Ever see the 'plus' sign and began to panic, welcome to my world! :)

I hated almost every baby book I read (I found them judgemental & scary - I read about too many diseases I didn't need to know about!) - except for Kaz Cooke's book, the Rough Guide to Pregnancy. Look her up on Amazon, she's got several and I'd recommend anything by her. I happen to loathe Mirriam Stoppard so I won't recommend her. According to her (and a lot of books) I'm the most crap mom ever at the moment - but Philip obviously has other ideas. ANYWAY! What other interesting body changes should you expect?  It is SOO totally different for everyone! I hate to say that, because everyone says it, but it is so true! So really it's a matter of listening to what has happened to other women, guessing you might share 2 or 3 things with each one, but resting assured that no one will have a pregnancy exactly like yours. They are funny little things. My body went weird by getting exceptionally hairy, I developed pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome and had to wear wrist braces to sleep, I snored like a trucker, insomnia, heartburn, stretchmarks, wider hips, strong shiny fingernails, clearer skin, more sensitive to smells, my feet grew a size (apparently permanently!)... and for some reason since giving birth my fingernails have gone to the opther extreme and I've got more ingrown nails than I know what to do with! BUT... that was just me. Some women *sail* through it...

Not being in the UK personally, I'm not sure what books are there, but I used the baby center web site.  They also have a UK specific site.   

www.babycenter.co.uk

The US version covered all sides of everything without causing me to freek out about after reading every article.  Hopefully the UK site is as informative.

I recommend Kaz Cooke's Rough Guide to Pregnancy too, very informative and written in an easy to understand and entertaining way. I have also just read Kate Figes Life After Birth which I have found really helpful, if a little scary. You might want to save that one for later in your pregnancy! Someone gave us a Miriam Stoppard book, it is quite useful as a manual type book but I wouldn't have chosen it. Only buy it if you want to feel like a bad parent before you've even started. Some friends of ours have got a US book, I think it is called something like the Little Baby Manual and it is written like a computer manual, I fully intend to buy a copy soon, it has great headings like "How to Install A Daiper!" hilarious! 

Some of the monthly baby magazines are really helpful too, lots of up to date info in them and free stuff and special offers etc on baby products. Pregnancy and Birth is the one I'd recommend.

Happy reading!

Speaking of manuals - Daivd bought the Haynes Baby Manual and it is wonderful, I can't tell you how many times he's actually looked things up in that book, like poo color, etc! Great book!

Vicky Iovine's "Girlfriends Guides" are a lot of fun.  They aren't so much informative as cheerful, amusing, and sympathetic, (although the Guide to the First Year of Motherhoos and the Guide to Baby Equipment are more informative) so they're books to get after you've bought the more serious medical-type books and want a lighter look at the whole pregnancy thing.  (Although, having said that, there were a few bits of info in the G'd Guide that I didn't find in other books, like the section on childbirth.  "Childbirth is as messy as pig slaughter," says Vicki, and apparently she's right.  Fair warning now!)

I also liked "Your pregnancy week by week," by Glade Curtis and Judith Schuler, although some of it may not be as relevant because you're in the UK.  Either way, it has drawing of the baby for almost every week, and some good info.  Mostly useful for the fetal development stuff.

Thanks to everyone for all the great suggestions.  I want to be able to read 'serious' books as well as those that have a 'fun' side to the process. 

"Childbirth is as messy as pig slaughter," says Vicki, and apparently she's right.  Fair warning now!)

No really, please do not sugar coat the truth, I can handle the truth.   

Aub