Mowry Tia - Oh, baby!: pregnancy tales and advice from one hot mama to another

Oh,
Baby!

Oh, Baby!

Pregnancy Tales and Advice
from One Hot Mama
to Another

Tia Mowry

with Sheryl Berk

A VERY
a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
New York

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Copyright 2012 by Tia Mowry

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Published simultaneously in Canada

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs in insert courtesy Tia Mowry. , top, courtesy Jose Villa; bottom right, courtesy Andrea Regalado.

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ISBN: 978-1-101-58665-5

Printed in the United States of America

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BOOK DESIGN BY NICOLE LAROCHE

The Ask the OB sections are the result of Tias own research and experience, and are based on the questions she asked her own physician. They are not a substitute for seeking your own medical supervision. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Neither the authors nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.

The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

While the authors have made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the authors assume any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity.
In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers;
however, the story, the experiences, and the words
are the authors alone.

ALWAYS LEARNING

PEARSON

I want to dedicate this book
to my loving and supportive husband,
Cory Hardrict, and my joy and reason,
Cree Taylor Hardrict.

I m pregnant! What does that mean? Well, lets just state the obvious: I have a bun in the oven and Im gonna be a mother. Someones mama. A role model, a rule maker, a caregiver, the commander in chief. Bigger than Big Bird, you betcha, when it comes to a little persons life.

If youve picked up this book, youre probably in the same situation. Congrats! Whether you were pleasantly surprised or its been a long journey (it certainly has been for me), welcome to the club. Go ahead; give yourself a pat on the back and a thunderous round of applause. Not everyone can do this (guys, for example). I dont know about you, but I feel like Superwoman. The power! The head rush! I feel like I could do anything: climb mountains, swim oceans, run with the bulls

But I should warn you: This baby bliss wont last forever. For me, it started to wind down when I couldnt see my toes, keep food down, stop farting, or find anything to wear that would fit me besides a small tent. No, I was not feelin like Ms. Fabulous in those moments. (And, lucky me, they were televised for the whole world to see on my reality show.) But that was when I told myself that when it sucks, Ill just laugh. Ill laugh even when I feel more like screaming or crying or strangling my husband for knocking me up. Because you have to keep things in perspective and keep your sense of humor when the world around you is spinning out of control.

Will I screw up? Absolutely. Will I break down? Several times a day. But in the end, I am the Queen of All Things (and my hormones are raging, so you better agree ). And so are you. Youre the boss. Not your husband (sorry, honey), not your mother-in-law, not your well-meaning best girlfriend who wants you to give birth in a bathtub. You decide how this pregnancy is going to go, how you want to deliver your baby (barring any medical emergency), whether you want to breast-feed or go with formula (my boobs, my rules, I always say). Sometimes I feel like my head is going to explode, with all the information that is being shoved in my face. My advice? You take what feels right, what works for you, and leave the rest behind. Start listening to your developing mama instinct. Yes, you should be well informed and know your options, but in the end, you follow your gut. And trust me by the time you hit the second trimester, that gut is hard to miss.

This book is not meant to stress you out or dictate what you should do. Its my take on my journey, from month one to delivery and beyond! Its the questions I asked my OB and the strategies I used to cope with every situation that arose, expected and unexpected, in the hope that what I have been through and learned along the way can help you. You too can hide your burgeoning belly from coworkers for several months, tell well-meaning moms to keep their opinions to themselves (politely!), and stifle the urge to puke every time you smell food, all while looking sexy as you grow to the size of a small semitruck. I did it, and my experiences may not be yours (hopefully, you wont have as much gas), but every woman goes through her own adventure en route to mommyhood. Mentally, physically, and emotionally, its a roller coasterthat explains the nausea. I hope to help you get through it with dignity and style.

And youre not alone. I am in it with you. I admit that despite my bravado, I was scared out of my mind from day one. I actually find it hysterically funny that people call it expecting, because I had no idea what to expect! How could I, when I know nothing about babies and pregnancy? I havent done this before. Ever. And mind you, they dont teach Surviving Pregnancy 101 in college. If they did, wed all probably be too scared to sign up for it. I am not one of those mothers who has been preparing to give birth since she was two. I was focusing on my education and my career. Im learning as I go along. Im winging it, big-time.