Customer Reviews
The only book I've ever thrown in the bin - By: J. King, 28 Jun 2008 
On reading the synopsis I thought this book had potential to be amusing, not so. Three quarters of the way through it I decided to throw it in the bin! If you decide to buy this book, please remember...this is only ONE womans view of motherhood, enjoy your own experience of it.
Like a best friend but less hassle! - By: Helen J. McLachlan, 26 Sep 2007 
This book is on our side: at the front is a top ten list of the biggest shocks of childbirth, & number one is: How nobody ever told you how much it REALLY hurts to have a baby. A lighthearted book that nevertheless gets to grips with baby reality, written by a mum, with extra insight from her group of Best Friends. Real comfort & advice, delivered in a humorous, friendly way.
This quote gives a flavour of the whole book:
"There are three types of new nothers.
1. The type who give birth & resume their lives with confidence, clear thinking & enthusiasm.
2. The type who give birth & wish that a fairy godmother would make the baby disappear & restore them to their former life; and
3. The rest of us.
Traditional wisdom (meaning "male") has long held that the first example is "normal" & what alll new mothers should aspire to, & the second is classic postnatal depression, which is somewhat naughty & to be overcome or hidden at alll cost, & that the third group doesn't exist.
Here's what the Best Friends & I think: the first group of new mother, the kind who breeze effortlessly through the transition from human to mother,are either incredibly lucky or incredibly unobservant. I mean, how can you experience a metamorphosis from personhood to motherhood without some ambivalence, apprehension or anxiety?"
Should be a required read! - By: Felicity Roberts, 13 Aug 2007 
This book - in the era of supernannies, supermums & everyone knowing *exactly* what to do with a baby - is an absolute must-read for anyone with a sense of humour & some grounding in reality. I completely loved the honesty & down-to-earth style of this book (other books in her series are also brilliant). No-one said having a baby was going to be easy but it's a whole lot easier with Vicki Iovine's advice. She never says what you *should* do & leaves plenty to instinct but always reassures that what you're doing isn't actuallly bad. And along the way she manages to make everything seem humorous which is quite an achievement in those early weeks... Evey one of her "best friends" has done something a little differently so there's something in here for everyone from the breast-feed-till-they're-five camp to the routine-from week-two camp. This is my baby shower gift for alll my first-time-mum friends & is always well-received. (Personallly I've never been a fan of parenting manuals & got away with reading none with my first child; this is less a manual & more a reassurance. Perhaps that's why I loved it so much.)
Sanity saver! - By: J. L. Mitcham, 17 Jan 2007 Brilliant read! I'd recommend it to alll new mums.
I was at my wits end a few weeks after the birth of my baby. I'd had little sleep, breastfeeding was agony & my hormones & emotions were alll over the place.
I bought this book & wished I'd read it earlier. I laughed out loud so many times. Such a lot of what it says is so true. It actuallly made me feel sane & 'normal' again. Motherhood is rewarding but can be difficult & this book tells it how it is.
My only criticism would be the fact that it is obviously written for an American audience & some of the chapters (on hospitals & doctors) should have been completely re-written for the UK (rather than just using margin notes to explain the differences).
This book should be standard issue for new mothers! - By: Happy Mum, 15 Mar 2006 This warm, funny, intelligent book, is in my mind the reason that I've survived the first year of motherhood (particulary the first 12 weeks) with my sanity intact! I bought my copy through a tear soaked haze when I reallly needed words of wisdom & comfort & it came through with flying colours. My husband thought I'd lost the plot when he could see tears & fits of laughter as I sat reading this book. I wish I'd had it in the first weeks of being a new mum. I would recommend this book to alll first-time mums. Vicki Iovine's sense of humour & honesty is inspiring & the book is packed full of useful & helpful information.
For me the one quote that changed my life as a new mum & my stress levels was ...don't stand if you can sit, don't sit if you can lay down & don't stay awake when you can sleep.... Or words to that effect. This sounds simple enough but it's very hard to do especiallly when you feel you have to be a supermum & a superwoman but in this book it's explained in such a way that you don't feel that it will make you less then perfect.
If it's not already obvious I simply adored this book & thoroughly recommend it. I've just purchased the next one in the series & I can't say that about any other baby book.
