Gosselin - Expectant parents: preparing together for the journey of parenthood

Youre about to become parents! Congratulations! We are guessing this is something most of you have dreamt about your entire life or maybe becoming a parent is bringing up some mixed emotions for you. Everyone is different in their initial reaction to hearing the words Youre pregnant. We are convinced that pregnancy is ten full months so we can process, prepare, and plan for becoming a new parent.

We are sure many of you have already heard, Everything is about to change. This may have been said in a positive light or maybe a negative one. We can remember walking out of our first Lamaze class and thinking, What have we gotten ourselves into? We can honestly say now, after having three biological children and one through the gift of adoption, Yes, everything does change. But we can assure you, becoming parents set us on a wonderful, delightful, challenging journey one that we would not change for the world. However, the only way we know to encourage you on this journey is to emphasize the need to be a lifelong learner. Educate yourself in each new season especially the one you are about to embark on!

I (Erin), as a former labor and delivery nurse, have thought back to the number of babies and parents I escorted out the door of the hospital, knowing that I never asked them one question about their marriage, who was going to be caring for the infant, how this has impacted their relationship, and so on. I know this from my own experience as well; they hand you the baby and you walk out the door, without an instruction manual! But when Greg and I were going through the adoption process (prior to receiving approval to adopt our Annie), I was amazed by how much we were asked about not only our marriage, but our parents marriages, our plan for caring for an adopted child, and the list went on and on! The preparation time actually gave us an opportunity to really talk through the changes and challenges before us, and that was a good thing.

I (Greg) was struck with what a need there is for a book just like Expectant Parentsa guide to thinking through how this child will impact you both individually, as well as your marriage. This book is filled with stories from real moms and dads whove been there; youll find practical tips and advice as you prepare to dive into this adventure of parenting.

We are so excited you are taking advantage of all this book has to offer. We are confident that you will reflect back on the information, stories, and content you are about to experience. We couldnt put the book down once we started reading and found ourselves thinking, We sure wish we would have had this book prior to bringing our first daughter home!

Yes, life will change once your little one arrives. However, as you read this book, youre taking the first step to being well prepared for the changes that will come and for the incredible adventure and journey that lie ahead.

Blessings!

Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley