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10 Best Baby Books & Music To Check Out

by Gugu Guru Leave a Comment

Our Gugu Concierge expert, covers some of our favorite baby books and music that you should definitely check out for your registry. Plus they make great gift ideas too.

BabyLit: For any parent who is a fan of classic Literature, BabyLit is a must have to start off the nursery book shelf. From Pride & Prejudice to Romeo & Juliet to Moby these beautifully illustrated board books will keep you and your little one entertained with their simple but clever text.

Goodnight Moon: Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon is simply a classic for any nursery. This ode to bedtime is soothing and gentle and the perfect way to end the day with baby.

Guess How Much I Love You: Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney is a gorgeous story of love and the bond between a parent and child. This warm, soft story and its illustrations are the perfect addition to any nursery design.

Sandra Boynton’s Greatest Hits: Volume II: But Not the Hippopotamus, The Going to Bed Book, Horns to Toes and Opposites by Sandra Boynton are all perfectly cheery and full of simple illustrations that will delight baby. The simple rhymes of these books can be perfect for playtime or bedtime.

On the Night You Were Born: On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tillman is a beautiful story of magic and unconditional love. This book may just leave you in tears as it you walk down memory lane sharing it with baby.

Look, Look: Look, Look by Lienthal is a high contrast black and white book that even the youngest babies can see and appreciate. This board book which just has a few words on the page introduces baby to the world around them in a super stylish way.

We’re Going On a Bear Hunt: We’re Going On a Bear Hunt by Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen is a beautiful story of a brave family’s adventure. This simple, repetitive rhyme has been loved by kids for more than 30 years and the soft illustrations keeps baby and parents wanting more.

Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition: The Amazon Echo Dot Kids Edition is a great way to ensure you always have music at the ready for your little one. Whether you want to have a dance party on a tough night or have lullabies ready for bedtime, the Echo Dot will easily play thousands of songs. As your baby grows, the Echo Dot Kids Edition will allow you to put on parental controls for daily time limits and review activity.

Spotify “New Baby” Playlist: You can play sweet, soothing music for your baby straight from your phone using Spotify. Using playlists such as “New Baby” will give you hours of classical music and lullabies that will fill the nursery with music perfect for baby.

Rockabye Baby: Rockabye Baby makes rock music baby-friendly and kids music adult-friendly by taking the rock music parents love and transforming it into soothing instrumental lullabies. Available in CD or MP3 versions parents can choose from everything from Tom Petty to Laga Gaga to Johnny Cash.

Filed Under: Baby Registry, Baby Showers, Books Tagged With: registry

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What’s New on Gugu: February 5, 2020

by Abby Ludwig Leave a Comment

Calling all last-minute Valentine’s Day shoppers! Below are some great gift ideas for your loved ones with V-Day right around the corner! Coming in at all different price points, these gifts are sure to wow your little loves and big babes! Be sure to share any of your favorite gift ideas with us as well. We love hearing from our Village!

For a number of our other favorites, please check out our Explore page!   Honey Bug

Honey Bug’s Valentine’s Day Boxes: These adorable gift boxes from Honey Bug are the perfect gift for your little ones to celebrate our holiday of hearts. While their Valentine’s Day Boxes are flying off the shelf, we also love their standard gift boxes, which are curated by the Honey Bug mamas. These boxes are unique and will truly stand out amongst the monotony of the same baby gifts!

mamaRoo Sleep

4moms mamaRoo Sleep Bassinet: The long-awaited sleep bassinet from 4moms has finally arrived! What better gift to give than the gift of sleep?! Featuring 5 unique movements, you can control any movement or sound via the app. This is a safe sleep environment and can help keep your little one safe in your room until they reach 25 lbs or can push up on their hands/knees (whichever comes first).

Uppababy Vista V2

UPPAbaby VISTA V2 and CRUZ V2: The newest version of the UPPAbaby VISTA and CRUZ have finally arrived! Both strollers have been updated with seat/harness improvements, suspension upgrades (SO excited about this!) and wheel upgrades as well as a more compact fold for the CRUZ V2. The VISTA V2 has also updated it’s canopy. While definitely an investment, both strollers will hold up for years and throughout multiple children! A great Valentine’s Day gift for yourself or baby!

