I got suckered into another "First Time Mom" pregnancy book today....the reviews were great! All of them raved that this book had insights that no other book had. So I bought it. And I read it in (no kidding!) 10 minutes!!!! I haven't ever had a baby before, but I could have written this book. I think the pregnancy book market is much like the wedding market and the baby market is similar. "They" all know that put either "wedding," "pregnancy," or "baby" in the subject and you can inflate the price and sell loads of them. Hhhmmm, this gives me a pretty good business idea for when I'm an unemployed scientist languishing in the northwoods. :)
But in other news, I am absolutely sick of reading pregnancy books that say you shouldn't gain any weight in the first trimester. Ok, I understand that rationally and objectively and scientifically, MAYBE you don't need to gain any weight in the first trimester. But are there really people who don't gain ANY weight at all? I mean my doctor had the nerve to tell me (after I said I was afraid I'd already gained...and not really afraid but actually aware of the fact that I had indeed gained more than the recommended weight for 1st trimester) that if I had, I sure hid it well. What?!?!? You didn't even know what I looked like prior to me walking in a few minutes earlier and us bonding over the fact that you got a very personal viewing of my nether regions. And then he continued to reassure me that he was sure I wasn't going to gain any weight and that he'd be ok with me only gaining 15lbs if the baby was healthy.
Now, excuse my rant for a moment. And let me explain his (incorrect) misconception. I was a bit of an extreme athlete prior to getting pregnant. I had raced bicycles professionally, I ran marathons, did crazy things like 100-mile mountain bike races, and generally spent my free-time (when not slaving away in the laboratory) very very active. Like 7-10miles of running/day active. But then I got pregnant. And my breasts hurt like crazy and got very big (like from "barely A" to a solid C). And I was exhausted and nauseous. Run 7-10 miles a day? Are you crazy? I could barely run 5-6 miles without feeling like death and trying to keep my heart rate at a normal baby-growing level. The salads I used to devour make me nauseous, in fact, oddly enough, any green cooked vegetable literally made me hurl. I settled on a few food groups: peanut butter sandwiches, peanut butter stuffed pretzels, cereal, oatmeal, apples. Yup, all I can say is thank goodness for horse-sized prenatal vitamins to cover my other glaringly lacking food groups. And can you see how weight gain might occur? Now the fact that I started on the leaner size does not mean that I haven't gained a lot and his whole assuming that I would be prioritizing not gaining weight was rather obnoxious. I wasn't an 18-year old girl worried about still fitting into my skinny jeans. I was a 30's year old woman who spent 18 months trying very hard to get pregnant who is still getting used to major changes in energy level, food palatability, and crazy hormone swings. And did I mention that having Mr. Wonderful working in the northwoods leaving me the big city alone does NOT help with keeping the crazy pregnant lady binges at bay? If he was here, it'd be much easier to exercise self-control (it's embarrassing to slurp down 3 bowls of cereal in a row with milk running down your chin if somebodies watching but when it's just you and your sweet little pup...well, no shame!). Anyways, the whole point of this rant, I want a "for real" pregnancy book that admits that in the first trimester you feel shitty so it's normal to over-eat a little bit and that maybe in the 2nd trimester when you apparently have your energy level back you can even it out then. "It's Really 10 Months" is a real good start though the focus is on the last trimester but at least those ladies make you feel like not conforming perfectly to all the objective advice and tips is ok and just plain normal. I think we need more books like that and less books making us feel ashamed for not being perfect baby incubators. :)
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