Molly's Reads

Molly's Reads

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NEW MOTHERHOOD

GUIDE
  • The Fourth Trimester: And You Thought Labor was Hard…Advice, Humor, and Inspiration for New Moms on Surviving the First Six Weeks – and Beyond by Amy Einhorn.

    • Published by Crown, 2001

    Amazon Link

    This is not the Olympics. While people might be impressed that you delivered without an epidural, no one’s going to pat you on the back for a drug-free postgame show. Pain medication from your doctor won’t hurt the baby (your baby will be taking Tylenol soon enough), and it will make your recovery a heck of a lot more comfortable. Recovering from labor is painful, whether you’ve had a vaginal or a cesarean. Remember, there are no brownie points for suffering.

  • I Wish Someone Had Told Me: A Realistic Guide to Early Motherhood by Nina Barrett.

    • Published by Academy Chicago Publishers, 2005

    Amazon Link

    Starting when I was pregnant, I’d be walking in a crowd and I’d start to think, “Every person in here grew inside the body of a woman.” But we never talk about that. It’s the most basic fact of our existence, and it’s unacknowledged.

  • From Bump to Grind: The Secret Scoop on Labor, Delivery, and Early Motherhood by Sarah Workman Checcone.

    • Published by Sarah Workman Checcone, 2014

    Amazon Link

    People say “Enjoy the baby” because they wish they had enjoyed their babies, not because it’s actually possible to enjoy newbornhood, or even early motherhood. Enjoying sweet moments, and taking some video may be as good as it gets. Much of raising little children is hard and repetitive work.

  • The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, & Success After Baby by Lauren Smith Brody.

    • Published by Doubleday, 2017

    Amazon Link

    Because finding good childcare for your baby is as much about making peace with the model you’ve chosen as it about finding the right model.

  • Whoa, Baby!: A Guide for New Moms Who Feel Overwhelmed and Freaked Out (and Wonder What the #*$& Just Happened) by Kelly Rowland and Tristan Emily Bickman, MD with Laura Moser.

    • Published by Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2017

    Amazon Link

    Because, sure, expensive jewelry is great, but so is helping out around the house. “If you can’t do the diamonds,” Dr. Bickman says, “then do the dishes. You’d be surprised how grateful your partner will be for some extra help. The important, essential thing is that you just do something, anything, to make life easier for her in those rocky first weeks.”

  • Nobody Tells You…: Over 100 Honest Stories About Pregnancy, Birth and Parenthood by Becca Maberly, with expert advice from Roger Marwood MB BS, MSc, FRCOG.

    • Published by Bluebird, 2021

    Amazon Link

    I love being a mother with every fibre in my body but I don’t understand why everyone is afraid to say how much it sucks as you try to rock a colicky baby to sleep at 2am when you really want to rock in a corner all by yourself. The admission does not mean you don’t love your baby. Can’t we just be real about it?

  • Enough About the Baby: A Brutally Honest Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood by Becky Vieira.

    • Published by Union Square & Co., 2023

    Amazon Link

    The universal nature of motherhood also seems to work against us. Instead of women banding together in solidarity about how difficult and challenging motherhood is, there is an attitude of “Everyone has done it, so it can’t be that bad.”

GUIDE – HUMOR – GRAPHIC
  • Sketchy Muma: What It Means to be a Mother by Anna Lewis.

    • Published by Quercus Publishing, 2018

    Amazon Link
  • In the Club: A Humorous Guide for Frazzled New Mums by Helene the Illustrator.

    • Published by Studio Press, 2021

    Amazon Link

    So come on in! The tea is lukewarm and the conversations are unfinished, but we’re all in this together!

  • You Got This, Mama!: From Boobs to Blowouts, a Survival Guide for New Mothers by Written and illustrated by Liz Swenson.

    • Published by Familius, 2021

    Amazon Link

    Being a mom looks less like Pinterest and more like Picasso.

  • You Look Tired: An Excruciatingly Honest Guide to New Parenthood by Jenny True.

    • Published by Running Press, 2021

    Amazon Link

    I understand that mental, emotional, and physical health are important. Oh, how I understand it! But here’s the problem with “self-care”: Generally, accomplishing it involves asking, negotiating, repeating oneself, insisting, arranging for child care, making additional arrangements, guilt, and sometimes fighting. All this for a ten-minute walk around the block to watch the sunlight on some leaves?

  • The Mommy Life: An Unshaven, Milk-Stained (But Hopeful) Peek into the Real World of Mommyhood by Gina McMillen.

    • Published by Adams Media, 2022

    Amazon Link

    Illustrator and mommy expert Gina McMillen hilariously captures the (spit)ups and (melt)downs of parenting, sharing with all moms the antics and joys of motherhood.

  • The Mom Life: The Sweet, The Bitter, and the Bittersweet Fruits of Motherhood by Linda Fruits.

    • Published by Voracious, 2023

    Amazon Link

    Motherhood is one of the most life-changing conditions that you can willingly* sign up for. *I say that with an asterisk because we often really don’t know what we are getting ourselves into until it’s too late, and unfortunately there’s no undo button. (Kidding – sort of.)