Hooray Heroes

Hooray Heroes Personalized Books: Nothing warms a parent’s heart more than a personalized gift. Turn on the water works this Valentine’s Day by securing these amazingly adorable books for Mom or Dad. You can truly personalize the characters and the storyline to fit your needs. Plus they are super high quality and will last for years!

Copper Pearl

Copper Pearl ‘XOXO’ Collection: Available in time for Valentine’s Day, we love how adorable (and gender-neutral!) this ‘XOXO’ collection is from Copper Pearl. Available in a swaddle blanket, hat, and multi-use cover there is something for everyone! If gender-neutral isn’t your style, check out the Lola print too!

 

 

Please note that these opinions are 100% my own and I have not received any products in exchange for placement in What’s New on Gugu! As an Amazon Associate Gugu Guru may earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Like what you see? Check out some other What’s New on Gugu posts:

What’s New on Gugu: December 11. 2019

What’s New on Gugu: January 15, 2020

What’s New on Gugu: January 22, 2020

What’s New on Gugu: January 29, 2020

Filed Under: Baby Registry, Books, Budget, Cool Mom Picks, Ecofriendly, Economical Picks, Gear, Gift Ideas, Inspiration, Multiples, Sleep, Strollers, Toddlers, What's New on Gugu?! Tagged With: gear, stroller, toddler

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Montessori Toys Subscription Service: Monti Kids

by Gugu Guru Leave a Comment

If you’re not familiar with the ideals of Montessori learning, here’s a little intro into the popular method of teaching. A definition from Wikipedia: It is a child-centered educational approach based on scientific observations of children. Its system focuses on natural interests and activities instead of formal teaching methods.

Monti Kids

 

The lessons are typically hands-on. Exploring and learning through discovery, instead of listening and memorizing words from teachers, is a big differentiating factor from traditional schooling. If you take this concept and box it up into a Montessori toys subscription service, you have Monti Kids! And with Monti Kids, learning can start at home from as early as birth, many years prior to the typical entry for preschool.

Monti Kids

So, how does it work? Monti Kids is an at-home Montessori toys subscription service for birth to age 3. Every three months, you receive a box of authentic Montessori toys tailored to your child’s age and developmental stage. It also includes videos showing how to use the toys and support your child’s growth.

Monti Kids

You also gain access to one-on-one support, online classes and an incredible community including Montessori experts. Founded by Zahra Kassam, internationally certified as a Montessori teacher (with two degrees, in psychology and education, from Harvard and 10+ years of teaching/school administration experience), this program combines the expertise of world-renowned teachers and lets you bring it to life in the comfort of your own home.

As the founder of Monti Kids, Zahra has been nominated for the Dalai Lama Unsung Heroes of Compassion Awards, and recognized by the White House, LEGO, Goldman Sachs and Harvard. That’s because this program is beyond brilliant, and we’re huge fans.

Monti Kids

What are some other parents saying about it?

“I would recommend Monti Kids program to all new parents…the advice I have received from Monti Kids has been invaluable.” – Judy

“We love the simplicity and beauty of the Monti Kids toys and we’re absolutely fascinated by watching our now 5-month-old grow with them.” – Vyana

“I’ve become really interested in Montessori, but felt a bit overwhelmed with how to ‘do it right.’ I finally found a really cool subscription service that sends you developmentally appropriate toys every three months!…it’s amazing. I love it!” – Andrea

Learn more by visiting Monti Kids today!

Take a look at Monti Kids toys in action!

Also take a look at our Village Reviews on Monti Kids!

Have you tried it or gifted it? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Thank you to Monti Kids for making this sponsored post possible.

