Here are some notes I’ve jotted down that I try to pass along to my pregnant friends.  I thought I’d finally get them all down in one place!

What to Expect When You’re Expecting is an essential book to any pregnant woman.  But the website offers even more personalization and current articles, as well as a discussion board, weight gain tracker and a place to post photos when your little bundle arrives.  There is also an email subscription for those who have less time to browse – it sends you the information about what you might be experiencing each week, along with some tips for Dad!  Other books that have been recommended to me are The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy and Jenny McCarthy’s Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth.

A little bit of nausea goes a long way and can take even the most strong-stomached women out of commission.  Preggy Pops (or drops, if you’re like me) did wonders for me in a pinch.  They didn’t help the total exhaustion of the first trimester, but the did take the edge off of the nausea.  And I resisted way too long that old wives tale about keeping crackers near the bed for morning.  Do it.  Don’t be stubborn like me.  I wasted weeks of miserable mornings.

As your belly gets bigger, your clothes will get tighter, but there’s not need to rush right out to buy the flowing tops and paneled bottoms beloved by pregnant women everywhere.  Get yourself to Motherhood Maternity and invest in a tummy sleeve!  It beats those button extenders – I’ve tried both.  And if you can get to a store that carries their plus sizes, they make those in plus sizes too.

I love to gather information, so websites were big for me during pregnancy.  I liked to read about how the baby was growing and what was developing at any given time, especially in those first months before I was showing.  Here are my favorites:

1. The Visible Embryo Pregnancy Timeline shows the growth by week of the embryo/fetus along with a to-size scale marking and details about what kinds of things are developing each week starting with fertilization.
2. Similac’s StrongMoms website has a good summary of week-by-week development.
3. Baby Center’s Pregnancy section has general descriptions of development for each month but very good pictures of each week starting at fertilization.  Scroll down on the main page for the links to various weeks under “Your Pregnancy – Week by Week.”  There are also videos!
4. WebMD has a section on Health & Pregnancy that is great for the health aspect of your pregnancy.  This is more focused on what Mom is going through than the development of the baby, and there aren’t many pictures, but it’s a good reminder to keep health in the front of your mind!
5. Pregnancy.org has detailed information about what is happening week to week, but what I like here is the actual 3-d ultrasound, embryoscopy and fetoscopy photos.
6. The Westside Pregnancy Clinic website also has some good photos to accompany general descriptions about each week.
7. Childbirth Connection was very helpful (?) towards the end my pregnancy to get an image in my mind of where things had moved to make room for the baby.  It’s pretty cool if you like that kind of thing, but if you think it might gross you out to see your stomach almost literally in your throat, stay away!