Maggie stopped midstride, looked up at the curly-haired toddler on the babyGap poster, and knew it was time. She crossed the street and bought new underwear. (Yes, her cotton briefs were more comfortable, but she was a woman on a mission.) She went home and finally read the instructions on her ovulation kit. Then she called Josh and gave him the good news: Time to gear up the Tivo; priorities were shifting to the bedroom. Operation Babyville was about to begin.

Four months later, standing side-by-side in the bathroom, they first saw the line. Maggie looked up at Josh in disbelief and then rechecked the test instructions. Maybe she had done it wrong, though admittedly peeing on a plastic stick wasn't rocket science. Maybe she was looking at it wrong, though assessing the presence of a line seemed pretty doable. Maybe the test was malfunctioning. Of course, two additional tests offered the same result. Ultimately, the mistake scenarios were ruled out, and the line remained. The wild ride of pregnancy had begun.

Maggie moved past morning sickness like a pro. She maintained a healthy obsession with potential baby names and surrounded herself with key prenatal literature -- weekly e-mail newsletters on fetal development, eating-for-baby books, and flyers from Old Navy maternity. She knew more about pregnancy than any OB-GYN. Then she rounded into her third trimester (no pun intended), and it hit her. Her pregnancy was almost over, and by the time she could say, "Epidural, please," an actual newborn would be making full use of the painstakingly selected crib bedding in the nursery.

It's parenthood prep time -- your opportunity to plan for maternity leave, gear up, learn newborn care essentials, and get a really great haircut. Yes, it'll be a while before you see that salon again. For a comprehensive guide, read on. You'll get the inside scoop on transitioning from Miss Independent to Mom, a shopping list of new baby stuff you really need (and the top 10 things you don’t need even though they're cute), a final countdown to baby to-do list, and more.

Excerpted from 'The Working Gal's Guide to Babyville: Your Must-Have Manual for Life With Baby' by Paige Hobey with Allison Nied, M.D.