As the proud parent of a beautiful 17-month-old baby girl, Access Hollywood’sNancy O’Dell has learned a few tips about being a mom – she just wishes she knew them all a bit earlier.
But now, Nancy is hoping to help out future moms-to-be with her new book, “Full Of Life: Mom To Mom Tips I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Was Pregnant.”
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“I am an information hog and I read every pregnancy book out there when I was expecting. But I found a lot them were hard to read, and many of things that happened to me were not covered in the pregnancy books, so I was taken by surprise!” Nancy said. “This is a candid, honest, and straightforward, fun look at what really happens to you and your body during your pregnancy and labor…and also some tips on making your pregnancy even more special. Men will appreciate knowing some of the info too!”
Nancy said she got the idea to write her own book when her friends at Access threw her a baby shower and put together a collection of tips for the rest of her pregnancy, delivery and the first week home with her daughter, Ashby.
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“The advice was great, but a lot of the info they gave me had already happened! I thought, ‘Why didn’t you tell me that ahead of time? That way I wouldn’t of panicked when it happened to me.” she laughed.
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Published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment, and slated for an April 2009 release, “Full of Life” will offer tips on a wide array of topics related to pregnancy – from the heartfelt to the embarrassing.
One of those not-so-fond moments came for Nancy during a visit to the set of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” very early on in her pregnancy.
“I wish someone had told me to wear a thicker bra for the first month I was pregnant! I had no clue your headlights stay on during the first weeks of pregnancy. I went to the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ set looking happy to see the doctors… a little too happy!” Nancy joked. “Why didn’t someone tell me about this!”
Another instance, which she hopes to educate expecting mothers on, had Nancy less embarrassed and more worried something was wrong.
“One day I went to work and the makeup artist asked me what were all the red dots on my chest. I looked down and panicked, thinking I had the measles or mumps,” Nancy recalled. “I speed dialed my doctor and he told me what I was experiencing was normal, that when you are pregnant, you have so much more blood in your body that I was actually seeing the ends of my blood vessels. Whew…but I so wish someone had told me this, so my blood pressure wouldn’t have skyrocketed!”
The past few years have been emotional ones for Nancy. She married business executive Keith Zubchevich in June 2005 and announced her pregnancy in December 2006.
The couple welcomed daughter Ashby Grace in June 2007.
However, the joy of her new family turned bittersweet earlier this year when Nancy lost her mother, Betty, after a brave battle with Lou Gerhig’s disease.
In “Full of Life,” besides the embarrassing or frightening moments, Nancy also hopes to offer some ideas to help share the memories of pregnancy with the entire family.
“There are so many things that I share that are scary or humiliating, but there’s also a lot of tender, wonderful things too that you don’t expect will happen to you.” Nancy continued. “There are a lot of tips about sharing with your husband, your kids — I have two wonderful stepsons — and your parents. For example, whenever we got an ultrasound, I would get my copy and an extra copy for each of the grandparents. So we asked the doctor for three each time. My mom put one of the ultrasounds framed on the family piano and it still sits there today.”
In the end, Nancy wants “Full of Life” to be the answer to so many questions sure to come to expecting parents.
“I wish someone would have given me this book when I first got pregnant,” Nancy noted. “I would have gone through a lot less panic, a lot less embarrassment and a lot less frustration. But all the million and one things you go through when you are pregnant are so worth because you get the most beautiful gift you could ever ask for in the end!”
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