Filed Under: Baby Registry, Books, Cool Mom Picks, Ecofriendly, Essentials, Gift Ideas, Multiples, Newborns, Toddlers Tagged With: newborn, toys

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The Village Reviews: Monti Kids Wooden Books

by Gugu Guru Leave a Comment

 

Monti Kids makes at-home Montessori learning easy and impactful. Montessori learning involves a series of specially designed toys that address a child’s cognitive, physical, linguistic, social and emotional development. Reading is a vital part of Montessori learning and has been shown to improve language skills and provide benefits that last throughout a child’s entire education.

Our Gugu Village testers were able to try the Monti Kids Infant Preview and Wooden Book. They had access to Monti Kids Infant learning module, which was created to correspond with the Special Edition Wooden Fruit Book. Testers were able to glean useful tips and watch a video on fostering early literacy skills. Here’s what a few of our Gugu Villagers had to say about the Monti Kids Infant Preview and Wooden Book.

 

Monti Kids

This Monti Kids Wooden Book is perfect for infants! It’s so well-made, with easy to turn pages and simple photos of fruits. My son isn’t eating much yet but still really enjoys looking at the pictures as I teach him the fruit names. It’s also very easy for him to look at it on his own, as the design fosters independence. I can tell that the simplicity is appealing to him.
-Carrie M.
Monti Kids

At 11-months, my little one is just starting to take an interest in books so I was very excited to have the opportunity from Gugu Guru to try the Monti Kids fruit wooden book.

To be honest, I have always been interested in the concept of Montessori learning but with everything else we are trying to do as moms, I felt overwhelmed on how to immerse myself in the concepts and introduce it to my child. I LOVE that Monti Kids provides an easy to digest and quick video on how to best introduce the book to your child to make it fun and maximize learning.

With no words in the book I was pleasantly surprised at how much my child would engage with the imagery pointing to each fruit as we flipped through. Since we received it I have spotted my child seeking it out himself to flip through – which is a big win in my book (pun intended).

The simple and beautiful Monti Kids wooden book and the easily digestible educational videos are helping me win at parenting!
-April A.

Monti Kids

We had the pleasure of testing out this wooden book by Monti Kids. The book is very nice, well put together! He really enjoyed looking at it and didn’t pinch his fingers at all! The book is fun and simple. Easier to focus and learn about each fruit. The book is lightweight and easy for him to hold. A little tough for him to separate the pages but he is 7 months!
-Tiffany B.

Monti Kids

Thank you to Monti Kids for providing our Village Testers with the Wooden Books and access to the Infant Preview. To learn more about Monti Kids or purchase the Infant Preview and Wooden Book, click here. This bundle will only be offered for a limited time. If you are redirected to the Monti Kids homepage, the bundle has sold out.

The Village Reviews: Nanobébé Flexy Pacifier

The Village Reviews: Gabri Isle

The Village Reviews: Evenflo Balance Glass Bottles

 

Filed Under: Baby Registry, Books, Gift Ideas

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What’s New on Gugu: February 13, 2019

by Abby Ludwig Leave a Comment

The world of baby/toddler gear is always introducing cool new baby items! Our job at Gugu Guru is to help you sort through all the ‘fluff’ and figure out what items could be a great pick for your lifestyle and taste. Each week we will be sharing some items that we’ve recently added to Gugu Guru. Some of these items are brand new to the market and others are oldies but goodies that you may not know about. For loads of our other favorites, please check out our Explore page!

Loulou Lollipop: With their spring line on the horizon (launches later this month), one of our go-to companies for teethers and pacifier clips can help with bed and bathtime too! Known for its high quality products, Loulou Lollipop’s bath towels will extend long past baby’s first year and their crib sheet patterns are to die for!

Silver Cross Coast Stroller: Finally making its way to the US, the Silver Cross Coast, their lightest convertible stroller, easily converts from a single to a double stroller as your family grows (or for multiples!) The bassinet is included with your purchase, and is approved for overnight sleep (along with their new, awesome bassinet stand). This stroller is also compatible with a number of infant car seats making it an easy-to-use travel system.

Miniware: Eco-friendly and stylish tableware for baby is a reality! We love the look of Miniware’s dish sets, which will help baby learn how to feed him/herself. Plus, most of the dishes are convertible in some way, meaning they will continue to grow with your kids as they age. As an added bonus, Miniware’s products are all dishwasher safe, which is great for any on-the-go parent!

