(I only wish I pulled it off so nicely!) But this past Friday I spent some time with an old friend I have known since middle school and did a photo shoot for her. She is pregnant and due very soon!

I never took pregnancy photos with either of my kids — although part of me wishes I had (I mean, after all pregnancy is beautiful!) But I just never FELT beautiful. I am really happy, though, I at least got to help Judy capture this memory in time! She is a beautiful pregnant woman!

We went down to Historic Sanford (where My Girl was filmed supposedly) and took these shots. It was so freaking hot out and I remember how miserable I was when I was as far along as Judy is — and she was such a trooper! She even walked up a huge flight of stairs for some photos!

So I just wanted to share a few of my favorites from the session. I hope (I sincerely do) that I captured her pregnancy the way she wants to remember it!

Katelyn Rain (7/13/10) 5lbs, 10oz and 18" long.

There is a perfectly good excuse for my absence the past two weeks — I have been recovering from giving birth to my second little girl, Katelyn. The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions, both good and bad. No matter the emotion, though, having two wonderful daughters has been such a blessing and I couldn’t consider myself any luckier.

Monday, July 12th, I went to my high risk appointment at 11am. The first thing they wanted to do was an NST (non-stress test). This test involves reclining in a chair with a heart monitor and fetal kick monitor and monitoring me for about an hour. Every time Katelyn moves, I am instructed to hit a button. Well — Katelyn really didn’t move. I figured she was napping as she always does during these NST tests.

Meeting "Memaw" for the first time.

The first thing they decided to do was buzz her, which I hate because it startles the baby which doesn’t exactly feel good. However when they buzzed her, instead of her heart rate going up, it had a dramatic decel. We weren’t exactly sure why until we got to the ultrasound portion of my visit. It was discovered (besides being breech with dwindling fluids) that she had the cord wrapped around her neck. I was instructed to go to the hospital for further monitoring until delivery.

Forrest and I went home to pack (and Carli went with her Memaw) and a few hours later we show up to the hospital. The hospital had no idea we were even coming as our doctor (my regular OB) had no instructed us of our coming. Nice. Our regular OB was going out of town and was doing what he could to delay her delivery. I didn’t like that. I was dealing with a little girl I couldn’t see or touch inside me with a cord around her neck. It didn’t exactly sit well in my realm of emotions. After monitoring me in L&D for about an hour, the nurse said my doctor wanted to send me home until Wednesday. I absolutely freaked out, sobbing. First they tell me that delivery can’t wait because I have a cord wrapped around her neck and then they tell me, “Well she APPEARS stable now.. so go home and wait until delivery.” I did NOT feel comfortable going home and not having her monitored for a few DAYS. Anything could happen and I would never have known. Plus by this time, I had been STARVING for 5 out of the 8 recommended hours before a c-section because I was told NOT to eat and now they were saying, “We’re not going to deliver tonight.” It was just emotionally off the wall, “Are you KIDDING ME?!”

They ended up agreeing to keep me at the hospital until Wednesday and have me monitored the entire time. They moved me to Mother & Child (where people go after giving birth) because it would be a “longer” stay. I was hooked up to the monitor, which was not comfortable as I could only lay on my back. Any time I moved slightly, the heart monitor would move and she would go off the monitor. What irritated me most is the monitor would be beeping about not having a heart beat for five minutes and no one would come. It wasn’t until I was sobbing and Forrest had to go fetch them to find it again. Even though they “see this all the time” didn’t make me any more comfortable with it. What if she HADN’T had moved. What if it WASN’T me? What IF it had been an actual emergency. That was crucial time they had spent diddle daddling around “waiting” to see if Katelyn would move back to the monitor.

Forrest, in love with his new daughter.

After expressing my upset feelings on their lack of speed in seeing if she was okay, they were prompt to show up every time she moved off monitor within a minute or two.

Sleeping was an impossible task and I would break out in tears randomly because I was so unbelievably uncomfortable and felt so alone as Forrest was fast asleep and I couldn’t. I had too much to worry about and it was too late at night to text my friends. Finally around 2am a nurse came in to tell me my doctor had decided to come home early and would be delivering Katelyn at noon. I was relieved. I couldn’t wait to get it over with and couldn’t wait to meet Katelyn. I wanted her to be safe outside my body as I felt I was only endangering her within.

