The Longest Shortest Time

EPISODE #15: What YOU Expect When You’re Expecting

In honor of the What to Expect movie being out, I thought we’d do our own little exploration of expectations here at LST. I had this idea that it would be fun to find a pregnant woman who would be kind enough to share her own anxieties and excitement about impending motherhood—and then check back in with her every couple of weeks after her baby is born. That generous woman kind of fell in my lap when I got a surprise e-mail from my friend Joanne telling me she was 8 months pregnant. Joanne is 40, a first-time mom, and a blast to talk to. And she has a fantastic Boston accent to boot. My friends, you are in for a treat. Joanne is going to tell it like it is. She will make you laugh. She will make you cry. And she will sound awesome doing it.

Joanne at 32 weeks

Joanne at 32 weeks

Joanne with her husband, Jason

Joanne with her husband, Jason

Sonogram at 30 weeks. If you look closely in the upper left corner you'll see nose, lips, and a chin that look EXACTLY like Jason's.

Sonogram at 30 weeks. If you look closely in the upper left corner you’ll see nose, lips, and a chin that look EXACTLY like Jason’s.

Episode 15 is the first installment in “What YOU Expect,” an ongoing LST miniseries about prenatal expectations and how they pan out. Please join us on this journey, and feel free to post in the comments about similarities and differences to your own experiences.

UPDATE: We wound up stopping this series with this episode. But followed a different woman through pregnancy and early motherhood.

Joanne’s favorite poetry about motherhood
Also, Joanne is a poet. She hasn’t written any fully-formed poems about pregnancy or motherhood (yet!) but she says the best poetry she’s read about the subject is Museum of Accidents by Rachel Zucker.

As an Amazon Associate, The Longest Shortest Time earns a small commission from qualifying purchases.