Nightstand (August 2016)

This last hospitalization and newest newborn experience hasn’t been as conducive to reading as the prior. Having a toddler in addition to a newborn means “down time” isn’t down time. My “down time” in the hospital was spent coordinating care for Tirzah Mae and updating the many helpers who made some degree of normalcy possible for her. And now that I’m home, I’m still finding it difficult to find time to read. Tirzah Mae splashes in the water from my bath (whether or not she’s in the tub with me), talks to me while I’m going potty, and wants to hold hands with me and “dance” when I’m exercising – all activities I used to take advantage of as reading time. Louis is generally “lower maintenance” than Tirzah Mae was, sleeping contentedly in his bassinet and playing quietly with his hands on a blanket on the floor. But Louis requires two hands for breastfeeding, meaning that if I don’t have a book set up on my lap before we begin breastfeeding it’s hard to get one started.

As a result, my reading has been sporadic and one-sided. You’ll notice almost all the books I’ve finished are “books for growing”. This is because these can generally be read paragraph-by-paragraph, whereas novels or informative (versus instructional) nonfiction need to be consumed in larger chunks.

Books for Growing:

• Breastfeeding with Confidence by Sue Cox
  A short (128 pages) introduction to breastfeeding. I didn’t learn a whole lot of new information (since supporting breastfeeding was a good portion of my job as a WIC dietitian), but feel this would be excellent reading for a motivated pregnant mom (who doesn’t have time or energy to read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, which, though helpful, is entirely too long for many women.)
• 101 Questions and Answers about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by Steven J. McCabe
  Everything you need to know about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, arranged in an easily-readable (and searchable) question and answer format. I developed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome during pregnancy and appreciated learning a little more about it. Also, I hope never to get it again!
• Baby and Toddler Sleep Program by John Pearce with Jane Bidder
  The first book I’ve read that recommends total extinction. While I haven’t the constitution for total extinction, the multitude of other “environmental” tips helped as I worked to wean Tirzah Mae off needing me in bed with her to fall asleep. We’d gotten in the habit of breastfeeding lying down in her bed during the exhausted phase of my pregnancy – but she got too dependent on it, so we had to work towards a more manageable sleep routine. We were still doing a version of graduated extinction when I went into the hospital – but she’s sleeping great now. I hold to my earlier opinion that “sleep programs” are less than helpful “out of the box” – but that the discerning parent can find helpful tips in every “sleep program”.

Books for Knowing:

• Overdressed by Elizabeth L. Cline
  An exposé of the “fast fashion” industry, Elizabeth Cline’s Overdressed discusses how we went from having two seasons of fashion to having trends changing on a monthly, even weekly, basis. Cline details the damage fast-fashion has done to the American clothing industry, to the quality of clothing, as well as to the style of the average American. Whereas individuals used to buy clothing a couple times a year, buying quality intended to last and mending or altering clothing as needed, now people are in the habit of buying clothing continuously and just as continuously discontinuing use or throwing items out as their cheaply produced and cheaply purchased clothing wears out or falls apart. I have a great deal of sympathy for Cline’s complaints regarding poor quality, disposable clothing and the continuous purchasing of clothing. On the other hand, Cline is decidedly anti-free-market and pro-union, not positions I support. Nevertheless I found this book enjoyable and informative. It has bolstered my resolve to purchase clothes used and/or to make my own whenever possible.

While I mostly just finished “Books for growing” this month, I am hopeful that in the upcoming months I can reestablish more balance in my reading. I’m currently at work on books from each of my five categories, so I’m feeling pretty good about the prospect.

Here’s what I’ve got going right now:

• For loving: To Fly Again by Gracia Burnham
• For growing: Breastfeeding Special Care Babies by Sandra Lang
• For knowing: Summer for the Gods by Edward J. Larson
• For seeing: Selected Poems by Christina Rossetti
• For enjoying: Listening Valley by D.E. Stevenson

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!