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The Rookie Mom’s Handbook

Bookshelves abound with activity books for babies and toddlers, but The Rookie Mom’s Handbook is the first designed exclusively for first-time mothers. Here are 250 enjoyable activities to help rookie moms maintain their individuality and boost their confidence about leaving the house, socializing, and doing things they’ve always liked to do-either with or without baby.

Inspired by the popular Web site www.rookiemoms.com, the book offers bite-sized activities arranged according to the baby’s age. Some are crafty, some are adventurous, and some simply help get a meal on the table.

Written in a lively, supportive tone and decorated with cute illustrations, The Rookie Mom’s Handbook is the perfect gift or resource to remind new moms that there’s more to life than dirty diapers and 3 a.m. feedings.

HEATHER GIBBS FLETT is an Internet consultant and a contributor to Babycenter.com’s print magazines. WHITNEY MOSS worked in the marketing department of LeapFrog Toys for more than six years and has written about baby outings for the San Francisco Chronicle. Both Heather and Whitney have small children and live in Berkeley, California.

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Sci-fi Baby Names

Babies are the courageous explorers of brave new worlds–so why not name them after the most memorable characters in science fiction? Sci-Fi Baby Names compiles more than 500 distinctive names from movies, books, and television shows into a handy illustrated reference. Choose “James” to honor the captain of the starship Enterprise. Choose “Leia” (or Leah) to honor the sister of Luke Skywalker. Choose “Neo” to salute the ultra-cool messiah from The Matrix. Hardcore fans can go even further with exotic names like “Barbarella,” “Beldar,” and “Tron” (just don’t send us the therapy bills).

Arranged by category for quick reference–with chapters such as Power Names, Feminine Names, and Intellectual Names–Sci-Fi Baby Names is a terrific gift for expecting parents and a wonderful roll call of our favorite science-fiction characters.

ROBERT SCHNAKENBERG loves science fiction so much, he wrote an entire book about William Shatner: The Encyclopedia Shatnerica. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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The Smart Family’s Passport

Budget Travel magazine is dedicated to providing great travel experiences at affordable prices-which is harder than ever when you’ve got a brood of screaming kids in the backseat! Thankfully, their dedicated readers are here to help. This companion volume to The Smart Traveler’s Passport (100,000 copies in print!) features 350 tips for anyone traveling with children. Readers will learn:

    * how a camera phone can help you overcome language barriers.
    * why a jar of peanut butter is the ultimate traveling companion.
    * memorable souvenirs that won’t break your budget.
    * how to answer the dreaded question, “Are we there yet?”

Full of tips on planning, booking, packing, fl ying, safety, getting around, and much more, this passport-sized anthology makes the perfect bon voyage gift!

BUDGET TRAVEL is one of America’s favorite travel magazines, with a circulation of 550,000.

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Pocket Dad

When it comes to buying a car, fixing a clogged drain, and barbecuing the juiciest steak, Dad has all the answers-but when you’re living on your own, Pocket Dad is the handiest next-best-thing. Here are more than 50 essential how-tos of fatherly know-how, including:

• How to fix a flat tire
• How to dress for success
• How to carve a turkey

And much, much more. Complete with whimsical illustrations and a fun “dial-a-dad” cover wheel, Pocket Dad makes a great gift for anyone leaving home for the first time. Whether you’re fixing things around the house, getting ready to conquer the great outdoors, or learning the ABCs of financial security, one thing will be clear: Father really does know best!

DINA FAYER is a San Francisco Bay-area writer and editor who frequently turns to her dad for car advice. She is the author of Pocket Mom (Quirk, 2004).

DR. BOB (DAD) FAYER is a retired general/trauma surgeon; he lives across the Bay from Dina in Walnut Creek, California.

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Pregnancy Countdown Book

The Pregnancy Countdown Book starts on Day 280 and counts down all the major milestones—with one page of helpful information for each day of pregnancy. Here are tips from doctors and midwives, amusing anecdotes from new moms, and occasional icky-but-important medical information (if you’re familiar with lochia, you know what we mean).

Every page offers interesting revelations. On Day 231, your baby will be the size of a blueberry—but by Day 168, she’ll be the size of a large avocado. By Day 124, you’ll need to stop sleeping on your back; by Day 90, air travel becomes a dicey proposition. And if you haven’t planned the nursery by Day 45, you’re playing with fire.

The perfect gift for expecting moms, The Pregnancy Countdown Book will help women navigate the most bewildering but exciting forty weeks of their lives.

SUSAN MAGEE is the author of several nonfiction books; she lives in Philadelphia.

KARA NAKISBENDI, M.D., is a board-certified ob-gyn, a board-certified nutrition specialist, a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the mother of two children.

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Pregnancy Instruction Manual

Pregnancy is a time of excitement, joy, and no small amount of anxiety. Fortunately, you don’t have to go it alone! The Pregnancy Instruction Manual is a comprehensive yet irreverent guide to everything you need to know, with information and advice on:

–Your baby’s-and your-growth, trimester by trimester
–What to expect from your doctor’s visits
–The joys of “pregnancy brain” and what to do about it
–Separating fact from fiction when it comes to labor and delivery

Each chapter is brimming with essential tips for expectant moms and dads and illustrated in the fresh, award-winning visual style that has made our Baby Owner’s Manual (more than 350,000 copies sold!) a huge hit with readers everywhere.

SARAH JORDAN has written on parenting for magazines and newspapers and is the coauthor of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Parenting and The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Weddings. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and two children.

DAVID UFBERG, M.D., a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist at Pennsylvania Hospital and father of three, has delivered thousands of babies. He lives outside Philadelphia.

Posted by impart