Stats, books, and videotapes

The pregnancy process includes countless statistics that are simply amazing. For example, did you, dear reader, know that by the time the fetus is six months old, it will have forced its mother to consume 23 times its body weight in pickles? (Source here).

Other multipliers include four times the baby's birthweight in advice books, and, by the age of 4, six times the child's weight in videotapes and DVDs. We've made great strides in preparation for this process, and want to share some of this with you.

Just tonight, off Craig's List, we bought about 60 children's videotapes for $30, including our very first Teletubbies tapes. Not coincidentally, tomorrow is trash day. We expect we'll have about 58 tapes the day after, if you catch dad's drift.

We've found a number of books to be helpful. If you suspect you may soon spawn, you might consider verifying the latest edition of these books at Amazon.com, then buying them through powells.com, half.com, bookfinder.com, or craigslist.com to save a few bucks:

• What To Expect When You're Expecting, a classic book now in its third edition that has already saved us some sleep and/or calls to the doctor's office.
• The Expectant Father, focused on the father's needs, concerns, support role and more.
• Bartender's Black Book, Seventh Edition, focused on ways to directly support the father in stressful times.
• The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, a cheerfully upbeat book that tries to lay out the facts, even the depressing ones. Please note this book in spots directly contradicts medical advice given elsewhere, so keep an open but critical mind.
• Taking Charge of Your Fertility, Toni Weschler's great guide to the minutia that can become so important in getting knocked up. This book also has some useful supporting software as well as discussion forums, all available through Ovusoft.
• Babies and Other Hazards of Sex, a deeply philosophical tome by the noted researcher David Barry.

We've also been recommended books on baby massage and sign language, but haven't gotten to them just yet. More books later, we're sure. =)