Around 8am the following morning they told me they were shooting for 9:30-10. There really wasn’t enough time after that to get used to the idea. Panic started to set in and before I know it, I was walking into the OR. It wasn’t nearly as cold here as it had been at Winnie Palmer, where I was shaking uncontrollably.

It took the anesthesiologist about half an hour to put in my spinal — which by far was probably the most painful part of the entire surgery. I felt dull painful aches in my spine as my bones split apart. It was hard knowing that with each pain I felt, it was only attempt as they kept having difficulties. Something about my spinal anatomy and as the previous anesthesiologist at Winnie Palmer when I delivered Carli also had a hard time.. I figured they were right.  After a LOT of painful tears, they finally got the spinal working and my legs quickly started falling asleep.

About a week old. Picture taken by Aunt Blair.

The feeling went all the way to my chest and it felt as if I was about to suffocate, not that I did — but it still began to freak me out and I kept saying, “I don’t feel right. I don’t feel right. Is this normal?” They assured me that it was but all I could think about was that I really wanted Forrest there and they hadn’t let him in yet. They actually did not even let him in until they had made the first cut.

Unlike the first c-section, I felt them inside of me. I felt them moving organs, pressing on my rib cage and moving Katelyn around inside. At 10:09am, she graced the world (peeing all over me)– and yes, the cord WAS around her neck. They quickly showed her to me, not that I really had a moment to grasp who I saw withhin seconds, and then they moved her to the side warmer where they checked her out and checked her vitals. I watched Forrest as he stood over her.. touching her and I was jealous. It was a good 15 minutes before I got to hold her.

After they rolled me off the OR table to my bed, they placed Katelyn in my arms and wheeled us to recovery. I was very happy that I got to have her in recovery and attempt to breastfeed right away (although Katelyn, at the time, was too exhausted to attempt it.) For the next 12 hours, she never left the arms of someone (whether it was me, or Forrest, or friends and family).

We stayed in the hospital until the following Friday. Recovery was much easier this time (pain wise) however come Sunday my incision started splitting open and it just made me feel icky to even think of an open wound in my pelvis. We went to the hospital (yes with newborn baby in tow, as I am breastfeeding) and got it taped up. Staples were removed on Tuesday and I was re-taped. It doesn’t hurt so much any more, but it’s still not closed all the way. I worry about infection constantly so have been keeping it dry and applying hydrogen peroxide to it daily.

Monday we received some possibly devastating news in regards to Katelyn having a slightly elevated marker for C4 (Scad Deficiency) in her newborn screening test. It was very slight, over by just .02 points. I spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday crying over the possibility of Katelyn being sick but have done a lot of research (on newborn screening tests) and have since spoken to someone in charge of newborn screening within the Florida Department of Health and have been reassured that she is most likely fine.

Markers are set deliberately low in the efforts to catch every sick child, rather than missing one. In doing so, they have a lot of false positives and flag a lot of healthy babies — but it also helps them save lives. Unfortunately for parents of healthy babies, it is a very emotional ordeal to go through so early on in the bonding process of getting to know your newborn. There were moments when I did not want to hold her out of fear of growing even more attached and then there were many more moments that I just couldn’t let go of her.

We took Katelyn back to the hospital Monday evening for a retest and are awaiting to hear the positive news from her pediatrician. It’s been a LONG week.

On a positive note, we have been having a successful time breastfeeding. Katelyn went down to 5lbs, 2oz when we left the hospital and was re-weighed yesterday at the lactation consultant’s office and was weighing in at 5lbs, 11oz. She has passed her birth weight of 5lbs, 10oz! That is amazing! It was only on Monday when weighed at her pedi’s office that she was 5lbs, 5.5 oz! Now that she’s 5lbs, 11oz — I don’t doubt that breastfeeding is working wonderfully for us.

