The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women gain somewhere between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy. Of course, this poundage depends on the woman's starting weight. If she is overweight, then she should gain less and if she is underweight, then she should gain more.

While we say it with relative ease in most areas of our lives – “No, we don’t have a position available at this time,” “No, this is not a good time for me to talk,” and “No, I don’t want to go to the gym,” – when it comes to our kids, the word just doesn’t roll off the tongue with as much ease. Paula Spencer, the author of “Momfidence: An Oreo Never Killed Anyone and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting” (Three Rivers, 2006), says learning to say the two-letter word with gusto is easier than you might think.

Contrary to popular belief, pregnancy is not always an exciting, happy or glowing experience. Clinical depression affects 15-20% of pregnant women, sometimes hitting so hard that the moms-to-be attempt suicide. Mothers of multiples are at even higher risk with more than 25% suffering during pregnancy and postpartum.

If you think dating as a single is complicated, you’re about to enter the realm of dating a single parent. They say it’s a different case altogether if you’re both single parents, but you are (fortunately or unfortunately?) not one. Still, for the longest time, you’ve made it one of your rules to date someone who’s a single SINGLE, not one who comes with a kid, a bike, and a pet goldfish.

With each day, your partner's belly gets larger and your baby continues to grow... that means that the clock is ticking.  Take advantage of this time to romance each other and relish in the fact that it's just the two of you.  After the baby arrives, life will be a little (a lot) hectic and romance (including sex) will be the last thing on your mind.

Car seats - essential, but pretty darn ugly. They get even worse when you transition from the infant car seat to the monstrous toddler seat. As if it wasn't bad enough that we had to lug a stroller, diaper bag, toys and baby around! You would think that car seat manufacturers would have put some more thought into aesthetics. Oh well. I guess I should just be grateful that the seat is safe and will protect my baby.