Book Review: “Hands Off My Belly”

I think it is safe to say that every first-time expectant mom reads at least one book during her pregnancy.  One book would probably be an absolute minimum.  After all, this experience is brand new and different than anything else we have ever done in our life! 

I have wanted to share my feedback on the book I have enjoyed the most so far, and this blog seems to be the perfect place to do it!  

Hands Off My Belly: The Pregnant Woman's Survival Guide to Myths, Mothers, and Moods by Shawn Tassone and Kathryn Landherr.  You can find it on Amazon. 

This book was the very first book that I bought after I found out I was expecting.  I wanted a book that was straightforward, simple, yet informative.  After reading the book, I would say it accomplished everything I wanted it to. 

What I enjoyed about the book:

·    The authors are practicing OB-GYNS, so it is written from the perspective of a doctor that has experienced many different women and pregnancy scenarios.  They provide some humor and real life experiences, but mostly a lot of great information.

·    Because the book was written by doctors, I trusted the information that they provided.  I also felt like all of the “major topics” were covered.

·    There are real-life questions or scenarios discussed – which helps the reader relate to the book and experiences discussed.

·    It was a quick read – I finished it in less than a week and only read it at night before bed.

What I wish the book would have discussed more:

·    One of the strengths, yet weaknesses of the book, is that it did not discuss personal experiences.  I find a lot of value in reading about personal experiences of others – and although I am careful not to generalize the experiences of others to myself.

·    The book used Dr. jargon at times, but not overly noticeable and it definitely did not turn me off from reading it. 

Overall – I really enjoyed this book.  I have since read What to Expect When You’re Expecting (or most of it, it is a long book!) and I am glad that I read this one first.  Hands off My Belly is much shorter and provides a lot of great information.  I find that I can skim through certain sections of What to Expect because I have already read similar information.  And I’m pretty sure I never would have taken the time to read through the entire What to Expect book – I’m wayyyy to busy for that!

First Post, First Blog

Today is an adventure into the unknown.

First, let me tell you a few basics about myself.  I am:

• 26 (almost 27)
• married 
• an expectant mom (due in June 2011!)
• a Human Resources professional and love my job (although I won't discuss that much here)
• completing a corporate MBA program (hence the reason for this blog...more about this later)
• I'll be using a pseudonym - First Time Working Mom.  Mostly because this is my first venture into the interwebs, I want to be as open as possible about my experiences (without embarrassing myself!) and also because it was the first pseudonym I thought of and was available on blogger and gmail!

This blog, although started due to an assignment, is something that I have been thinking about for a few months.  My husband and I decided to venture into parenthood during the summer of 2010 and everything has moved quickly since then.  From the BFP to today, my one goal for this pregnancy is to not overwhelm myself with useless knowledge.  Instead, I focused on remaining true to myself, attempt to include my husband along every step of the way, and not become obsessed about things that are outside of my control.


My goal is to openly discuss my experiences, learn about experiences of other first-time moms, and share useful information along the way.  I realize that there are MANY websites out there that provide information about pregnancy, parenting, etc.  But what I have found is that each website puts a certain spin on the information - and also attempts to share EVERYTHING without telling you what the truly important things are.  As someone who is very busy (and occasionally procrastinates!) I will attempt to catalog useful information from multiple sources on my website and blog. And, I'm not getting paid by anyone to do this!


Welcome!  Enjoy!  And please, share feedback - I'll never claim to be an expert and WANT you to share useful information that I can pass along to others!


FTWM :)