I was one of those women who was overwhelmed with information in my first pregnancy. On modified bedrest, I had a whooole lot of time on my hands to read snarky message boards, advice from myriad sources, the 8 million registry “must-haves” from the stores themselves (duh), books that saved me and  books that made me want to jump off a ledge. I knew so much, it was hard to sort through what was important. Or what I needed to know.

I realized with all that information at my fingertips, it was all going to be mostly useless until I was actually holding a baby in my hands. What I was really missing, was the chance to just start parenting and figure things out for myself.

Fortunately I have somewhat good instincts about what’s right and wrong for me (if I do say so), and I had some wonderful counselors in my life. I was glad I listened to my OB when she specifically told me, “If you are reading that What to Expect book, immediately rip out all pages having to do with food and nutrition or you will weight 4,000 pounds after 40 weeks.” Or my mom who insisted that I leave the newborn baby with her for a night so I could go out and be a human being for just a few hours at a grownup restaurant with grownup cocktails; even if I did look ridiculous wedging my postpartum body into the one vaguely appropriate grownup outfit I still could squeeze into.

(I’ve deleted all photo evidence of that outfit, so don’t even ask.) Continue reading →