Book Review: Making Babies, by Shoshanna Easling

It's finally here! My end of pregnancy motivation has been delivered, devoured and thoroughly obsessed over. Longed for since pregnancy #1, I actually broke down and bought myself a copy of  The Making Babies Book.

The Making Babies Series is a book and DVD set that follows Shoshanna Easling through the pregnancy and home birth of her daughter. For now I only have the book, which I've been reading through and implementing over the past few weeks, and I'm ready to share my thoughts.

Shoshanna Easling owns the Bulk Herb Store, which is my go-to resource when I need to stock up or want to try something new. Every article she's written has been very informative, and her herbal concoctions that are sold online are way out of my league. Everything she touches exudes confidence, beauty and FUN. I have always been impressed and inspired by her work.

First I'd like to say that when my book arrived it wasn't exactly what I'd anticipated. I wasn't disappointed, but I was definitely surprised. I had been expecting a guide, and I would have to say that the book is more of a pregnancy reference for meals, natural remedies, herbal concoctions, etc. without a lot of explaining. I'm guessing you get a deeper, more instructional perspective if you also buy the videos.

Pro's

Scattered throughout the entire thing are beautiful photos of Shoshanna, her family, babies and yummy food! It's all very colorful and inspiring. I think one of the reasons she does this is to show you how lovely pregnancy and everything it entails can be. Some days I found it encouraging just to flip through the pictures.

Every single meal, dessert, snack, and beverage recipe included is healthy and nutritious. When you read the ingredients you get the feeling that not only is this 'safe' to eat while pregnant, it's also going to do something very specifically beneficial for you and your baby.

There is a nice balance between very involved recipes that will probably require a trip to the specialty store (both herbal and food-wise) and very practical, simple ones that you can whip up without a lot of planning.

I've always had a hard time finding motivation to exercise during pregnancy. Her tips and instructions were simple, achievable and few, so I've found myself incorporating them daily. This is happy!

The informative section near the back is very straightforward. If you don't want to hear that nursing is the best choice or how minimal intervention is the safest route, I would suggest not reading that section. She's not bossy, she's just stating the facts of her research without apology.

I love the section for natural home cleaning and beauty care! I didn't expect to see it there, but I suppose it makes sense if you're going for an all natural pregnancy.

Con's

It definitely helped to have some general knowledge of all things natural and herbal. I could see myself being very overwhelmed with the information and suggestions even just 6 months ago.

I noticed several instances where an ingredient, tip or remedy was included without an actual explanation for why it would be beneficial. I did the research and always ended up agreeing with the suggestion, but the point is that I had to go find out for myself. Someone with more experience might not have that problem, and maybe I'm just picky, but it is something I noticed right away.

My brain did not want to accept the layout of the book. It felt too disorganized for easy research and planning purposes. It works and is very artsy, I just would have preferred something a bit more concrete.

There was less information about the actual birthing process than I had anticipated. It's mostly pre-pregnancy and the three trimesters.

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I'm very pleased with my purchase (on Amazon for about $10 less than her website, btw), because I'm an all natural, herbal kind of girl, and I'm currently feeling extra capable of a super 'granola' lifestyle. I'm aware, however, that the book/material isn't for everyone. Feel free to ask for more details!

(Book is available at http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Making-Babies and Amazon.)