(by 8 people)
Pregnancy, Birth, Baby, and Beyond
Pregnancy and parenting are my "day job." (I write pregnancy and parenting books for a living.) And I recently launched a blog @ Yahoo! Parenting in Canada. (You can access a number of my pregnancy, parenting, and baby articles on the site, too.)
Pregnancy and parenting have also been my passion, obsession, or whatever you want to call it for the past 19 years -- ever since I found out I was pregnant with my first child.
So it only made sense to devote my first lens to these two topics. I've since "spun off" a fair number of lenses as this lens has continually outgrown its space -- and I imagine I'll continue to do so. So don't be surprised if the lens looks different each time you visit. I'm always renovating around here! - Ann
Get Ready to Get Pregnant
NEW ! If you're at the "I'm thinking about getting pregnant" stage rather than the "I'm already pregnant" stage, I just created a new lens just for you. Pregnancy Limbo
To pee or not to pee? That is the question.
If only home pregnancy tests were re-useable - or a little less expensive. We antsy mamas could test away to our hearts' contents without worrying about committing a $10 faux pas each time. Testing would be part of the daily post-ovulation regime - a way to while away the days until a test result could officially be declared.Being caught in pregnancy limbo - that reproductive holding pattern between ovulation and a positive pregnancy test result - is the grownup equivalent of waiting for your birthday to roll around again, the school year to end, or the holiday season to begin. The agony of knowing that you have to wait this many days is almost unbearable. (Read rest of my article @ ClubMom)
RECOMMENDED WEBSITE: The History of the Pregnancy Test Kit
A website presented by the Office of NIH History
1350 BCEOne of the earliest written records of a urine-based pregnancy test can be found in an ancient Egyptian document. A papyrus described a test in which a woman who might be pregnant could urinate on wheat and barley seeds over the course of several days. Read more...
Mother Math
Pregnancy and parenting by the numbers
- 10 Steps to a Healthy Pregnancy: Things to Do in the Year Prior to Conception
- 7 Ways to Increase Your Odds of Conceiving: Tips for Giving Mother Nature a Nudge When You Are Trying to Get Pregnant
- NEW ! The First 30 Days of Pregnancy -- An Interview with Ann Douglas, author of The Mother of All Pregnancy Books
- 10 Things to Know About Your Pregnancy: Some Things Your Best Friend Might Forget to Tell You, But That You Definitely Need to Know
- 5 Pregnancy Stressbusters
- 10 Things You Don't Have to Worry About When You're Pregnant
- 7 Myths About Predicting Your Baby's Sex
- 10 Tips for Planning Your Babymoon
- 20 Thoughtful Ways to Spoil a New Mom
- The 1st Sleepover
- 5 Fabulous Birthday Parties for Kids
- All articles written by Ann Douglas; find more pregnancy and parenting articles and pregnancy tipsheets here.
Life After Baby: Articles by Ann Douglas
How your life changes after baby arrives on the scene
The Mother of All Books series
A selection of my pregnancy and parenting books
The Mother of All Pregnancy Books: The Ultimate Guide to Conception, Birth, and Everything In Between (U.S. Edition)
"The must-read pregnancy book! Ann Douglas has created the most comprehensive guide to pregnancy we've ever seen."
- Denise and Alan Fields, authors, Baby Bargains
The Mother of All Baby Books: The Ultimate Guide to Your Baby's First Year (U.S. edition)
"Ann Douglas has done it again! Like her pregnancy books, this new baby-rearing guide is comprehensive, yet easy to read. Parents will find answers to all their questions."
- Tamara Eberlein, co-author, When You're Expecting Wins, Triplets, or Quads
The Mother of All Toddler Books (Mother of All)
"Informative and sensible. Who needs Dr. Spock with Ann Douglas around?"
- Multiple Moments
Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler: The Ultimate No-Worry Approach for Each Age and Stage (Mother of All Solutions)
"A one-stop, no-guilt answer book on sleep where every bleary-eyed parent can find wise, rational advice on any sleep issue from A to ZZZZZs."
- Paula Spencer, contributing editor to Parenting and Baby Talk magazines
View Table of Contents or Excerpt from Chapter 1.
Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler: The Ultimate No-Worry Approach for Each Age and Stage (Mother of All Solutions)
And now, hot off the press, a no-worry, no-guilt guide to feeding your baby, toddler, and preschooler.
