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A satirical look at impending fatherhood--written by a guy for guys--recalls the trials and tribulations of cravings, birth classes, and pregnant women's multiple personalities, and includes anecdotes from other celebrities who share their war stories about being pregnant. Original. $50,000 ad/promo. Tour.

In the television show Growing Pains, Thicke portrayed Hollywood's notion of the ideal father. In his book, he ventures into real-world fatherhood, chronicling the pregnancy of his second wife, Gina. It's not his first turn at fatherhood, so he's able to examine how the process has changed in recent years: home ovulation kits, home pregnancy tests, child birthing classes, an empathy belly contraption tied around the father's waist to simulate the travails of carrying a baby in the womb. Thicke offers humorous tips on preparing for parenthood by, for example, smearing peanut butter on furniture. Then he begins a month-by-month guide through pregnancy from a decidedly male perspective. The prototypical woman he uses (presumably Gina) is a whiner with every conceivable stereotypical pain and discomfort of pregnancy and attitudes to match. Thicke entertains a scenario of a pregnant woman president negotiating with some global trouble spot--"Estro-Babe" with her finger on the hot button. But much of his material is funny, and some of it is serious. It actually is a guide through fertilization, gestation, and birth. Thicke offers a barrage of statistics: the cost of a lifetime of child rearing, the connection between birth weight and juvenile diabetes, the fact that 20 percent of pregnancies end in miscarriage. Interspersed throughout the book are little celebrity quips on pregnancy and child rearing, including insights by Cuba Gooding Jr., Bill Maher, and Kathie Lee Gifford. Of little practical use to pregnant women but others might find it useful and amusing. Vanessa Bush