Baby Love

Once you change expectations it's ok

I judged this book by its title and summary and did not get the book I expected. I thought this was going to be a book about a person who decided to have a baby after years of going between having and not having, but this is a book about a person's 9-month pregnancy after years of wanting to have a baby and then going through the usual fears and doubts. So, not the book I expected, but once I accepted it for what it was, it was OK.

Baby Love was a journal turned into a memoir, and there were a lot of opinions that I thought the author was better off keeping to herself. I did not agree with her view that every woman should be a mother or that she told a stranger who said she does not want to have children that she still had time to change her mind. Sure the stranger does, but no one wants to hear that they will change their mind about not having kids, it's obnoxious. The author's attitude towards motherhood and pregnancy felt idyllic at times. I understand she was happy and excited to be a mother, and she did have the fears about not being a good mom and not being able to provide for her child, but she kept elevating motherhood to be this holier than thou role which just had me internally rolling my eyes.

On the plus side, this was a short book, and the writing is broken up into days, so the pace was quick. My favourite parts were in the beginning when the author was talking about going through depression and having to take medication while pregnant and agonising over the decision to stop or stay on her medication. As someone who does get depressed, it was interesting to read about a pregnant mother's experience.