Anyway — I just wanted to express why I have been absent for the past two weeks. Recovering from a c-section isn’t a fast process (not for the majority) and have been taking it easy — spending a lot of time in bed (which is no where near my computer).

If you have any free moment, please send out any thoughts and prayers Katelyn’s way that she passes her rescreen with flying colors and is as healthy as healthy can be!

Carli, minutes after delivery 6/12/08

See how her legs are outstretched? They were used to being up near her head.

The past week for me has been a whirlwind of emotions; disappointment, excitement, anticipation all rolled into one. Last Tuesday we went to our high risk appointment and they did an ultrasound (as they do every visit) confirming that Katelyn (daughter #2) is still breech, and comfortably so. She has been breech at every visit, which is very disappointing.

On top of that, we were told that her fluid level was 6mm, which is still considered “normal” but more of a “normal-low” and borderline concerning. 5 and below is a cause for concern, while the average was closer to 10.  Having low fluids is exactly the issue I faced with Carli and why she was born at only 37 weeks, 4 days. The difference between then and now is that I was 34 weeks when I found out that I might have the possibility of delivering Katelyn early at barely 35 weeks if my fluids did not go back up. This had me seriously worried.

For a week, I drank water like nobody’s business. It’s all I drank. No juice. No tea. No soda. Not even water that had stuff in it to make it taste better. All I had was plain, filtered water. My dedication to her fluids, luckily, helped as when I went back on Monday (yesterday), her fluids went from a 6 to a whopping 12! I was very happy that she was back up there with plenty of fluid. Unfortunately, she’s still breech.

For the past month I have been doing everything in my power to encourage her to turn. I have been seeing a chiropractor certified in the Webster Method in turning breech babies. I have seen a Chinese herbalist who does moxa. I have tried the breech tilt, visualization, and cold peas on my upper belly. I am still continuing to see the chiropractor because it does help my back, which is often excruciatingly painful — but I am losing a lot of faith in getting Katelyn to turn.

I am thinking maybe I have to come to terms with the fact that maybe she CAN’T turn. Maybe there is a reason unknown in which she can’t or won’t safely turn on her own. Maybe she has a shorter cord, making turning at this point uncomfortable. Maybe I have an odd shaped pelvis. Or maybe because I have smaller sized babies (she’s measuring at 27th percentile at the moment) that she just doesn’t weigh enough for her head to weigh her down into the right position.

Honestly, I just don’t know. I’ve been recommended having an external version, in which the doctor manually turns the baby from outside the stomach but it has more risks than I feel comfortable with. Plus it has only about a 50-70% success rate, with many babies going right back into the breech position. I wanted a natural birth, but there is something unnatural about forcing a baby to turn who refuses to on her own. I think there is a difference between encouraging her to turn, and preparing your body to allow her to comfortably turn, and forcing her to. I just won’t risk doing that. I can’t.

Some have also recommended trying a breech birth since typically frank breech babies have a higher success rate of delivering safely. But for the most part, a baby in ANY sort of breech position is often sent to the hospital as a “high-risk” situation by a midwife. If a midwife won’t do it, my guess is — it’s not a great idea to begin with. So attempting a breech birth is not something I will do either.

So that leaves one option, if Katelyn should not turn on her own.. the dreaded c-section. Anyone who knows me knows how anti repeat c-section for the sake of having had one before. I think doctors invest too much time into unnecessary interventions. Unfortunately, in all my research that I have been accumulating for the past few years in attempt for a VBAC, I can’t justify attempting a VBAC with a breech and/or low fluids baby. The risks for the safety of my daughter is too great (although not huge, but more than I am comfortable with) to attempt any sort of breech delivery.

So if I have to have a c-section, she will most likely be here on July 26th (hopefully in the morning). I plan on discussing it with my doctor after my next ultrasound if Katelyn is still breech at that point. My next ultrasound is on July 12th which will put me at 37w1d. Being born on July 26th would put me at around 39 weeks, granted she doesn’t want to come earlier. (My mom claims she is coming sometime in my 38th week — but you know how people always like to place bets.)

