Don't Read the Baby Books!
I can hear it now.
Don't read the Baby books?!
Are you crazy?
To address the first question - No, do not read the baby books. Now behind every answer there should be an explanation. So, chill out and let me explain.
Wow, you are still reading! You must be interested in what I am saying. Thanks, that is a compliment already! Well, my explanation is really quite simple. Each mother is different. Every situation is different. Every baby is different. No book or article is going to prepare you for YOUR pregnancy, birthing experience, or motherhood (or life as a wife after pregnancy, but that is another article. Hell, it may be a television series after I get done!
With my first son (over 19 years ago), I received two baby books to "prepare" me for my first child! The first book was 'What to Expect during Pregnancy' and the second was 'What to Expect the First Year'. I guess my friends and family either thought after the first year that I would be an expert or that I would be in an insane asylum so I wouldn't need them. I read both in their entirety. Okay, let me not totally shoot them down. Some of the events I did appreciate and experience, like weight gain (experienced, but did not appreciate!). I did appreciate the pictures of the progression of the fetus. However, my fetus was always heavier than stated and my uterus was always larger with each of my four pregnancies. Or the inevitable stranger touching your stomach asking what are you having or when are you due. However, the other 90% of the book focused on what could go wrong during the pregnancy (Oh great! It's not like i'm not already stressed out!) or things that I simple never experienced. If you are a parent and especially if you are a parent of multiple children, you already feel me on this!
My first year with my 1st three consisted of not getting any sleep, the revisit of the strangers asking how old, the amazement of how "pretty" my sons were, and the question of do I want more of which I always answered, "yes". My first year with my last son still consisted of the previous, but my answer to wanting more switched to a firm no - a horrible c-section experience will do it to you!
Here are my top 10 things the book left out (and trust me, I have a million more):
(1) Your due date is never your due date,
(2) Your Dr telling you that you are gaining too much weight even though you are following the diet suggested in the baby book,
(3) That you would be working until the day before you go in for your c-section (thanks, Verizon!),
(4) That your brother should not sneak your favorite fast food in for you to eat when you were told not to eat anything once they put the epidural in,
(5) Breastfeeding hurts like hell at first (but well worth the pain and highly encouraged),
(6) Some babies latch on quicker than others with breastfeeding (keep at it!),
(7) When the dr tells you to stop pushing, you should stop or your child will have a broken clavicle,
(8) When you tell the front desk your baby is coming, but the nurse insist on a urine sample, stand by your word,
(9) You will not be able to stand after a c-section, and (10) those pregnancy/ preparing for baby books will not prepare you or anyone else for pregnancy, birth, or thereafter but it is a great way to get some me time!
And don't think I forgot about the second question. My psychiatrist told me I only have a few more sessions and i'll be good to go! LOL! Only a joke, guys and gals! On a serious note, I have actually never been to a psychiatrist or psychologist to diagnose me either way. But, I can tell you that many of the geniuses in the past have been diagnosed as crazy, so perhaps being crazy isn't such a bad thing, eh?
