Pregnancy Resources

Now that I am nearing the end of my pregnancy I have been thinking a lot about how I felt earlier in my pregnancy. These last three weeks are almost as long and painful as it was waiting for the home pregnancy test to turn pink--it could be any day and the anxiety is killing me!!!

However, I have been able to relax and enjoy what little free time I have myself. I have been re-reading and re-watching movies and pregnancy guides that I read in those initial weeks. I thought I would share some of those resources not only for my memory but also to see if my opinions change post-baby!

Books:

1.) What to Expect When You Are Expecting

2.) Dr. Miriam Stoppard's Guide to Pregnancy

3.) Ina May's Guide to Childbirth--I wish this had been the ONLY book I read while I was pregnant, it was inspiring and positive and really explain pregnancy and childbirth well, especially if you are aiming for a natural childbirth experience.

4.) Belly Laughs-Jenny McCarthy. This bitch is hilarious, enough said.

5.) Feed the Belly--Frances Largeman-Roth. This was a nutrition guide that had lots of easy recipes and natural food cures for pregnancy ailments. It also explained our cravings!

6.) The Happiest Baby on the Block--Dr. Harvey Karp. He explained the idea of our 'fourth trimester' and how to calm a baby using the 5 S' (Swaddling, Stomach lying, Shhhing, Swinging, Sucking).

7.) How to Make a Pregnant Woman Happy--Uzzi Reiss. This was a great help to Dale as it explained a partner's role in pregnancy and offered great tips on pleasing pregnant women.

8.) The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding--Marianne Neiffert.

9.) Unbuttoned--Maureen Connelly. In this one, women share stories about the pain and pleasures of breastfeeding.

10.) Marley & Me--John Grogan. Okay, so its not your typical pregnancy book, but dont dismiss it! It was way better than the movie as it captured the story of a growing family and challenges and rewards that accompany it. During half of the book, his wife is pregnant and it is about his struggles trying to adapt to becoming a father and a better husband. It really opened my eyes to what my husband is experiencing plus it gave me plenty of laughs and tears.

Movies:

Fiction:
10. For Keeps?
Yes, there were teen pregnancies before Juno. Back in 1988, when Molly Ringwald was still an ‘80s It girl and John Hughes’ muse, she shocked everyone by playing a high school senior named Darcy who gets pregnant, gets married and tries to make it. Such drama.

Best line: “I'm pregnant. Can you pass the turnips?”--Darcy
9. Junior
Oh, Arnold, what possessed you? As scientist Dr. Alex Hesse who, as part of a fertility research project, agrees to carry a pregnancy in his own body, the Schwarzenegger mostly pulls it off. Still, what a bold career move.

Best line: “Does my body disgust you?”--Alex
8. Father of the Bride 2
In the delightful Father of the Bride, Steve Martin’s George Banks has to reluctantly give away his darling daughter in marriage, so the logical step for Bride 2 would be for said daughter to get pregnant thrust George into grandfather-hood. Except in this scenario, Banks’ lovely wife (Diane Keaton) also gets pregnant at the same time. Oy vey!

Best line: “Now, going to the movies, that'll be economical: one child, two seniors, thanks.”--George
7. Nine Months
The whole nine yards from the male perspective--in this case a selfish commitment-phobe, played by Hugh Grant, who realizes he might have to change his lifestyle for better or much, much worse when he finds out his longtime girlfriend (Julianne Moore) is pregnant. Sound familiar?

Best line:
“I'm ten days late.”--Rebecca
“And there's no way you could have had it and just not noticed?”--Samuel

6. Waitress
Keri Russell plays a very unhappily married waitress/pie-maker extraordinaire who is none too pleased to find out she’s pregnant. Of course, things happen for a reason and her mind starts to change, especially when she starts an affair with her obstetrician (Nathan Fillion).

Best line: “Dear Baby, I hope someday somebody wants to hold you for 20 minutes straight and that's all they do. They don't pull away. They don't look at your face. They don't try to kiss you. All they do is wrap you up in their arms and hold on tight, without an ounce of selfishness in it.”--Jenna

5. She's Having a Baby
This is John Hughes’ take on the whole concept of parenthood, as experienced by a yuppie couple, Jake and Kristy Briggs (Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern). Being young, they are perhaps a bit unprepared for the full reality of it all--but that’s when it gets fun.

Best line: “And in the end, I realized that I took more than I gave, I was trusted more than I trusted, and I was loved more than I loved. And what I was looking for was not to be found but to be made.”--Jake Briggs

4. Baby Mama
Tina Fey hits the nail on the head, playing a single, successful women, who is told her uterus is too hostile to have a child, and so goes the surrogacy route--except she doesn’t expect to be saddled with working class moocher Angie Ostrowski (Amy Poehler) as her baby mama. Ah well, it all turns out OK in the end.

Best line: “Can I just spray a little PAM down there right before the baby comes out?”--Angie.

3. Knocked UpA classic case of the “Ooops!” When total slacker Ben (Seth Rogen) inadvertently hooks up with hottie Alison (Katherine Heigl) for one night of drunken pleasure, they don’t expect the results of a misused (or NOT used) condom. Yep, knocked up indeed.

Best line: “You know how they say to never drink and drive? Well, never drink and bone.”--Ben


2. Rosemary's Baby
OK, probably not the most enlightening or happy view of pregnancy but nonetheless important to note for this feature since poor Mia Farrow goes through hell, quite literally, during her first pregnancy--carrying the child of SATAN, that is.

Best line: “He chose you, honey! From all the women in the world to be the mother of his only living son!”--Minnie Castevet (Ruth Gordon)
1. Juno
As unwanted teenage pregnancies go, Juno (Ellen Page) proves it doesn't have to be a totally unhappy experience. She knows she can’t keep the baby, so she finds the right set of parents (Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman), and although things don’t necessarily go as planned, Juno handles it with a fair amount of wit, charm and warmth.

Best line: “Yea, if I could just have the thing and give it to you now, I totally would. But I'm guessing it looks probably like a sea monkey right now and we should let it get a little cuter.”
Some other faves:
Where The Heart Is, 2000
Saved, 2004
How to Deal, 2003
Fool's Rush In (MY FAVORITE!)

Non-Fiction:

1.) Business of Being Born-Although this movie was a little one sided it presented a lot of information regarding our health care and maternity system and really just asks that women remain informed and in control in their birth process.

Internet Resources:

1.) http://community.babycenter.com--This site allows you to connect with pregnant women around the world, exchanging information, frustrations, tips and tools and much more!

2.) http://www.youtube.com/user/lifebodyfit--This woman created video logs for each week of her pregnancy and uploaded them on youtube. These videos were interesting, informative, and absolutely necessary during those lonely days of thinking nobody understands your pregnant frustrations!

3.) http://www.pregtastic.com/--Online radio full of pregnant women experiences.

4.) http://www.youtube.com/user/DadLabs#play/all-- My husband died of laughter watching these clips! Especially check out Daditudes/Preg-o Man when Owen gets pregnant!