Full Of Life Introduction

I was seven months pregnant when my friends and co-workers from Access Hollywood threw me a baby shower brunch. At that point I knew I was having a girl-Little miss Ashby Grace would soon arrive on the scene June 11, 2007-which meant that the restaurant was covered in pink balloons and confetti. The tables were decorated with darling little mesh bunny rabbits filled with jellybeans. And then there was the dessert my pals had made a cake out of donuts for me. Early in my pregnancy, I had developed an insane craving for donuts. And they couldn't be just any kind of donut. They had to be plain glazed, heated for exactly fifteen seconds in the microwave. I had it down to a science. And everyone at Access knew it.

But what I didn't have down to a science was all of the things that happen during pregnancy, birth, and those first few days home with a new baby. So after we finished opening gifts at the shower, we played a game where people wrote down little bits of advice and words of wisdom on slips of paper about what I could expect during the rest of my pregnancy, in the delivery room, and once Ashby was born. The tips were great! One friend told me, "Pre-register at the hospital. " Huh? You can pre-register for the baby's birth before you even go into labor? How is that possible? Well, it turns out that yes, you can, and this prevents you from having to worry about all that paperwork when you're in labor, having contractions, and about to add a new member to the family. Instead you can focus on what you came to do have the baby!

Another friend wrote, "Don't be surprised if you have headlights (you know, hard nipples) during your pregnancy." No kidding! I had already found that one out the hard way, no pun intended. But I wish I had known about it before I arrived on the set of Grey's Anatomy to conduct an interview, looking like I was a little too happy to see the doctors .

These suggestions made me realize that there are so many unexpected, sometimes terrifying, sometimes gross things that happen during your pregnancy that just aren't talked about enough. Where were all of these reassuring tips and kernels of wisdom when I first found out that I was going to become a mom? Yes, there have been countless books written on the subject of pregnancy. But as I quickly discovered, there are many things that are not covered in the pregnancy books...at least, not in the ones I read (and I read a lot of them). Like, what about the time my chest broke out in little red dots--what on earth was that? I completely panicked! Did I have the measles? The mumps? Chicken pox? My blood pressure shot up sky high as I wondered what was wrong with me and how it was affecting my baby. Well, after a visit with my doctor (whom I love and who was always so reassuring), I was told that what I was experiencing was absolutely nothing to be alarmed about. In fact, the dots I developed on my chest were completely normal during pregnancy, and they would go away after I had the baby (I swear my makeup artist had to become a magician during my pregnancy.) You can turn to page 75-76 to read the medical explanation he gave me, but the bottom line is I could've had one less panic attack if any of the books I'd bought had mentioned that a red-dotted chest was par for the course during pregnancy.

I'm an information junkie. The reporter in me never rests. So from the moment my husband, Keith, and I set about trying to get pregnant, I had many questions, starting with how long does it take to get pregnant? (Answer: it takes an average of six months to conceive. Well, phew. What a relief to know that you haven't flunked the fertility test if you don't get pregnant on the first try.) And once it was confirmed that I was officially pregnant, I was constantly on the computer, looking up everything. My doctor and I spoke so often we were practically on a first name basis with one another. And I found myself asking all of my friends with kids a zillion and one questions, only to discover that your friends don't remember to tell you half of the things that happened to them during their pregnancy.

I also found that the books that are available are helpful but hard to navigate, especially the ones with a forty-page index when you have the attention span of a gnat. Not to mention, I felt like a lot of the things that you experience during your pregnancy that aren't harmful to you or your baby (such as red dots on your chest) aren't even mentioned in the books. But guess what? If you don't know it's not harmful and it happens to you it's scary! That is why I wanted to share in a simple, fun, straightforward book all of those crazy, unexpected, sometimes disgusting, sometimes hilarious things that happened to me during my pregnancy. I took notes throughout my pregnancy so I would have a record of what I experienced (again, the reporter in me never rests) and now I'm passing them on to you in hopes that you won't be too surprised when some of these things happen to you.

Love,
Nancy

P.S. As I wrote this introduction, my daughter, who was sleeping next to me, opened her eyes, smiled at Mama, crawled onto my chest to cuddle with me, then fell back to sleep. My heart practically melted. So no matter how challenging pregnancy can be, trust me it's all worth it!