Junk Mail

One of my girlfriends has been going on and on about the e-mail service that she signed up for during her pregnancy. She loved the weekly updates, friendly reminders, and details on the inner workings of her baby. The e-mail newsletter also included a helpful "What To Pack For the Hospital" list and "Birthplan" template, both of which she used.

Now that the baby is born, she loves the weekly updates for developmental milestones, coupons for formula and diapers, and links to on-line boards where she can "talk" with other new moms with babies just the age of hers. She even got a discount coupon for a free massage through this wonder-site. I must admit, it all sounds very wonderful.

For the past two weeks, she has been urging me to sign up. And yet I resist.

Why might that be?

Because I am still getting these weekly e-mails from my first pregnancy. Two years ago, I innocently signed up for the exact same service, thinking how great it would be. And it was great. Until I lost my baby. I politely e-mailed the address listed for unsubscribing to the list, to no avail. I tried a second and third time on that route. The e-mails kept coming.

I tried finding a way to contact the site another way. I sent e-mails to other addresses in the contact section. No such luck. I finally e-mailed their sitemaster, begging for me to be taken off their list, explaining that by this time, I had lost two pregnancies. I got a form letter back, thanking me for my interest in their site and congratulating me on my pregnancy! No matter what I tried, I was still assaulted by the e-mails, which such cheerful subjects as "Week 24 in Your Pregnancy - Viability!" I finally contacted a moderator for one of their bulletin boards and pleaded my case. She was sympathetic and offered to contact the site for me. But the e-mails kept coming.

So now, I get messages for my two year old's development. And coupons for Gerber Graduates. And articles about "When to Start Potty Training." I'm sure these things will be very helpful for me someday, but not right now.

So, even though I am feeling positive about this pregnancy, I still don't have the courage to sign myself up for another round. Just in case.