So, should the title be Proactive Pregnancy?

Picking a title is kind of like picking your child's name. It will live with you forever and you are to blame or praise.

Proactive Pregnancy started off as What You Need to Know Before the Baby Comes, which is thoroughly descriptive but kind of long. I started looking at other book titles and noticed that some have sexy names, like Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven, and How my Breasts Saved the World, but then I noticed that some books have a double title. A short title, followed by a more descriptive one, like, Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth by Jenny McCarthy.

So I thought long and hard and came up with Proactive Pregnancy. I wanted a search term with either pregnancy or baby and I like alliteration. Proactive sounds like a business term that means to get ready for and anticipate future problems.

The only other reference to the term Proactive is the acne solution which I've heard good things about.

Of course, now that hurricane season is almost upon those of us in the East and Southeast, I started seeing references to our Hurricane Preparedness Guide. So I started thinking, what if I call it a Baby Preparedness Guide? When a new baby comes to a first time mom, it is like a hurricane to her. But I don't want people to think that having a baby is a bad thing like Hurricane Katrina.

So I think I'll keep it Proactive Pregnancy: What You Need to Know Before the Baby Comes.

To view sample chapters, visit Proactive Pregnancy's website at www.joeandkatie.com/book.

Why did I write Proactive Pregnancy?

I was a math major in college and my teachers never praised my writing. So why did I write a 90,000 page book on babies? I certainly had no idea that I would be capable of such a thing...

Here's how it happened...

I was at a baby shower of a friend, Victoria, just after my second child turned 1 year old. This was her first and I was excited for her. As she was opening her gifts, I found myself giving her advice like, "You'll need to get another pink blanket, in case you misplace that one" and "it's great you got so many different types of pacifiers because you'll never know which one she'll like." After a while, Victoria said, "Why don't you right these down for me?" I agreed but I knew that I didn't have much time because she only had a month before her baby was due.

While my kids took naps, I started writing down some tips that I wished someone had told me. I had read a great many books on pregnancy and babies when I was pregnant with my son, but still felt ill-prepared for motherhood. I think my document was about 3 pages long filled with one sentence tips.

I sent her the document and gave her a week to read it. She loved it but added the suggestion, "Could you maybe explain things more?"

And so, while my kids slept in the afternoon, I would work on this project.

I sent her an expanded copy and she added "Could you organize it better?"

Thus, a 3 page list of suggestions has become an over 300 page book. I have emailed draft copies of it to pregnant women with glowing responses like, "Wow! I think you could publish this!"- Shelly B.

Of course, I have sent queries to literary agents (about 10) with all of them turning me down. From what I have read, I need to have a guaranteed audience for a publisher to take a chance on me. That's why so many books are coming out by television personalities. I like to say that they only publish books from people who are famous or who have killed someone famous.

So for the past 18 months, I have been working on Proactive Pregnancy a little almost every day while my preschoolers have slept. I have given up working out, watching tv, or any other pleasurable self serving thing that a stay at home mom does while her kids sleep (including cleaning house!)

My goal is to finish this final edit, let someone proof read it for me, and then print 40 copies at Office Depot to sell online, at baby boutiques and to give away to pregnant women.

Thanks to all who have encouraged me.

If you would like to see some sample chapters of the book, click over to Proactive Pregnancy's website at www.joeandkatie.com/book

Direct link to Proactive Pregnancy book website

Here is a direct link to Proactive Pregnancy's website:
http://www.joeandkatie.com/book

Proactive Pregnancy is a book for moms who want to be prepared before the baby comes. It includes two chapters on setting expectations for yourself, as well as your husband and the baby's future grandparents.

Some of Proactive Pregnancy's chapters are Buying Baby Gear, Preparing the House, Colic and Crying, and Baby Care 101.

What makes Proactive Pregnancy different from other pregnancy and baby books is the way it can help a new mom do as much as possible to get her life together, house organized, baby room set up, and herself educated in everything baby. Why wait until the baby gets here and the mom is sleep deprived before becoming prepared?

Adoptive parents will also find Proactive Pregnancy to be a great help before they bring their little bundle of joy home.

Sample chapters of Proactive Pregnancy are available for viewing at www.joeandkatie.com/book

Yea! I'm going to be published in MOPS magazine

I had almost forgotten about it, but then about a week ago, I get a wonderful email from MOPS letting me know that they are going to use my article, 8 Ways to Reach Out to New Moms in their July/Aug edition.

I had written an article so that I could get more publicity out about my book and now I'll have some! Now, I just have to make sure that people can find it!

Proactive Pregnancy: What You Need to Know Before the Baby Comes is available at www.joeandkatie.com/book.

I've got several chapters out there for free as well as how to order your own copy.

Another part of our lunch with daddy was eating at Firehouse Subs. But I actually planned ahead and made the kids' lunches as well as my own. I included sandwiches, carrots, cut up apples, juice boxes, and water. Daddy, of course, got a sub as well as a kid's sub for my son. But it was so great having our lunch with us already; a lunch that I knew that the kids would eat. It worked out great for me because then I knew I wouldn't overeat!

So it was eating AT Firehouse, but MY food. It was fun! I should do that more often!

Today we had a visit to daddy's work and got to ride the Riverside Trolley which does a loop through Riverside and then around downtown. I was getting impatient and looking at my watch and Joe reminded me that riding the trolley was THE experience, not just transportation. I have to remember that with kids, I need to take every moment of downtime I can and just enjoy the time with my kids, even if nothing is happening and we are stopped at a light. To my kids... something is always happening.