherhood in a real way to feel confident, not just in delivering Baby K, but raising him. Here are the 5 Books I’m Reading to Prepare for Motherhood.

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The week after Thanksgiving, we found out that we were expecting Baby K.

Honestly, we had no idea that I was potentially pregnant, even though our entire family whispered about it unbeknownst to us. After sitting on the floor Indian style eating a cold waffle, my stepmom finally asked me flat out “Are you pregnant?”. I said no and thought nothing more about it until a week later when we took the test.

Since finding out about him, it’s been a whirlwind of preparation – gender reveals, baby shower planning, birthing classes, and endless doctor’s appointments.

But I still felt like there was so much I didn’t know and I’ve learned over the years that being overly prepared or educated helps to alleviate my anxiety. So I started researching and asking about books that helped moms I knew.

I’ve glanced at a few, but ultimately, these are the five that have really helped me to feel more confident in this journey as a new mom.

Oh Sis, You’re Pregnant! The Ultimate Guide to Black Pregnancy & Motherhood.

This book was actually referred to me by one of my closest friends. I hadn’t ever heard of it but I’ve learned so much about the pregnancy experience – particularly from the perspective of a Black mom. I’ve learned about things like hiring a doula (and even what questions to ask), announcing my pregnancy online (which I was afraid of initially), gestational diabetes, postpartum depression, and so much more.

Grab a copy for yourself here →

Waiting In Wonder: Growing In Faith While You’re Expecting

This book was gifted to me and it has really helped me on a daily basis to mentally and spiritually prepare for my baby. It goes through the normal things, comparing the baby to different fruits, and breaking down what to expect each week, but one of the things that this book does differently is directly correlate your birth experience back to God and his purpose for you and your baby.

The best part is that the book also acts as a wonderful keepsake to give to your baby at a later date. In mine, I wrote out specifically how we came up with Baby K’s name and what it means. I’m sure he’ll know this story verbatim by the time he’s older, but I also think it’ll be nice for him to have it written in my own words.

Grab a copy for yourself here →

Moms On Call: Basic Baby Care

This was another book that was referred to me when Zo and I were at a dinner party. I’ve officially reached the point of adulthood where I talk about my baby (well pregnancy) at dinner parties and head home by 11. Life hits you fast.

Anyway, the couple mentioned how this book helped them as they were preparing to sleep train their baby. And I will say I’ve learned a lot, about sleep training, but also other practical things like what baby meds we need to have on hand and what we actually need to have on our registry.

*Removes wipe warmer from list*

If you’re looking for more of a checklist style resource, I’d highly recommend this book.

Grab a copy for yourself here →

The Montessori Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Nurturing Your Baby With Love, Respect, and Understanding

This book is more of an educational resource that I’ll use once he’s made his debut into the world. The beginning of the book focuses on pregnancy as a transitional period. I learned about lotus birthing and questions I can ask to prepare for birth.

But then the book transitions to focus on practical ways to understand and care for the baby, taking his cues and creating a learning environment for him that promotes independence and healthy relationships.

The Montessori Way is a huge trend now amongst parents, and I must say it’s challenged me a little because it’s vastly different from what I was taught about parenting and how I was raised. As Zo and I explore the kind of parents we want to be, it’s been important for me to research different parenting styles that we can use to help guide us, and this book has been a great first step.

Grab a copy for yourself here →

Life Application Study Bible

I don’t think this actually needs a description lol, but the Bible has been instrumental in helping me to really prepare my own mind and spirit before Baby K gets here. It was important to me that I brought him into a solid spiritual foundation and that I covered us both during these months so that I would confidently lean on God when things felt chaotic or uncertain.

I really like this version of the bible because it explains the verses in a deeper, more impactful way that helps me to apply the lessons in my real life. It’s helped to have a deeper spiritual understanding of the word, verses just reading to read.

Grab a copy for yourself here →

You can grab all five of these books for yourself or any expecting mom that you know right on my Amazon Storefront.

Let's Chat:

What books did you read that helped you navigate pregnancy? Please share them with me in the comments below.