So I am slowly coming to terms with the prospect of having another c-section, baby. I really don’t know why my babies find the frank breech position so comfortable — but at this point, I just want a healthy baby. I love Katelyn so incredibly much already .. and I think the difference between last time and this time, is that I have time to meditate on the subject, to accept that maybe not everyone comes into the world the same way.

At least, at the end of this pregnancy I can honestly say I have done everything possible to attempt a natural delivery. I have done all I can. The rest is up to Katelyn.

For the longest time the playground intimidated my little hesitant toddler. Stairs? What are stairs? We don’t have stairs! But as you know, playgrounds are full of them! For the longest time, Carli treated the playground as if we were slowly torturing her. How DARE we push her to try new things! Gah!

Luckily, after a few times of seeing other kids her age on the playground, she suddenly realized what all this playground fuss was about and joined the kids with utter blissful 2 year old abandon!

We’re very happy that Carli has decided she likes stairs. She LIKES the playground and more often than not, I am scared out of my mind watching her, thinking she’s going to walk off an unsecured edge. She’s becoming fearless!

I think we have gone to about 3-4 different parks in the past two weeks. I am not a fan of the parks that have the equipment out on the blazing hot Florida sun without sun shade. They are kids, you know? They need some shelter from the heat while being active. Not only to help keep them cool and safe from sun stroke/heatstroke — but to help protect them SOMEWHAT from getting sunburned. (Carli wears SPF 60!)

We have also been going to a few Mommy meetups. One meetup, on Tuesday, was at this one woman’s house (in her back yard). She had a kiddy pool, sand/water table, playground, sandbox, trampoline, bounce house — as well as a lot of ride on toys. Carli was having a BLAST!

One of the Mommy’s there was straight from Italy so it was nice talking about where she came from. We had talked about my dual-citizenship and all the hoops I have to jump through to get my Italian passport (but it’ll be worth it!) (But that’s a totally different subject.)

Even though we’re in Florida and it’s so darn hot — I am taking Carli out as much as possible before her wee little newborn sister makes her appearance in less than 9 weeks.  I am not sure how much “going out” I’ll be doing for a few weeks, following. (But — who knows? Maybe I can handle two kids just fine?) I did, after all, teach 18 (5) year olds. But then again, they follow directions. This 2 year old of mine has selective hearing.

On top of taking Carli places and spending oodles of amount of quality time together, I have also been nesting like crazy. Just yesterday I threw out 10+ bags of stuff. Unfortunately I broke Carli’s wicker bassinet while so that went out to the trash this morning. Luckily we have the new Fisher-Price Newborn Rock and Sleep Bassinet (I think that is what it’s called?) It’s smaller and can travel with us! I also threw out Carli’s high-chair as the cover has been washed so many times, the entire highchair was falling apart. No way in heck it’d survive another child. We’ve decided to get another high chair that is wood based so it can be wiped down much easier. It’s a PITA when the kid eats something messy in the GRACO chairs and you have to wash the base. PITA!!

We are borrowing a swing from a friend of ours — thankfully. The last thing we need to purchase is Katelyn’s carseat and I think we’ll be ready for this baby to come! Yay!

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Here are some fresh pictures of Katelyn, taken as of today. I don’t believe I can possibly be MORE in love with someone I’ve never met!

I promised my mother-in-law (through my husband) that I would update on the bab(ies). It’s probably a good idea, though, mainly because Carli is doing so many new things that it’d be nice to write them down and remember.

I haven’t even been taking a lot of belly pictures, either. Last pregnancy I took one almost every week but this time around.. the last one I took (I think) was at 17 weeks. I am almost 22, now! (I guess I should take a new one, right?

Carli

Flirt, Flirt, Flirt! She pretends to be shy when she sees both people she knows and doesn’t know. She’ll lower her head, fold her arms together and smile out of the side of her mouth. Her eyes twinkle then she looks up and gives them a subtle chuckle. If her goal is to swoon every man, woman, child, and beast.. then she succeeds.

