***This is not a sponsored post.***
There I sat. Cross-legged. Tucked away in the tiny corner of the “Pregnancy and Babies” section at the massive Borders bookshop.
8 weeks pregnant and none the wiser, I scoured through every book in the shelves, desperately searching for information – anything to get me through the next 32 or so weeks.
Despondently, I found that my pile of “must buy” books wasn’t very high compared to the ones I thought were utterly useless.
They all held relevant information, albeit in a clinical, text book manner.
However, I was on a hunt for the truth. I had some desperately pending questions that needed answering. I wanted to cut to the pregnancy reality chase.
“How much is this going to hurt ?”
“How supportive will Mr Surfer actually be?”
“Will my boobs ever be the same again?”
And beyond my own looming curiosity, there was the stuff I was completely clueless about but was inevitably a part of early motherhood: the puke, the poo (and that’s just your own), cliquey mothers’ groups and Nazi-type judgmental midwives.
Exposing her own undignified, yet honest baby making experiences Monica Dux’s book “Things I Didn’t Expect (when I was expecting) will have you snort laughing.
Along side the humour, she also shares well-researched, thought provoking historical facts about pre and post natal procedures, concepts of birthing and even the transition of the paternal role during child birth. (Apparently in the 60’s, it was thought to believe that a father being present at a birth could turn him gay! Something about labour being so traumatic, it would obviously turn any husband off from his perfect wife. Hmmmm…)
I will admit. When I was first asked to review Monica’s book, I blindly thought that there was nothing left to scare me about the blood and gore of having a baby. After all, I had TWO at a time.
But this book’s not about that. It’s about finally opening up the taboo topics for discussion.
It was the exact book that I was hoping to find that day in the bookshop.
Whether you’re a mum of six or wondering what’s (really) in store when you’re about to have a baby, I highly recommend that you grab a copy of “Things I Didn’t Expect (when I was expecting).
The more we speak about the real concerns of pregnancy and early days of motherhood, the less stigmas we’ll have in our modern society.
I have a copy to giveaway to one lucky reader!
All you have to do is:
- Leave a comment, answering the question: “When someone you knew/ you were pregnant, what did you/they experience that was completely unexpected?”
- Follow With Some Grace
- Subscribe to With Some Grace by Email
The important stuff:
- This giveaway is only open to Australian residents
- Closing date for entries is Tuesday, 30th of April.
- The winner will be contacted via email on the following Wednesday.
- If the winner does not reply to my email within 24 hours, another winner will be chosen.
- Entries will be judged on merit and decision of the winner will be final.
- The winner will be sent a copy of “Things I Didn’t Expect (when I was expecting) by Monica Dux through Melbourne University Publishing.
Joining Essentially Jess for another fab round of IBOT
