I’m not currently pregnant, but lemme tell you what: had I created this sandwich when I was in waiting, it would have been a favorite! Buttery, salty, and refreshing thank to the crisp, clean crunch of cucumber and bright flavor of mint mixed into the butter, it’s a winner for any occasion, be it pregnancy, a tea party, or just plain hunger. I developed a similar recipe for a baby shower article I wrote that’s in this month’s Every Day with Rachael Ray magazine, but I saved this beauty just for you. Enjoy!

Cucumber and Mint Tea Sandwiches
Makes 10 sandwiches

1 stick (8 tablespoons) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
5 slices whole wheat bread
1 English cucumber, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

Mix together the butter, mint and ground black pepper. Spread 1-1/2 tablespoon mint butter on a slice of wheat bread, top with layers of cucumber, cut into star shapes with a cookie cutter, and serve.

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Deadline for contribution is June 8, so if you’re into it, please write soon.

Supercool blog Metropolitan Mama posted an interview with me last week–and is giving away a copy of The Real Deal Guide to Pregnancy to one reader who comments on the interview post before midnight on Thursday, May 29. Check it out!

I was super excited to learn that fabulous Breann Joanou reviewed my book on Splendora–and totally got its intention. Thanks, to Breann and congrats on her pregnancy! Read the review.

In The Real Deal Guide, I discuss how unnecessary it is to read pregnancy tombs because our bodies know how to be pregnant and common sense goes a long way in pregnancy health.

I also wrote that your time would be better spent reading up on breastfeeding, if you’re planning on partaking, and helping your baby to develop healthy sleep habits once he or she arrives.

After reading a surprising article by Science Daily that declared nearly 1/3 of US parents don’t know what to expect from their infants or how to help them develop, I have yet another suggested homework assignment for mommies-to-be: invest in a child-rearing book or two.

I bought What to Expect the First Year and What to Expect the Toddler Years from a used bookshop, but found them as frustrating as the brand’s pregnancy book because its organization inadvertently implied that if your growing child did not follow the book’s rigid milestone time line, something was wrong. And heavens knows we moms don’t need any more to worry about.

More level headed, albeit a boring read, is Touchpoints, which helps parents anticipate, understand, and facilitate developmental milestones. I’m sure there are some other good ones out there, but now I’m too busy reading about healthy discipline practices for my nearly three-year-old to bother finding them.

If you have any suggestions, send ‘em my way!

Listen up, Ladies. If there is one thing you should do while pregnant, it’s see this movie.

It may mean nothing to you if your idea of birthing bliss is having major surgery (aka a C-section). But for gals like me, who were excited to experience the empowering miracle of childbirth and ended up in the operating room, it’s a genius piece of work that answers questions as to why many of our birthing experiences didn’t follow our desires and how we might have prevented unnecessary medical intervention.

It’s an unnerving piece, to be sure–kind of the “Prego” to Michael Moore’s “Sicko”–but all very important and alarming stuff that rang completely true for me given my experience.

My only complaint is that “The Business of Being Born,” which was produced by Ricki Lake, was not available when I was pregnant. If it were, I would have followed a very different path.

Watch it and tell your pregnant friends to watch it, too. Whether you are pro natural childbirth or the “too posh to push” club, we women deserve the right to choose how we bring our children into the world. Ensuring we get that right begins with educating ourselves on ALL of the birthing options and making sure that other people know about them, too.

While reports suggest that around 80 percent of miscarriages happen because of chromosomal abnormalities, a recent study by Kaiser Permanente suggests that women in early pregnancy who drink a cup and a half of coffee each day have a greater risk of miscarriage than those who don’t drink the stuff.

Although there is no proof that the occasional dose of caffeine is harmful, there’s no evidence that it’s completely safe, either. So if you’re the precautionary type, you might think twice before downing that morning latte.

Other reasons to curb the habit: Caffeine is a stimulant and a diuretic, so it inspires a lot of trips to the ladies room and stops you from snoozing when you need to.

FYI, you’re not out of the woods if you eschew coffee. You can get just as jacked up on certain types of soda and tea.

Oh, how I wish I had this book when my daughter was born.

As a first-timer, I was beyond shocked when life with a newborn became a wormhole of lost days and lost identity. Though our family did venture on an overnight to a hotel when our girl was six weeks old, for the most part, my days were spent doing a whole lot of nothing other than nursing, care-taking, and waiting for my husband to get home so I could talk his ear off since he was the only adult I saw. (Note to new mothers: This is NOT particularly attractive to partners–or to self-esteem.)

Had I gotten my hands on The Rookie Mom’s Handbook: 250 Activities to Do with (and Without) Your Baby I might have had a lot more fun between nursing, cleaning spit-up, and sneaking in a quick shower.

Written by smart mommies Heather Gibbs Flett and Whitney Moss, this book offers fantastic ideas on what to do with your tot from the first month through the 12th. In between is a good amount of support, empathy, and wisdom that will inspire even the most shell-shocked mom to get off her (nursing) rocker and whoop it up new mommy style.

Activities range from creating a time capsule during month one (such a good idea!) to “getting all sexy” in month 12 (heck yeah!). And all of them promise a playful entree to motherhood. And who couldn’t use that?

Get this for yourself–even if your baby is beyond the first year–or get it for every upcoming baby shower you’ll attend–it’s the ultimate gift that your pregnant girlfriend actually needs and will use, even if she doesn’t know it yet.

Check out the Rookie Moms blog for book details and inspirations for fun with kids, including this recent piece of rainy-day brilliance: Playing Hopscotch Inside:

I am really psyched about this review! Huge thanks to Baby Joys, a very cool blog.
Read the complete review.

One of the neatest unexpected results around writing a pregnancy book has been becoming connected with other women who are trying to help make pregnancy as enjoyable as possible. One such person is Lucy Leahy.

An ambitious and lovely NorCal mom, she is behind the new maternity drink Glow Mama. A refreshingly light and nutritious all-natural beverage, it’s concocted specifically for pregnant women, which means that along with a subtle, sweet kiwi-fruit flavor, it’s packed with prego-friendly essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Even better, it tastes good.

A six-pack goes for $11.95 online. Along with being a good grab and go option, they make for a perfect potion to serve at baby showers–and would look supercute nestled in a bowl of ice.