Read the introduction and check out the table of contents.
Baby Food
Even the high chairs...
Mm, chocolate. Oh if...
Baby
New High Chair
New High Chair
New High Chair
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The Pregnancy and Parenting Group Wants YOU!
If you have a lens that focuses on some aspect of pregnancy and parenting (say one of the lenses listed here!) and you haven't already discovered our group), come join in the fun. We're a group of lensmasters who enjoy creating top quality lenses for parents. And if we haven't found you yet, all the better! We'd love to find out what lenses you've created and what you're working on right now. Here's where to find us. Pregnant Pauses and Mother Musings
The Mother of All Guestbooks is always open
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karinmindell
Excellent down to earth info! Thanks for the resource. Posted April 27, 2008 |
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robert320
Very nice lens, thanks, some great information and resources. We have a little less than 5 weeks until our first comes along, I can't wait, i think :) Posted April 03, 2008 |
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PetPortraitArtist
Great Lens, very informative!...5 stars Posted November 06, 2007 |
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givingbirth
Excellent resource! I can completely relate - educating women about giving birth naturally has been my passion/obsession as well since the birth of my first child! Posted August 26, 2007 |
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steveT
Very nicely done lens Ann. I can see you have put a ton of time into it. You have earned my 5 stars. Steve, from male sexual health Posted June 11, 2007 |
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TommyL
hi ann, i think your lens is very informative and is a good source of information not only for first time mothers but for all pregnant women in general. i'll make sure my wife checks it out. Posted March 21, 2007 |
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LauraTBecker
I really like your Lense. I'm adding it as a link on my lense! Posted September 23, 2006 |
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anndouglas
Hey, Monica - Posted July 25, 2006 |
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monicamoody
Wow! I am so honored that you liked my lens and were so kind to post about it here! Thanks! And yes, a sense of humor (and the occasional break to dabble in art) helps w/survival. The kids are almost 1 and almost 2. Yikes. I just ordered your toddler book; was excited to see it in your list! Posted July 20, 2006 |
MAGAZINE REVIEW: Conceive Magazine
Conceive Magazine
Conceive Magazine is the first mainstream magazine to focus on couples who are trying to achieve a pregnancy. It's smart, savvy, and informative and tuned into the issues that are of greatest concern to parents-to-be.
The magazine recently launched an Internet radio show through Voice of America and it was recently named one of the country's 50 best magazines by The Chicago Tribune.
I am a regular contributor to Conceive Magazine. In addition to writing features (my most recent was on preconception health), I write the magazine's "Misconceptions column" -- the column on the very last page of the magazine that tackles common myths about getting pregnant.
WORTH REPEATING: "Trust Those Who Understand That There Are Few One-Size-Fits-All Rules for Raising Kids"
Look for experts who offer flexible perspectives, parenting publication stresses
"When you peruse parenting tomes, watch for signs of inflexible single-mindedness. Trust those who seem to understand that kids are different, and that there are few one-size-fits-all rules for raising them."
Hoffman's words really resonated with me because they reflect my parenting philosophy and the perspective that I bring to my work as a pregnancy and parenting book author. I actually feel quite passionately about this topic.
In my book THE MOTHER OF ALL PREGNANCY BOOKS, I write: "There's no such thing as a one-size-fits all pregnancy experience" and in my book THE MOTHER OF ALL PARENTING BOOKS, I write "There's a growing backlast against advice givers who have lost touch with the needs of real families....parenting experts who offer highly simplistic, formulaic solutions that don't take into account the countless messy variables that are the very essence of family life and who refuse to accept that one-size-fits-all parenting solutions fit most kids as well as one-size-fits-all jeans." And I have been using the phrase "There's no one-size-fits-all sleep solution" ad nauseum during the campaign for SLEEP SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR BABY, TODDLER, AND PRESCHOOLER.
But that's because this is really important to me. I've always hated it when people have tried to serve me a "five easy steps" bill of goods so I refuse to take that approach in my writing. Nothing about parenting is that easy or straightforward, and there's no across-the-board formula that applies to all parents and all kids. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is selling you a bill of goods. (A very seductive bill of goods that may be just what you need on a very bad parenting day, but a bill of goods nonetheless.)