TLC Squared Through The Years Collection: As a new parent, you always have the greatest ambitions to write everything down- first tooth, first steps, first words, but in reality there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get this task accomplished! TLC Squared’s Through the Years Collection has you covered! Breaking down exciting childhood memories one event at a time, these gorgeous and easy to fill out books are a great way to capture these special days for your kiddo.

Rambler: Created by a mom with a problem to solve, Rambler is an easy-to-use pop open soft play mat. Unlike anything on the market, the Rambler is truly easy to take on the go for active families who don’t have time to deal with laying out a blanket on a windy day. Great for daily tummy time, a picnic in the park and beyond, Rambler will grow with your family long past those baby years!

Like what you see? Check out some other What’s New on Gugu posts:

What’s New on Gugu: February 6 2019

Filed Under: Baby Registry, Baby Showers, Books, Ecofriendly, Feeding, Gear, Sleep, Strollers, Toddlers, Travel, What's New on Gugu?! Tagged With: feeding, gifts, registry, stroller

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5 Tips for Selecting the Best Educational Toys for Your Baby

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Today’s guest post is from our friends at Monti Kids; Monti Kids takes all the guess work out of finding the best developmental toys for babies and allows parents the confidence to know their babies, toddlers, and kids have the best, and most age appropriate, developmental toys. To learn more about Monti Kids, check out our review here.

The experiences and environment your baby is exposed to from birth are an opportunity to encourage an immense amount of growth and learning. By choosing toys that are developmentally appropriate with just enough challenge, you can make the most of your little one’s waking hours and lay the foundation for her future. Here are some of our favorite tips on making this magic happen!

1. Choose toys designed with a purpose: Ask yourself, “Will this toy give my child the opportunity to grow, and go beyond just keeping her hands occupied?” At this stage of development, your baby’s brain is growing fast. Toys created to help develop new skills and coordination, while exploring, concentrating, and problem solving, will bring the most value to her experience. These kinds of toys will engage your child’s mind and hands together, allowing for a deeper learning experience as she plays.

2. Build attention and focus with open-ended toys: Simple and “open-ended” toys, ignite your child’s natural curiosity and imagination and help sharpen his focus. These toys encourage your child to practice new skills and build on previous experiences with new insight. More importantly, these toys provide an opportunity for your child to figure things out independently and therefore gain an understanding of his capabilities.

3. Create active learners with simple toys: Toys that are made of natural materials without lights, sounds, or too many bright colors or patterns allow children to focus as they play without being distracted or overstimulated. When a toy is “passive,” such as a simple wooden grasping toy, your child must be “active” in order to explore it rather than just waiting to be entertained.

4. Explore with real objects: The objects, language, and environment your baby interacts with creates his understanding of the world. So it’s helpful to present real, functional objects to your little ones. To best support this type of concrete learning, let your baby experience some of your safe “real stuff” like wooden spoons, mirrors, keys, and fruit.

5. Look for developmentally appropriate toys: Find toys that are designed to grow with your child and present new challenges as she develops. Observe your child to see which skills she is working on at a given time. If she is beginning to reach and scoot, look for slow rolling rattles or balls that might roll just enough to feel attainable. If a toy is too easy, she might become bored; if a toy is too challenging, she may get frustrated. If this happens, don’t fret! Put the toy away and bring it out again in a few days. Often times, it will seem brand new and pique her interest as you hoped it would.

     About Monti Kids

85% of the brain is formed by age 3, a time when most children are not in school and parents are left guessing how to meet their child’s developmental needs. Monti Kids gives you access to the world’s #1 early education curriculum, Montessori, in a subscription made easy to use at home. You can sign up anytime between birth and age three. Every 3 months, you receive a box of Montessori toys tailored to your child’s age and stage of development, plus corresponding 2-minute videos that show how to introduce the toys and support your child’s learning like an expert. The rest is up to your little one and their exceptional ability to learn through play!

