The Girlfriends' Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood: Wise and Witty Advice on Everything from Coping with Postpartum Mood Swings to Salva

by Vicki Iovine

Book Overview

When it comes to your new baby, everyone from Dr. Spock to Dr. Brazleton has an armful of advice. But no one's delivering any tips on how you can care for yourself. Now, four-time delivery room veteran Vicki Iovine answers your questions, calms your fears, and cracks you up as only a girlfriend can, with straight advice and hilarious observations on...

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0399523308
• ISBN13: 9780399523304
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Penguin Adult Hc/Tr
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Outdated references, but useful advice

Some of it was common sense. Some of it helpful

Your baby is due

This was recommended by my older daughter for my younger daughter. It is the hardest book you will ever love. It is an excellent gift for any mother-to-be. I recommend reading it twice!

Girlfriend, this is THE book for you!

I'm a big fan of Vicki Iovine's book series, having snickered my way through her Guide to Pregnancy for the last nine (or 10!) months. She tells it like it is, with candid humor and tongue-in-cheek banter, which will keep you entertained for hours. Oh yeah, read this book BEFORE you give birth because you'll never have time to after the baby arrives! While this book proclaimes it's for the first year of motherhood, I found that the majority of information really pertains more to the first few months. A lot of it addresses issues you will have immediately after your Little Lamb arrives. Still, it's well worth it, and really, when you're in that ninth month of pregnancy, it's 3am and you wonder if that baby's EVER going to make an entrance, don't you want to read something that will help you laugh your way through this adventure, rather than just scare you? Plus, I'll bet you've read all those scary natural childbirth books already. Let it go, Girlfriend, and kick back with a real side splitter.

Made me laugh through post-partum days

Being a new mom can be a lonely experience! I know that there were times when, after three plus hours of enduring colicy crying, I thought I was the only person to ever feel what I felt. I thought Vicky Iovine's book was reassuring and funny. I have to admit, there were sections that I read and thought "I won't experience this." For example, the chapter about "competitive mommying" -- but now I do see how competitive some moms can be! She does make some generalizations, but each reader just has to take what information/advice that applies to her and her baby. Also, she makes it very clear about what the book is not. It is not a book about baby care; it's a book to help the new mother navigate through new and unknown territory, and to laugh at herself sometimes.

Loved It!

I purchased this book three weeks after my baby was born. I absolutely loved it! Just when you feel like you are the only person who is going through sleepless nights, breastfeeding pain, and much more, she makes you realize you are not alone. My husband and I laughed so hard at a couple of chapters we actually cried. She puts a humorous touch on some of the not so pleasant issues. I finally realized that everybody else who has ever had a baby has gone through these things. Having a baby is the most wonderful experience in the world, but there are some difficult times in the beginning. This book is NOT meant to be read before you have a baby; READ IT A WEEK OR TWO AFTER YOUR BABY IS BORN!

A must-have for new moms--loved it!

I loved this book because it was so honest and humorous. My mother gave me this book as a gift, and I started reading it the day I came home from the hospital after giving birth to my first child--it provided a wonderful outlet for my initial anxieties, guilts, and questions. I thought the tone and style were down to earth, realistic, and laugh-outloud funny. Since so many of my close friends live out of town and since newborns make phone calls almost impossible to carry on, this book was a great substitute for an actual, in-the-flesh girlfriend. It was also great to read (aloud) while I nursed my daughter. I could relate to so many of the topics Iovine discusses. Thank you Girlfriend! I can't wait to read the other Girlfriend books now.