She is obsessed (and I mean OBSESSED) with Elmo. For months she pronounced his name as “Bobo” but in the past two weeks or so it has upgraded to “Eh-mo!” When she wants to see more Elmo, she’ll sign MORE and PLEASE and then cry out “Eh-mo!”

I was handing Carli a few animal crackers yesterday, one by one. I would count, “one, two–” and then she surprised me and went “Bee!” (for “three”, I guess). It’s amazing that she caught onto that. I am thinking it’s from Dora, or Elmo.

Carli can handle a fork and spoon really well. Even when the fork is as large as she is. Somehow she manages to stop her food and get it in her mouth — most of the time.

“I don’t see you!” Whenever I go to discipline this kid (i.e. she’s standing up in her highchair when she shouldn’t and I tell her to sit down” she’ll cover her face as if watching a scary movie. It’s almost as if she’s saying, “I can’t see you so you don’t exist!” Meanwhile, she’ll remain standing.

Whenever someone claps — Carli will clap too. She’ll get really really excited and yell out, “YAY! YAY!” She’d make a great cheerleader.

She insists on saying “BYE” to people whenever they (1) walk past her (2) grab their purse .. or (3) are in a car. If they don’t respond, she’ll just keep yelling it (louder and louder) until someone takes notice.

She loves my parent’s dog, Guinness. We call him “Guin-Guin” but Carli has decided that she’s Parisian and calls him, “Gee! Gee!” (Like the name “Guy” in France).

She is starting to copy sounds. Though sometimes she’ll just say the last sound in a word. For example if she wants a cookie, or is talking about the Cookie Monster, she’ll just say “Kie!”

She still yells out, “Ellie!!!!!!” every time she hears a dog bark.

—

The Fetus, Katelyn (aka Kate or Katie)

Had doctors appointments last week with both my regular OBGYN and the High-Risk doctor. So far everything seems A-OK with her. She’s growing fast — was about 12oz at my last ultrasound on the 17th.

She had her first set of noticeable hiccups this past week that I could feel. Carli was the hiccup queen.. but I don’t think Katie will be.

She’s moving around a lot — usually when startled over a noise or after I eat something. She seems to be very active later at night when I am laying down to read a book. Hope this is not an indication of my late nights to come.

I saw a 3D picture of her face on the 17th. It freaked me out. She has no fat on her bones — no chubs– so she looked very emaciated. I am feeding her though! My appetite has been pretty strong the past few days so I am thinking she’s going through a growth spurt.

New craving: Peanut Butter Chocolate smoothies. (They are also known as Chocolate Elvis at Planet Smoothie) but I prefer the Smoothie King version. It’s creamier. I’ve had three in the past three days. Probably doesn’t help that it’s becoming pretty hot out.. but man do they taste good. (Carli likes them too — as she harasses me for sips!)

My allergies have been unbearable the past few days. I have been sneezing CONSTANTLY (a minimum of 100 times a day). My nose is rubbed raw.. My lips are severely chapped from having tissues or napkins rub against them. I am also in a constant state of drowsiness since the only thing I can take that helps is Benedryl. It REALLY helps but it makes me SOO tired. (I have been going to bed around 8-ish/9-ish every night lately!) I also feel bad whenever I take it.. feeling like I am drugging up Kate. Even though it’s a B category.. if it makes me THIS tired.. I can’t imagine what it’s doing to Kate.

I am now about 5 1/4 months pregnant. A little more than half way there. I am still remaining hopeful for my VBAC. Luckily my doctor hasn’t mentioned anything about scheduling a c-section (yet). But I know he’ll mention it in time. (Probably when I am closer to 30 weeks — which isn’t that far away!)

You have the insatiable hunger to “make” things. How old fashioned am I? I decided that after years of playing around with knitting – I am going to learn to do it and do it well. (Never too old to learn).

So I started sewing up this here soaker. Actually – I started making it for Kate but was having issues knitting in the round. The cord was just too long to stretch the stitches around. (Damn 29″ needles. Next time – I find 16″!) So I started making it for Carli instead. Size 29″ needles just barely work to fit a large. I think they are more appropriate for blankets.

