Pregnancy and Birth Stories Wanted!

First, let me apologize for the lack of photos lately. My camera batteries died and the last three times I have gone to the Dollar Store I remembered the toothpaste, toilet paper, thank you cards and litter box deodorizer, but not the batteries. I am hopeful that today I will remember!

Anyway, I received my official offer for the book from Focus on the Family, so now I need to make more writing more a part of my everyday life. My goal with this book is to help eliminate surprises in pregnancy, but especially labor and delivery and the first few weeks at home. We all know that every woman has at least one, more likely several, great stories, often embellished a bit more with each telling. That's OK! I am on the hunt for these stories. One of my personal favorites is when my mother in law questioned me in all seriousness, "Why aren't you feeding Chris (our firstborn, now 26) the natural way and giving him a bottle?" No kidding.

So I also want to invite you to share your stories. If you do and your story is included in the book, I will give you a copy of the book when it is published! You too can say you have been published! (Of course, don't hold your breath, the book probably won't be out till late winter/early spring 2010).

I thought about listing the guidelines here, but it's kind of long, so if you are interested pop me an email at Kathy@KathyPride.com and I will send them to you and you can chuckle your way through the chapter headings. Like, "Pain is a For Letter Word" and "Birth is Not Spectator Sport". I would love to share your experiences, and as a veteran childbirth educator (over 20 years teaching and 1,000 couples prepared) it is helpful for me to know what surprised you so I can stay in the surprise elimination business.

Thanks, I hope to hear from you!