Vicki Iovine - The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy

TOP 10

Greatest Lies
About Pregnancy

Lamaze Works.

Morning Sickness Is Gone by Lunchtime.

Good Mothers Love Every Minute of This.

You Will Have Your Pre-pregnancy Figure Back in Three Months, Especially If You Nurse.

Oil Massages Prevent Stretch Marks.

Pregnant Women Have the Most Beautiful Skin and Hair.

Exercise During Pregnancy Will Make Your Labor Easier.

Pregnancy Brings a Couple Closer Together (Yeah, You and Your Obstetrician!).

From the Back, You Cant Even Tell Youre Pregnant!

Pregnancy Only Lasts Nine Months.

The author of this book is not a physician and the ideas, procedures, and suggestions in this book are not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of a trained health professional. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Consult your physician before adopting the suggestions in this book, as well as about any condition that may require diagnosis or medical attention. The author and publisher disclaim any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of the book.

Copyright 1995, 2007 by Vicki Iovine

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Iovine, Vicki.

The girlfriends guide to pregnancy / Vicki Iovine.2nd ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

1. Pregnancy. I. Title.

RG525.I58 2007

618.2dc22 2006051044

ISBN 13: 978-1-4165-5187-4
ISBN 10: 1-4165-5187-5

POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Text design by Diane Hobbing of Snap-Haus Graphics

Visit us on the World Wide Web:

http://www.SimonSays.com

FOR JAMIE, JESSICA, JEREMY, AND JADE

Acknowledgments

1995

Here I am, winner of the life lottery. I have a bunch of kids, a great husband, a new computer (that I sort of know how to use) and I have written a book, for heavens sake! Whats left for me now, except perhaps rejoining the other mothers in the car pool? I am grateful to so many people for helping me pull this off. My family, of course, tops any list. My kids will probably talk about this book with their therapists in adulthood, but so far they have been ardent supporters. Not only did they provide me with most of my material, but they cut me some slack to write when they really wanted me at karate practice or the school Christmas pageant. Only a man with my husband Jimmys confidence and sense of humor could take the beating I occasionally give his gender. Only a man who really had faith in me could believe that I could write a book, raise our kids, and remodel the house with one hand tied behind my back. And only a man who really loved me could never once ask me to cook him dinner during the entire process. I love my family so much that, when I think of them, I cant quite catch my breath.

Before there was the Iovine family, there was the McCarty family, and they are as responsible for this books happening as anyone. First there is my father, who, in his soul, is really the writer of the family, and my stepmother, Linda, who has been loving me and covering for me since I was twelve. Then there is my mother, who in her soul is really Lucille Ball and who showed me candor and humor in their most uncontrollable forms. And there is my beloved brother, Gregg, who is really my first baby. He always thought his big sister could accomplish anything, and he uncomplainingly allowed me to hone my mothering skills on him. It was he I fed cat food to during Captain Kangaroo, and it was he I almost convinced to drink water out of the toilet in my new plastic tea set. It was for him that I beat up a neighborhood kid who teased him for wearing saddle shoes. (See, I told you my mother had a good sense of humor.)

Then there were the people who stood behind me and pushed when my energy or self-confidence failed. They start with my friend of so many years and adventures Bobby Shriver, who has always gotten a kick out of encouraging me to do ridiculous things. He introduced me to Bob Bookman, who was kind enough to laugh at my jokes and help me find the perfect agent. He was assisted in this task by Angela Janklow Harrington, who appropriately got pregnant with her first daughter during this process. Then there is that perfect agent Angela and Bob found for me, Cynthia Cannell, who with her calm and sweet manner (that belied her ability to be a tough advocate if the need arose) actually made me believe I could string more than five words together, and who became a Girlfriend in the process. She also introduced me to the funniest (but not funnier than I) and smartest editor in the world, Dona Chernoff. With that, the Matriarchy was formed. We three mothers were on a rampage, and this book reflects our combined point of view. No day seems complete without a nice long kvetch with each of them on the phone.

I deeply and lovingly thank all my Girlfriends for sharing their stories (and for letting me tell their stories to complete strangers) and for being part of every decision I make every day, from writing this book to cutting my hair to deciding whether its time for plastic surgery. I cherish our alliance and interdependence. I also love our birthday parties.

I have no false pride that I completed this endeavor alone. It could not have happened without my assistant, Frances Tsow. When she wasnt busy proofreading or numbering the pages of a manuscript that changed several thousand times, she was making sure my kids didnt miss their dentist appointments and organizing their playdates. Best of all, she knew when I needed to take a break (or risk accidentally erasing my manuscript from the computer), when to run out and surprise me with an extralarge iced coffee, or when to just stand back and laugh at the chaos.

I am eternally grateful and endlessly excited, and I look forward to the day when I can walk into a bookstore and see this book (with my name on it, no less) on the shelf.

Acknowledgments

2007

Its been twelve years since the first edition of The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy was released. Its success has been nothing short of shocking, but Im most moved by the personal and sweet connections that the readers and I have developed. When I meet women who have had their babies with this book as their Girlfriendthey oftentimes come up to meet me in a mall, during a book signing or even via my husbands officethey tell me their pregnancy and birth stories. Best of all, they show me pictures of their babies. I cant describe how much I love this and how humble it makes me feel. I love those babies, too.

One of the first people who helped pave the way for this second edition of the book was Tom Freston, former Co-Chairman of Viacom, and a constant friend and mentor to our family. Tom, I will never forget your kindness and I thank you every day when I sit down before a blank computer screen. Next on board with the encouragement to go back to the well, so to speak, and reappraise every word and attitude from a decade of hindsight and experience was Jack Romanos of Simon & Schuster. He was there in 1995 when I had this idea for a little book for pregnant women and, in spite of the impression I had that his interest in personal female stuff was neutral or worse, Jack, you encouraged and supported me in being my outrageous and outraged self. I will always be happy to be home at Pocket Books and Simon & Schuster.