Filed Under: Books, Gift Ideas, Inspiration, Toddlers Tagged With: toys

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Best Baby Books to Check Out for Your Registry

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Did you know that you can (and should) read to baby from Day 1? There are so many benefits to reading with your little one from bonding, to inspiring a love of learning and obviously teaching your child about concepts like shapes, numbers, colors and more. Reading will serve as the foundation for your baby’s communication. Lately, we’ve been asked a lot about the best baby books to check out for your registry. Here, we’ve rounded up some tried-and-true best baby books – a list of favorites for the infancy stage from the team here at Gugu Guru.

Black & White by Tana Hoban In the early stages of infancy, babies are not able to see colors. Hoban’s books for children, especially her black & white series, are known and loved throughout the world as the best baby books. These books may be simple enough, but Tana’s photography is nothing short of sophisticated, with her work being exhibited at museums and galleries like the MOMA in New York.

First 100 Words The title of this book pretty much sums it up. You and your little one can practice and learn some essential first words and pictures with this bright board book that is softly padded for little hands.

Manhattan Toy Wimmer-Ferguson See and Say Board Book Another high contrast, black & white developmental favorite book for your babe. As a bonus, this book comes features a baby-safe mirror for self-discovery.

Taf Toys 3 In 1 Soft Baby Book This soft baby book pretty much has it all – high contrast black & white side and a colorful side. What’s more is that this book also doubles as a developmental toy with crinkling sound effect features and a mirror, among other things.

best baby books

Manhattan Toy Where’s The Bone?
We shouldn’t play favorites but we really do love this soft activity book with a tethered toy. This adorable book offers your little unique pages of colorful and tactile fabrics. Plus, the velcro-like closure and loop attachment make it a perfect travel time toy.

Filed Under: Baby Registry, Books Tagged With: books

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Baby Food Recipe Books For Your Registry

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When it comes to feeding your baby solid foods, and their eventual transition to feeding themselves, we always turn to Jenna Helwig’s two baby food recipe books, Real Baby Food and Baby-Led Feeding. Jenna Helwig is not only the author but she’s also the food editor at Parents magazine, so you could venture to guess that she really knows her stuff when it comes to baby food recipe information, infant nutrition and feeding approaches. When it comes to finding a baby food recipe or two that work for your little one, Jenna Helwig’s books are a wealth of information and education – many parents tell us that even they love to eat the baby food recipe that they make for their little one!

baby food recipe

Jenna Helwig’s first baby food recipe book, Real Baby Food, is a must-have for new parents (and one of our favorite gender neutral baby shower gifts), and even gets the seal of approval from chef and mom, Nikki Dinki. Real Baby Food makes the art of creating a baby food recipe so simple, even for busy moms and dads. Jenna Helwig guides you through the early days of simple foods, to adding spices to your baby food recipe, meats, flavors, and even multi-flavor blends like Salmon, Kale, and Sweet Potato Smash. With over 100 baby food recipes in the book, your little one is sure to have a head-start on their culinary palate!

baby food recipe

Jenna Helwig’s second baby food recipe book, Baby-Led Feeding is a must have essential to help you plan your baby’s transition into finger foods; Baby-Led Feeding helps parents navigate the way to naturally raising happy, independent eaters, and working together to make mealtime a happy and joyful time. Gugu Guru’s founder, Monica, did a video overview of Baby-Led Feeding, where she shows off some of the gorgeous baby food recipe photography, ideas, and discusses the helpful guidelines Jenna includes, as well.

With more than 100 ideas and baby food recipes, Baby-Led Feeding is a must have for any foodie mom or dad. One of the things we love about Jenna’s books is they’re beautifully designed, and Baby-Led Feeding is no exception. This bright, photo-driven book includes chapters on the benefits of this approach, when and how to get started, essential safety and nutrition guidelines, frequently asked questions, basic fruit and vegetable prep, more complex finger foods, and family meals. Plus, all recipes in Baby-Led Feeding have been reviewed by a registered dietitian and include nutrition information to ensure a healthy mealtime.