To the left you’ll see my 5th attempt at knitting in the round (and a really bad job of Knit2Purl2). But I am happy that years later I finally figured out how to switch from knit to purl. (Thank you, YOU TUBE!)

My biggest issue is that I have to concentrate very hard on it – but can’t with a toddler and a husband who (dare I say it – likes being with me and talking to me) so I manage to lose track of what stitch I am on, frequently. So my stitches are uneven or.. somehow I’ve managed to create 3 holes in my piece so far.

Even though it’s not ideally pretty – I am determined to finish the project for experience alone. Plus it’ll still be fine for Carli to wear around the house over her cloth diaper. (Maybe).

The spawn at 17 weeks, 1 day.

I also joined Ravelry (username MomtoCarli if anyone wants to ‘befriend’ my sorry excuse for a knitting-self). Actually – I would like to meet more knitters and pick your minds a little.

Yesterday Forrest took me to Wal-Mart (ugh- I hate that store.. but it was closer than JoAnns) and I got a set of crochet needles. I have been ATTEMPTING to knit a granny square but you know – it doesn’t look like it does on the youtube video. So I have no idea if I am even doing it right. I think I will have to join some knitting/crochet groups.. or get some lessons. (I want to crochet!!! urrrgghhh!) But it’s hard, for some reason. I can’t get the tension right and it’s awkward!

On another note….

To the left is a picture of me a few days ago at 17 weeks, 1 day. I can’t believe how close I am to the half-way point. I went in for my doctor’s appointment on Tuesday and it took him a minute or two to get a reading on her heart because all you could hear was the “swoosh swoosh” of her moving around like she was dancing in my uterus.

He asked if I was feeling her “a lot” and when I said, “Well- occasionally but not usually.” He was like, “Really??! She is EXTREMELY active.. be prepared.” (Oh great!) Carli was little miss laid back and never had a single comment about her being overly active.. so I can only imagine just how much this 2nd kid of mine is going to redecorate my insides.

I also have quite a few friends (in real life) that are pregnant now and that makes me super duper excited! I love sharing this with people I know – and knowing that I am not going through this alone.

// GIRL!

Those who are on my facebook are already well-aware of the fact (as well as the pregnancy message boards I frequent). But for my blog readers who DON’T know.. there you have it.

In late July 2010 we shall be expecting little Katelyn Rain!

I liked this photo because you can see her cute little button nose (maybe she won’t be all nose when she is born, like her sister was – hehe). You can also see her legs pulled to her stomach and her feet in the air. The entire time we had the ultrasound, her hands were usually in front of her face as if she were sunbathing in my uterus.

SEE! Proof.. she is a little girl! I am so happy that my high-risk doctor knew it was a girl really early. Very few seemed to believe that he knew what he was talking about.. but I am glad that not only was I able to keep faith that what he told me was in fact true – but now I feel confidant in him as a doctor. It’s always nice to know your doctor knows what he is talking about!

We’re really really excited about having another little girl. I couldn’t ask for anything more! I have my ideal family — a husband who loves me, and two little daughters!

Have been working hard on pulling this stash together. I want it to be completed (XS &  Newborn all the way to Large) by the time this kiddo arrives in late July.

So far I have quite a few Cloth Couture’s, a few Dillon & Claires, and some WAHM diapers. I have more WAHM diapers coming from some lovely ladies over on the Diaper Sewing Divas board that I frequent daily.

Granted I am not officially sure what I am having (I find out officially on February 17th if Bug is allowing for this) so I am trying to make them as gender neutral as possible. (Well.. for the most part.)

To be honest, I have no idea how many diapers I have in my stash. I know I have quite a few on their way (maybe close to 10 smalls from various people) but I will make sure to count it when I get there. (Finished, that is!)

Here are some pictures of the stash in the making! This first picture is of preemie diapers & newborn diapers. (a few small Trimsies that are virtually newborn size).

The second drawer is stuffed full of Cloth Couture prefolds and EZDiapers as well as some WAHM diapers i.e. the Tie Dye one!) The solid diapers in the middle are daddy-approved AIO (all-in-ones) that require no pinning or stuffing. Just put on and voila!

