I got quite a shock in the delivery room once the realization hit me that the sensation of childbirth was just like trying to have a huge poo. I couldn’t believe that nobody had told me this beforehand. Sure, there was a lot of talk at prenatal classes of pain, pushing, bearing down and more pain, but no one actually told the whole down and dirty truth. Why the big secret? OK, it’s not a very romantic description of the wondrous process of bringing a new life into the world, but I wish I had known. That was only the first of many half-truths, untruths and pieces of parenting advice wrapped in cotton wool I received prior to having a baby.
Having a baby is easily the biggest lifestyle change I have experienced. It has been like entering a whole new world, without a map, guidebook or phrasebook. Luckily, after only a few weeks adrift in ‘Baby World’, I was lucky to find some fellow castaways and soon built up a lifesaving band of ‘Mommy’ friends. Chatting with this group I discovered a whole lot more truthful and helpful info than I did reading the typical baby book. The group was soon discussing the nitty-gritty about how difficult breastfeeding really is and how explosive baby poo can be; sharing tales of vaporized sex drives; admitting that it’s fairly common to pee your pants at this stage postpartum. Quite often it’s not an answer to a problem that brings relief, but simply knowing that what’s happening is normal; other moms have been there. It makes you feel a whole heap better to have a comrade and being able to laugh about your woes with other moms might just save your sanity.
So when fellow new mom Erica approached me suggesting we collaborate on a baby book, I immediately saw the chance to get these ‘no one told me’ topics out in the open. Why not make a practical, helpful and humorous survival guide covering the things no one else tells you? We saw the chance to reassure other rookie moms with “you may think you are going insane and your body is falling apart, but actually you’re perfectly normal.”
Once we mentioned our idea to other mommy friends there was unanimous agreement that there was a gap in the market for this kind of down to earth, yet humorous approach to being a mom and the suggestions of topics to be included in the book came flooding in. If you have a ‘I wish I had known’ topic you’d like to discuss, let us know.
“Survival Secrets“, “Comrades’ Recommendations” and “Tips from the Trenches” will aid a mom’s attempts to navigate her way in this weird and wonderful new world. Our book holds a few other surprises with its unique presentation and easy to find information …. but we don’t want to give away all our secrets …… so watch this space for details on how to get your copy of the perfect baby shower gift “The Survival Guide For Rookie Moms“, on bookstore shelves February 2010!