Set yourself up for success when it comes to creating and making a baby food recipe that your little one loves, as Jenna Helwig helps parents navigate this new journey of helping your baby learn to not only love food, but love the process of cooking, and eating together, too! We love giving Jenna Helwig’s baby food recipe books for baby showers, as they become a cookbook staple for your family.

Filed Under: Baby Registry, Books, Celebrate Feeding, Feeding, Foodie Finds, Nursing & Feeding Tagged With: food

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Product Discovery: Echo Art Bindery Books

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When the Gugu Guru team came across the gorgeous books from Echo Art Bindery, we knew we had to share them with you all. Those early days of baby life can be such a haze and even though we try to remember all the special and sweet memories, we’re often so tired and too overwhelmed to write all those special memories down – but, with the gorgeous books from Echo Art Bindery, you’re not only going to have a special place to record all the memories, but want to take the time to sit down and savor writing all of your precious memories.

Echo Art Bindery was founded by a mom and entrepreneur, Deborah Thomson; Deborah, a bookbinder and paper marbler, has been selling books since 1996. Her exquisite work has led her to selling wholesale to places like Papyrus, Kate’s Paperie, and Sam Flax, however, it was upon the birth of her second daughter that she decided to try her hand at baby books. She couldn’t find a baby book which fit all of her needs, so she set about crafting one of her own.

Each page of the Echo Art Bindery’s Baby Books is filled with amazingly adorable illustrations to help you remember your journey with your child; starting from the earliest memories of your baby, all the way through toddler hood and preschool years, your Echo Art Bindery Baby Book will become a family heirloom full of total joy and love.

Each page of the Echo Art Bindery’s Baby Book is made from thick paper, which makes writing super comfortable and easy. We love all the introspective and sweet questions about your new baby which you are prompted to answer, as well as the more funny prompts for toddlers and serious questions and prompts for pre-school children. There is more than enough room to answer everything and plenty of space to jot down all the memories you can think of. The book itself comes in a lovely box, which would make an amazing baby shower gift – just add some ribbon and you’re good to go! Unlike other baby books, the Echo Art Bindery’s Baby Book is bound beautifully, with a hard cover which would easily look sweet on any bookshelf.

We highly recommend these gorgeous books for any new parent – this is an ideal gift for a Baby Sprinkle, as even a second or third time parent needs a new baby book! Is someone you love adopting a baby or using a surrogate? These books are a perfect gift, as they will help a new parent remember all of the precious milestones.

You can find Echo Art Bindery on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Thanks so much to Echo Art Bindery for making this sponsored post possible.

Filed Under: Books, Gift Ideas Tagged With: books, gifts, mompreneur

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Books Before Baby: Suggestions From Our Favorite Writers and Bloggers

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Being pregnant can be totally overwhelming, so it helps to have a slew of books to read to help ease all of your fear and anxiety! We reached out to some of our favorite bloggers and writers and asked them what books helped them prepare for pregnancy, baby, and beyond!

Heather Brooker, host of Motherhood in Hollywood Podcast – book recommendation: Baby Day By Day 

“Before Chan was born I had no idea what I was doing. My experience with babies was limited to a few babysitting jobs as a teen and that’s it. So I really felt like I needed a book that gave me practical advice on the day-to-day experience of having a baby. So I read “Baby Day by Day” (DK Publishing) which gives a chronological outline of what to expect from day 1 of your baby’s birth. It was written by a panel of pediatricians, child psychologists, nutritionists, and complementary medicine experts, to provide an unbiased approach to baby care that gives the pros and cons of various approaches, including sleep training, managing crying, and breastfeeding issues. I have such an analytical mind and this was a huge source of comfort for me knowing what to expect and how to handle it.”