Here are the smalls – 1 WAHM bears flannel fattycake, some Cloth Couture Rainy Days Step 1 diapers (size NB/S), and some small Cloth Couture prefolds!

This is just the beginning, mind you as I have a bunch of smalls coming in from various friends and companies. Here are some of the Cloth Couture small embroidered trimsies I have and LOVE:

Kind of cute, huh? I haven’t snapped up all of them, as I am awaiting a snap order but I have snapped up a few and I can NOT wait until I have my little baby to put them in! They are also AIO (All-in-ones) so involve no difficult prep work to use them!

I am so excited to be using cloth from the start, this time around – as I did not get to start with Carli until she was about 6 months old! Newborn fluff is the CUTEST!

Synopsis: (Taken from Amazon.com)

Can I get a cavity filled while pregnant? Will avoiding spicy foods make my kid a picky eater? Can I really increase my baby’s IQ while she’s in utero?

Whether you’re pregnant for the first time, are trying to start your family, or already have enough children to start your own basketball team, you’re bound to have questions about what it means to be pregnant — and how you can increase your odds of having a healthy and happy pregnancy. But no matter how much you’ve read, watched, studied, or talked about this amazing biological journey, you have never read anything like this.

In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Michael Roizen and Dr. Mehmet Oz act as mythbusters for the hundreds of questions surrounding pregnancy in the same scientific, informative, and entertaining ways that have made them America’s Doctors. In these pages, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the miracles of fetal development, your health throughout the pregnancy, and providing the best possible environment for your growing child.

Pregnancy is a complicated balancing act, but it doesn’t have to be frightening. The doctors will help you de-stress as they describe accurately and rationally what happens during a thrilling nine months of life. While every pregnant body is different, odds are you’ll experience some of the cravings, crying, and discomfort that almost all women go through. Your best tactic? Learn why these things are happening — and what you should do about them. YOU: Having a Baby will teach you everything you need to know about what to eat (should I be eating for two?), how much to exercise, and what guilty pleasures will actually make pregnancy easier on you (and the loved ones who get to be around you for the whole thing). Each phase of pregnancy has different challenges, but the right information will prepare you for what’s ahead. The interactive week-by-week calendar inside provides an even more detailed guideline for how and what you should feel through every step of the process.

Exciting, cutting-edge scientific research in the fi eld of epigenetics has changed the way the medical profession looks at pregnancy, and now it can change your perspective, too. Epigenetics explores what makes us develop in certain ways — why some people thrive at math while others are prone to chronic diseases. It turns out that there are easy things you can do that will not just help your baby’s development in utero but will actually improve his or her chances of living a healthy, fulfi lling adult life.

Filled with recipes for nutritious, satisfying snacks and meals even Pop can cook (yes, he can!), safe exercises for staying fit, and tons of YOU tips that will help you stay comfortable, YOU: Having a Baby is the ultimate guidebook for what to do from the moment of conception to the weeks after your child has arrived home. From morning sickness and food cravings to choosing a doctor and changing a diaper, YOU: Having a Baby will give you the real scoop about what’s in store for you during this amazing time in your life.

Review:

This book was a humorous way of looking at pregnancy. Even though I’ve read pretty much every pregnancy book out there, I have to say this was the most entertaining. It surely didn’t feel like 400 pages of non-fictional informational text! The pictures included also added a sense of ease when reading new concepts. I am not very science minded so I appreciated the visual aids.

A new concept was introduced which is really interesting and makes me wonder what I did while I was pregnant to turn on the “sweet & friendly” gene of my 19 month old. They theorize through a new medical finding/study that certain traits are turned off or on during pregnancy dependent on what the mother does/eats, etc. Now that I am pregnant again, I wonder daily what genes I am turning off and on.

I also got to understand morning sickness a little better. With my last pregnancy, I did not have any real big food aversions. With this one – I had quite a few. INCLUDING Soda! So for the most part, I’m drinking water ALL day. (Can’t complain!)

Overall – if you have to read a book on pregnancy, I recommend this one above all others. It’s informational, entertaining, and a fast read!