What to Expect When Your Wife is Expanding: A Reassuring Month-by-Month Guide for the Father-to-Be, Whether He Wants Advice or Not

(Author), Cader Books (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Complete with weird baby names, tips on how to avoid a sympathetic pregnancy, and a discourse on the evolution of ESPN and the role it plays postdelivery, Hill's tome has been thoroughly revised to account for not only the usual father-to-be questions but also the often baffling and amusing technological and medical advances awaiting today's four million expectant dads.

This hilarious month-by-month guide offers new and veteran dads solace, laughter, and a bit of useful information, including a question-and-answer chapter covering basics like "How much does having a baby cost?"; visual charts assessing such things as the breakdown behind the mom-to-be's weight gain; sidebars covering common wife complaints and anticipated purchases; and much more.

About the Author

A native of Ithaca, N.Y., Thomas Hill is a creative executive for Nick@Nite and TV Land. A veteran of Harvard, the United States Chess Federation, and fatherhood, Thomas has five children and lives with his family in Verplanck, N.Y.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; 2 edition (April 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740767526
• ISBN-13: 978-0740767524
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (75 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,575 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #4 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Humor
  #11 in	Books > Entertainment > Humor > Parodies
  #13 in	Books > Entertainment > Humor > Satire, General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Month: Buy this book, October 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: What To Expect When Your Wife Is Expanding (Paperback)

It took me too long to finish this book ... because my wife kept stealing it since it was a lot more fun than any of her pregnancy books! However, I just finished this easy read, and I couldn't help but recommend this to fathers-to-be.

Let's be clear: this isn't an instruction manual or anything to take too seriously. It is a very fun, month-by-month account of pregnancy.

For the people who gave it low ratings, maybe you were looking for too much out of it ... this book isn't going to stop your wife's morning sickness and it isn't going to teach you the secret to triple your income before the baby is born. However, it might lighten what can be a time of emotional highs and lows, filled with fear, ecstasy, anxiety and elation, often all at the same time.

Seriously, there are plenty of good books out there which give great suggestions for how to handle the upcoming changes in your lives. Check out "The Expectant Father" or books of that ilk ... but to loosen up a little bit and have fun while getting involved in the pregnancy, get this book. Just don't read any of it to your wife until you've finished it, or you won't see it until she's finished reading it herself.

82 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very, very funny book, February 18, 1999

By	John Rosevear (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: What To Expect When Your Wife Is Expanding (Paperback)

Brilliantly done comic relief for the overstressed expectant father who is a little burned out on pregnancy info. Each month of pregnancy has its own chapter, and each chapter begins with "what she'll be complaining about this month". The book probably doesn't have tons of useful info, and shouldn't be approached that way, but it is very funny and does serve to get you into the right mindset. If you're a newly-pregnant woman, and your partner is resisting the harder reading, start him off with this one. THEN give him the hard stuff...

47 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars make sure you know what you want from the book, July 27, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: What To Expect When Your Wife Is Expanding (Paperback)

I gave this book 2 stars because, although it was not for me, I am willing to accpet some people may like it. I am excited, scared and very curious about my wife's pregnancy. I have never seen her look prettier and happier. I bought the book thinking it might give me the "inside story" to the secrets and mysteries of the mother of my child. I wanted to know what I could do to make these 9 months the best experience for her. What I got was a --humorous?-- vision of the torture it is for a man to have a pregnant wife. It was no help at all; it was offensive and embarassing.
My wife, however, thought it was funny. She has an amazing sense of humor, I guess. She gave it to our neighbors, who are also expecting their first child, and they loved it. Like they love Dave Barry and The Far Side books.

I guess what I'm saying is: if you want to laugh like you would watching Seinfeld, then sure. This is it. If you want to understand your wife better, or find out how to make her life easier during the time she carries and nurtures your child, then look somewhere else.