Also seen: Overcoming Obstacles with Heather Brooker 

Ellie Knaus, host of Atomic Moms Podcast – book recommendation: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

“I have so many book recommendations based on the dozens of delightful and brilliant parenting experts I have interviewed on Atomic Moms podcast. But the book I would recommend to every single mother is Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. As a new parent, I felt overextended and overwhelmed. The more I dug into my role as mom, the more it felt like there was zero time for pursuing my goals outside of keeping my baby alive. And that was not a happy place for me to be. This book addresses the pressure that we put on ourselves to do it all and encourages us to get clear about our priorities. Once I was able to get intentional about where I was focusing my limited energy and resources, I could feel less guilty about declining the “non-essential” opportunities or distractions that pop up in the day to day. This book has helped me make decisions much more easily and without the guilt trip. I am more present with my child and more focused on making what matters most to me a reality. Toddlers love saying “no”, and it’s time moms say it more often too.”

Also Seen: Atomic Moms Hot Mama Summer Must Haves

Jordan Reid, author and blogger, Ramshackle Glam – book recommendation: Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy

“I read What To Expect and The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy, of course, but if I’m being honest the book I enjoyed the most was Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. She’s just kind of…a mess. And it was refreshing to hear someone not know what they were doing (I certainly didn’t), while maintaining a sense of humor about it.”

The Gugu Guru Team highly recommends Jordan Reid’s two parenting books – Ramshackle Glam: The New Mom’s Haphazard Guide to (Almost) Having It All and Carrying On: Style, Beauty, Décor (and More) for the Nervous New Mom; as well as Jordan Reid and Erin Williams’ newest creation, The Big Fat Activity Book for Pregnant People

Also seen: Mompreneur Spotlight: Jordan Reid of Ramshackle Glam

Jill Simonian, author and parenting expert – book recommendations: The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy and The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp

“The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy scared the you-know-what out of me — the way it described all the ways women change, not necessarily for the better, during and after pregnancy. I loved the funny and conversational writing style, but my fear of becoming a mom was amplified after reading that book… which was a partial motivator for me to write my own book addressing all the way women get better and more focused after babies (f-a-b) instead of falling apart. The Happiest Baby on the Block — This book was my FAVORITE! It gave me a road-map for taking control of a newborn and gave detailed instructions for how to comfort babies and control crying by swaddling infants in a specific way. Anyone that tells you swaddling doesn’t work to calm a fussy newborn, by they way, did not properly follow the steps and instructions in this book. The how-to details (and science behind the method) in the book were fascinating and effective. I loved it so much that I continue to compliment and ask author Dr. Harvey Karp about it every time I see him now (we often speak at the same Los Angeles events). I even recommended reading Happiest Baby in my own book too — it’s that life-changing.”

The Gugu Guru Team highly recommends Jill Simonian’s book, The Fab Mom’s Guide: How to Get Over the Bump & Bounce Back Fast After Baby; The FAB Mom’s Guide is a unique, must-read for first-time pregnant moms with practical motivation to tackle the ‘bumps’ of new motherhood — because bouncing back after baby is not all about the body. It is a fast-paced, unfiltered telling of personal choices, tactical lifestyle tips and unexpected celebrity lessons to lead first-time moms on a distinctive path to build CONFIDENCE and RESILIENCE (mind, spirit and a little bit of body) from mid-pregnancy through the first year with baby. 

Also seen: Mompreneur Spotlight: FAB Mom Jill Simonian

Amandine Liepmann, founder of Mitz Accessories – book recommendation: Bright from the Start: The Simple, Science-Backed Way to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind from Birth to Age 3

“I love this book because it’s all backed by neuroscience and isn’t filled with any sort of parenting guilt/opinions. It’s a very no nonsense approach to what’s worked for child development through studies from around the world.”

Also seen: Gender neural baby style; A Post-Consumer Recycled Baby Registry; Foodie Find, Mitz Children’s Clothing

Paige Wolf, author and activist – book recommendations – The Parent Trip: From High Heels and Parties to Highchairs and Potties and The Second Nine Months: One Woman Tells the REAL Truth About Becoming a Mom. Finally.

The Gugu Guru Team highly recommends Paige’s book, Spit that Out!: The Overly Informed Parent’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids in the Age of Environmental Guilt

Also seen: Sustainable Nursery: Splurge or Save 

Filed Under: Books, Pregnancy Tagged With: books, pregnancy

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