Happy June Book Review Day!
I hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July weekend! We have been baby-prepping like crazy over here! It finally feels like we are nearing the end of our baby preparation to-do list. For so long, I would check one item off and then add three more. I am 37 weeks pregnant, and we FINALLY have our car seat installed, the changing table stocked, and the bassinet set up. Those items are essential and have been weighing on me for awhile. I am so thankful for how helpful my husband has been because that third-trimester low energy is real! There have been many days where he has cooked, cleaned, and baby-prepped all on his own because I’ve needed to rest.
Over the weekend, we had a blast. We celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary and will have a Fourth of July cookout with friends tomorrow. Fourth and fourth! How fun is that! I can’t believe how different our lives look just one year later. Last year, we were packing to go on the BEST European vacation, and now we are counting down the days until we meet Baby LeMaster!
Here we are right before going out to dinner at our favorite local restaurant… my outfit details can be found HERE, which include my favorite purse!
Without further ado, here is my montly book review…
If you missed my May Review:
Book #1:
Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman
Overall: 4/5
As mentioned above, we have been baby-prepping like crazy, so my available free time was at an all-time low. I only made it through one book, but it was a baby-focused book, so I feel slightly better about it. This book is about an American journalist who has her first child while living in Paris with her husband. It’s written in a way that takes you along her journey of learning the differences between the American and French parenting styles and debunking certain mentalities such as “you’ll never sleep again” or “good luck having chicken fingers at every meal.” The storytelling is very anecdotal, so don’t expect step-by-step instructions, but I found it interesting and easy to read. As a first-time mom, this book was a massive relief to me! So, many people make it sound like having children is miserable, but this book reassures you that it doesn’t have to be.
Throughout the book, she touches on all the big topics: Sleeping, Eating, Saying No. One of my main takeaways was the French idea of “Le Pause,” the pause. It’s the idea of pausing instead of immediately swooping in to solve the problem. You can start this practice as early as the newborn stage. Newborns tend to make a lot of noise, and new parents assume something is wrong, so they swoop in and wake the baby up. With this method, you must take a beat before making any changes. It sounds so straightforward, but I never thought of it before reading. I hope this method will be helpful for my husband and me.
Overall, I loved this book because the author emphasized that the perfect parent doesn’t exist. I couldn’t agree more with that idea. Additionally, you can only be a great parent if you take time for yourself. I see so parents feeling guilty or selfish for taking time for themselves. If you remember that a healthy parent creates a healthy child then you can drop that unnecessary guilt. I’m not a complete Francophile here because I did not agree with every French suggestion, but that’s the beauty of learning of practices of different cultures. I highly recommend giving this book a try.
That is all I have for this month’s review, but I am very excited for my next book reviw because I am getting an early release from an author I enjoyed earlier this year… Have any guesses? You will have to wait and see next month! xx
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