Reviews
The Birth House
Ami McKay
With so many books that “every pregnant woman must read”, I found The Birth House to be a lovely reprieve from all the do’s and don’ts that seemed to bombard me during my pregnancy. I wanted something lovely and sweet, enriching and engaging, appropriate and unimposing; The Birth House met my expectations.
As an historical novel, the imagery and visual language is a rich and informative insight into life on the Canadian east coast during the early decades of the 20th century. I enjoyed traveling to this mysterious era, plunging myself into Dora’s intimate world - her life as a young woman who accepts (or is thrown into?) the inheritance of midwifery practice from an Acadian, witchy old woman. The reader learns about the hardships she faces and overcomes while upholding values of sisterhood. Her unassuming feminism later becomes analogous to the suffragette movement in New York that she encounters during her flight from Nova Scotia on account of untrue accusations within her community, and we further appreciate how a single woman in a small town can lead her community to an enlightened new age.
There are some good moments in this book and if you need a rest from pregnancy dharma but can’t quite veer from the pregnancy path, then this is a sweet read.
Lehe Elarar
July 2006
The No-Cry Sleep Solution
Elizabeth Pantley
If there was just one book I wish someone would have handed me and forced me to read BEFORE my son was born, this is the one.
I had a fair amount of baby experience and I was so busy preparing for birth that I didn't read much about what happens AFTER. By the time I did get my hands on Pantley's book, some serious bad habits were firmly entrenched. Rain could only fall asleep if I breastfed him and we had no bed time routine to speak of. Rain was also in the habit of refusing to go down for the night until we did and he was waking upwards of four times a night at 6 months old.
The No-Cry Sleep Solution is full of real world advice. Pantley herself is a mother of four and her test group consisted of sixty moms. The book is loaded with quotes from test mommies and as extra incentive, many lovely photos of test group babies sleeping peacefully. Pantley offers sections for newborn babies as well as older babies and she sympathetically addresses the full range of parenting choices: breastfeeding or bottle feeding, co-sleeping or keeping separate bedrooms. The format is somewhat like a workbook with log sheets to fill out so you can learn from your current schedule and keep track of how you are progressing.
Pantley goes into detail about how babies sleep and defines what we can realistically expect. She outlines various methods of getting baby to sleep and gives some background on the cry-it-out approach, including some quotes from parents who instinctively knew that it wasn't for them. Among other great tips, Pantley stresses the importance of establishing a bedtime routine and keeping naps consistent. Throughout, she advocates for a patient and nurturing approach to helping babies sleep and offers a ray of hope for weary parents.
It would have been so much easier if I had known Pantley's secrets before Rain was born. It's a lot of hard work to break bad habits after they've already set in. I won't lie to you and say that The No-Cry Sleep Solution has performed miracles. We still have a long way to go. But what a relief it was to read such a smart sensitive book, even if it was a little late in coming.
Alison Wurts
May 27, 2006