Since pregnancy is one of the weirdest things that can happen to my body (I've never had a tape worm or other parasitic infestation before) I wanted to make sure that I knew what was going to happen to me.
I mean, clearly I've seen people pregnant. My littlest brother was born when I was 15, my sister when I was 17 so I watched my mom go through it. If you ever would like to royally freak your teenager into chastity have a baby. That single-handedly got me through high school and at least undergrad. Did you know that your belly button turns inside out? Did you know you can't tie your shoes? Did you know that pregnancy can make you snore like a lawn-mower? Did you know that babies are actually super needy and super boring (ya, ya, they're beautiful and children of God and stuff but they cry, they eat, they poop, they sleep for like a year before they're truly entertaining).
I've seen other people pregnant, several of my friends in high school, undergrad, and even graduate school were pregnant around me. I had friends after I got married who were pregnant and shared their experiences. I watched them hormone cry through an entire wedding reception and a ride home (a total of nearly 3 hours). I watched them when they couldn't tie their shoes. I had friends on bed rest, friends with twins, and friends who lost their children either through miscarriage or still-birth. I work with special needs kids so I get to hang out with the cool kids all day. I've seen the wonders of pregnancy and birth, and that being said, I still feel like I know absolutely nothing about it.
When Andrew and I were discussing the possibility of having children and when we would start trying, I took action and got the most recent edition of What to Expect When You're Expecting. Nothing against the information in the book which is pretty extensive (as it should be with like 400 pages), but I found the writing style a little belittling. Please tell me again that vomiting is normal and that I shouldn't be sad. Please tell me again that I need to eat because baby needs food. Please comfort me when we talk about random symptoms, but not during the nitty-gritty labor and delivery portions (you know, the part I actually want comfort about). Overall, the information was good, but as an intelligent female who can read, the style was a real turn off.
I found out I was pregnant (after I finished What to Expect, so I knew what to expect) and at my first real OB appointment, I told my doctor how--kind of--irritated I was about being talked down to and she recommended A Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. This book is way more fun and much more comforting than What to Expect. The author will tell you comforting things like, it's ok if you want to have sex 24/7 or your husband may not know what to do with himself if your sex-drive plummets to it's death. That was an exciting chapter to say the least. The author does perseverate to gaining a lot of wait and giving in to cravings, but hey, she's writing from her experience, so I can't really complain too much.
I also read 3 apps paragraph long splurges on what is happening to my body religiously almost every day. I use BabyBump (which I think is my favorite), Baby Center, and What to Expect Pregnancy. I also have a weekly app called I'm Expecting which is fun. Each of the first three apps has both daily and weekly information. Sometimes the info overlaps, other times the info doesn't apply, but for the most part I've found that it gets to my weird symptoms about the same time that I start thinking, "Is ___(nearly fainting frequently, random nose bleeds, heartburn, etc.)_____ normal?" Andrew likes me to read the weekly ones to him so he knows what little Dish is getting up to in there.
Between apps, books, and the 8 billion informational pamphlets I've received from different organizations including the doctors, the base mental health team, Babies R Us, Motherhood Maternity, etc. I would consider myself now pretty darn well read in the pregnancy pamphlet world.
All of this reading, etc. leads me up to the one thing I keep going back to...calling my mom. I pretty much have a weird symptom and either call my mom right away (as I did when I almost fainted SITTING DOWN in an airplane) or I have a weird symptom read about it on my apps, and then call my mom just to check that its normal anyway, cause nobody wants non-normalcy. If mom isn't available, I have lots of aunts and a grandma who are really good at giving advice when solicited. Go family!
What books, apps, news articles, etc. did you or your partner read to get ready or get through a pregnancy? Let me know!
I mean, clearly I've seen people pregnant. My littlest brother was born when I was 15, my sister when I was 17 so I watched my mom go through it. If you ever would like to royally freak your teenager into chastity have a baby. That single-handedly got me through high school and at least undergrad. Did you know that your belly button turns inside out? Did you know you can't tie your shoes? Did you know that pregnancy can make you snore like a lawn-mower? Did you know that babies are actually super needy and super boring (ya, ya, they're beautiful and children of God and stuff but they cry, they eat, they poop, they sleep for like a year before they're truly entertaining).
I've seen other people pregnant, several of my friends in high school, undergrad, and even graduate school were pregnant around me. I had friends after I got married who were pregnant and shared their experiences. I watched them hormone cry through an entire wedding reception and a ride home (a total of nearly 3 hours). I watched them when they couldn't tie their shoes. I had friends on bed rest, friends with twins, and friends who lost their children either through miscarriage or still-birth. I work with special needs kids so I get to hang out with the cool kids all day. I've seen the wonders of pregnancy and birth, and that being said, I still feel like I know absolutely nothing about it.
When Andrew and I were discussing the possibility of having children and when we would start trying, I took action and got the most recent edition of What to Expect When You're Expecting. Nothing against the information in the book which is pretty extensive (as it should be with like 400 pages), but I found the writing style a little belittling. Please tell me again that vomiting is normal and that I shouldn't be sad. Please tell me again that I need to eat because baby needs food. Please comfort me when we talk about random symptoms, but not during the nitty-gritty labor and delivery portions (you know, the part I actually want comfort about). Overall, the information was good, but as an intelligent female who can read, the style was a real turn off.
I found out I was pregnant (after I finished What to Expect, so I knew what to expect) and at my first real OB appointment, I told my doctor how--kind of--irritated I was about being talked down to and she recommended A Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy. This book is way more fun and much more comforting than What to Expect. The author will tell you comforting things like, it's ok if you want to have sex 24/7 or your husband may not know what to do with himself if your sex-drive plummets to it's death. That was an exciting chapter to say the least. The author does perseverate to gaining a lot of wait and giving in to cravings, but hey, she's writing from her experience, so I can't really complain too much.
I also read 3 apps paragraph long splurges on what is happening to my body religiously almost every day. I use BabyBump (which I think is my favorite), Baby Center, and What to Expect Pregnancy. I also have a weekly app called I'm Expecting which is fun. Each of the first three apps has both daily and weekly information. Sometimes the info overlaps, other times the info doesn't apply, but for the most part I've found that it gets to my weird symptoms about the same time that I start thinking, "Is ___(nearly fainting frequently, random nose bleeds, heartburn, etc.)_____ normal?" Andrew likes me to read the weekly ones to him so he knows what little Dish is getting up to in there.
Between apps, books, and the 8 billion informational pamphlets I've received from different organizations including the doctors, the base mental health team, Babies R Us, Motherhood Maternity, etc. I would consider myself now pretty darn well read in the pregnancy pamphlet world.
All of this reading, etc. leads me up to the one thing I keep going back to...calling my mom. I pretty much have a weird symptom and either call my mom right away (as I did when I almost fainted SITTING DOWN in an airplane) or I have a weird symptom read about it on my apps, and then call my mom just to check that its normal anyway, cause nobody wants non-normalcy. If mom isn't available, I have lots of aunts and a grandma who are really good at giving advice when solicited. Go family!
What books, apps, news articles, etc. did you or your partner read to get ready or get through a pregnancy? Let me know!
Love love love Girlfriends Guide! I didn't read until my second pregnancy - way more my style. And yes, the call the mom and my sister are always the default. Especially AFTER the baby is here! I remember calling my mom and she didn't answer so I called my sister to ask her if I should wake up my 1 month old to change her diaper because I clearly heard her poop. Her answer was "Never wake a sleeping baby." I laugh about it now, but at the moment I was in a very serious dilemma!
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