It’s all about babies and books @your library 

A perfect example of minority rule is a baby in the house. Anyone who has ever had the experience of living with a baby knows this to be true! How lives change with the addition of that one tiny bundle.

The Muskoka Lakes Library in Port Carling has many helpful resources for those expecting a new arrival into the family or for those that have recently had one come into their household.

Witness the journey from conception to birth from the baby’s point of view with In the Womb by Peter Tallack and National Geographic. Through remarkable imaging technology and compelling text, In the Womb documents the wondrous process that transforms two distinct cells into one fully equipped baby ready to enter the world.

Another choice, Stuart Campbell’s Watch Me Grow! is a unique, three-dimensional, week-by-week look at a baby’s behaviour and development in the womb, made possible by revolutionary advances in ultrasound technology.

Authors Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg and Sandee Hathaway have penned a series of What to Expect books including What to Expect When You’re Expecting, What to Expect the First Year, What to Expect the Toddler Years and for the younger set, What to Expect When the New Baby Comes Home aimed at helping children comes to terms with becoming the older sibling.

The number of possible baby names can be overwhelming, especially when two parents, with different choices, must agree on a name. The Best Baby Names for Canadians offers origins, meanings, decision-making tips, fun-to-read lists, trivia, and facts on what we Canucks are calling our kids. According to the latest available data, the most popular girl’s name in Canada is Emma and most popular boy’s name is Ethan. This helpful book points out that if you want to give a child an unusual name, you don’t have to resort to names of fruit or planets but, in fact, Ann or Gary will do the trick. A surprising number of the names many of us think of as commonplace have become rare.

Throwing the Perfect Shower: 12 Themed Wedding and Baby Celebrations by Jill Grover gives directions for lovely invitations, festive decorating hints, breathtaking table layouts, tempting recipes, entertainment ideas, and much more. Twelve celebrations are highlighted, including a valentine bridal shower and pink-and-blue baby shower.

All parents know the frustrations of trying to work out what a child needs when they are too young to communicate with words. Sign Language for Babies and Toddlers by Christopher Brown, and Baby Signing by Andrea Fixell are easy-to-use guides to help parents teach their children basic signs, allowing the child to express themselves from as early as seven months.

Knitting, sewing, nursery decorating, furniture and toy-making ideas for infants and children abound. As do books about feeding, comforting and effective parenting at the library in Port Carling. “Remember that children are a great comfort in your old age and they help you get there faster and if you want your children to listen, try talking softly — to someone else!” — taken from Jane Seabrook’s Furry Logic Parenthood.