You’ve come a long way, baby

It was kind of interesting returning to the world of pregnant people after five years of normal life. I can’t believe how much things have changed.

I sort of imagined myself as an undercover reporter on assignment as a pregnant woman to learn how much society has advanced in the last five years. OK… not really.

First, there are the maternity clothes. When I had my other children, major retailers were just starting to add maternity sections to their lines of clothing. Thankfully, we had already made it through the days when tent-like dresses with the worst, unflattering floral were the “style” for pregnant women.

Now, pregnant women can buy their clothes at The Gap, Old Navy and Hot Mama. In fact, some of the maternity clothes are so cute, I’m sort of sad I won’t be able to wear them anymore. Sort of.

Another discovery I made was the cute “diaper bags” women can now choose from. When I had my other three children, the hospital gave us a free diaper bag that was bright yellow and blue with a Pooh Bear print. Or maybe it was butterflies. Whatever it was, it really stuck out and screamed “diaper rash”!

This time, the hospital gave us a cool, black sling bag that even my husband is happy to carry.

Of course, all of the baby tools, toys, bedding, strollers, swings and chairs now come in a variety of hot color combinations. I’m especially fond of the pink and brown look.

Finally, the best part. The hospital photos.

We still jokingly call my oldest son’s hospital photo his “prison photo”. The photographer lined up the babies in their bassinets, covered them with the white hospital blankie with the blue and pink stripes and took one shot looking straight down at the baby.

When we got the photo in the mail a few weeks later, we couldn’t believe it. He had the most awful, mad look on his scrunched up face that only a baby can make right before he lets out a scream.

Now, the hospitals hire outside companies like BellaBaby to do a photo shoot with the baby. The photographer actually spends about 30 minutes in your room, putting the baby in various poses and offers the photos in black and white or color.

How could we resist buying the CD with all of the photos, giving us rights to copy, print and reproduce them however we like?

So, what do you think? Have I convinced any of my AMA friends it’s worth returning to the world of pregnancy? OK, then. How about one look at this face?

** I asked the photographer why she didn’t try to hide the Band-Aid and the ankle tags in the first photo of the feet. She said that she was documenting the process and those things are part of being in the hospital. **

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