There are only a few sites I visit that I would absolutely recommend to every expectant moms and the already-mommies. I found these web sites when I was expecting Eric, and have been using the information in these sites ever since.

Although nothing could prepare you emotionally and physically for the actual thing, doing some reading might help you to mentally prepare and expect fewer surprises. Also, take all the advice and knowledge you gained with a grain of salt. Always, if in doubt, consult your doctor. He or she will be more than happy to help you.

BabyCenter.com and its sister site, ParentsCenter.com. I have been a faithful subscriber of its newsletter since 2001. I wish I had used the info in this site earlier. The site is much more understanding when it comes to breastfeeding and doesn’t leave you feeling guilty if you are one of those people who can’t breastfeed successfully, like me. I love the personalized info and weekly e-mails on the progress of your pregnancy as well as some parenting tips.

ParentsPlace.com. An iVillage sub-site, what I liked most about this site is the Q&A column on a wide variety of subjects related to pregnancy and parenthood. This site is very much pro-breastfeeding, though, so much so that it could leave those who couldn’t breastfeed well (like myself) feeling depressed.

Oxygen.com. A wonderful site for women. The chat rooms and forums are especially useful, so do go ahead and find a support group for pregnancy or for advice on baby care and breastfeeding. The chat groups are very supportive groups and helped me go through my first weeks of postpartum while I was home-bound.

Due to my husband’s insistence on having similar names for our children, here are a few choices I liked from the baby name finder tool in ParentPlace.com:

1. Edra, a 2-syllable girl’s name of Hebrew/Anglo-Saxon origin, means: Power; powerful.
2. Edel, a 2-syllable unisex name of Hebrew/Germanic origin, means: Gentle; brave; noble.
3. Enid, a 2-syllable girl’s name of Celtic origin, means: Fair; pure; purity.
4. Esme, a 2-syllable girl’s name of French/Spanish origin, means: Beloved protector; emerald. Nicknames for Esme are Esma and Esmee.

Now I need to look for my little girl’s name, which is going to be a nightmare, because my husband would like it to sound similar to Eric and Joel’s middle name that spells *oel, as in Noel and Joel.