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... "Baby euphoria": Is it a mind-altering drug? "Husband? What Husband?": Taking care of the big baby, as well as the little baby "I Want My Old Body Back!": What you can fix and what you can't "The Droning Phenomenon": The inability to discuss anything but your baby for more than thirty seconds "Do I Have to Become Carol Brady?": Conquering your fear of being a less-than-perfect mother "Competitive Mothering": Coping with know-it-alls, finger-pointers, and others who try to "Out-Mom" you NOTE: Pausing to read this book may be the only selfish thing you do all year, since you'll have time for nothing else!

Your doctor gives you medical advice. Your mother buys you baby clothes. But who can give you the real skinny when you're pregnant? Your girlfriends, of course -- at least, the ones who've been through the exhilaration and exhaustion, the agony and ecstasy of pregnancy. Four-time delivery room veteran Vicki lovine talks to you the way that only a best friend can-in the book that will go the whole nine months for every mother-to-be. Here is straight talk about those little things that are too strange or embarrassing to ask anyone about, practical tips and hilarious takes on everything pregnant. From learning you're expecting ("Oh my god, how do I get out of this?") to the day your newborn arrives ("You mean I have to take the baby home with me?"), she gives you the lowdown on: WHAT REALLY HAPPENS TO YOUR BODY -- from morning sickness to eating everything in sight, what to expect when going from being a babe to having one. COMMON FEARS AND PARANOIA -- from turning into your mother to leaving the baby on the car roof, rest assured your anxieties are perfectly normal. THE MANY MOODS OF PREGNANCY -- or why you're so irritable/distracted/tired/lightheaded (or at least, more than usual). THE PREGNANCY YENTAS -- from your mom to his mom, they think they know everything -- and they don't hesitate to tell you what you're doing wrong. Girlfriend, take heart: if it's working for you, then you're doing just fine. HOW TO HAVE SEX DURING PREGNANCY, SHOULD YOU SO DESIRE -- bearing in mind you'll have no interest afterward. LOOKING AND FEELING YOUR BEST -- cautionary style tips from your best friend, who really would tell you if your perky newmom haircut makes you look like a pinheaded whale. When you need a reassuring voice or just a few good belly laughs, turn to The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy.

The new mom initiation ritual involves sleepless nights, an inexplicable obsession with baby booties, and more questions than answers. This take on everything baby offers new moms the Christian girlfriend advice she needs to feel confident in her new role

Bust out of that mommy rut and get into the groove! When a mother finally emerges from the mommy mole tunnel of pregnancy, breastfeeding, potty-training and preschool, she comes to the inevitable realization: The road to maternity is a one-way street. No U-turns allowed. You’ve survived the battles of baby- and toddler-hood, playdates and temper tantrums to time-outs. And just when it seems your former life is within reach—taking up neglected jobs and hobbies, committing to a fitness program, rediscovering the boyfriend living in the body of your husband—you crash headfirst into the wall of reality. The kids may be able to fasten their own seatbelts and pour their own cereal, but the homework, tucking in, car pools, and birthday parties have just begun. Let Vicki Iovine, author of The Girlfriends’ Guides, show you how to navigate the twists and turns of family life—and find time for your kids, your spouse, your home, your work, and yourself. You’re not alone in this “mommy adolescence.” In The Girlfriends’ Guide to Getting Your Groove Back, Iovine provides her trademark sage, witty advice on: - How to focus at work when things at home are in chaos—and vice versa - Making time for yourself—and not the PTA - Getting over the romantic myth of “date nights” and weekends away from the kids - Homework help—your transformation into a human flashcard - The dinnertime crush and how to relieve frozen pizza fatigue Iovine puts the perils of perpetual parenthood into perspective. You’ll feel like you do after a long chat with a good friend—relaxed, refreshed, and ready to reclaim your life …

Filled with straight talk from a four-time delivery room veteran, this book sees readers through the most exhilarating and exhausting time of their lives, one day at a time. An entire year's worth of invaluable-often hilarious--advice on everything from stretch marks, morning sickness, and maternity underwear to bladder control, pregnancy insanity, and postpartum dementia is included.

"Get this for your pregnant friends, or yourself" (People): a hilariously candid account of one woman's quest to bring her post-baby marriage back from the brink, with life-changing, real-world advice. Recommended by Nicole Cliffe in Slate Featured in People Picks A Red Tricycle Best Baby and Toddler Parenting Book of the Year One of Mother magazine's favorite parenting books of the Year How Not To Hate Your Husband After Kids tackles the last taboo subject of parenthood: the startling, white-hot fury that new (and not-so-new) mothers often have for their mates. After Jancee Dunn had her baby, she found that she was doing virtually all the household chores, even though she and her husband worked equal hours. She asked herself: How did I become the 'expert' at changing a diaper? Many expectant parents spend weeks researching the best crib or safest car seat, but spend little if any time thinking about the titanic impact the baby will have on their marriage - and the way their marriage will affect their child. Enter Dunn, her well-meaning but blithely unhelpful husband, their daughter, and her boisterous extended family, who show us the ways in which outmoded family patterns and traditions thwart the overworked, overloaded parents of today. On the brink of marital Armageddon, Dunn plunges into the latest relationship research, solicits the counsel of the country's most renowned couples' and sex therapists, canvasses fellow parents, and even consults an FBI hostage negotiator on how to effectively contain an "explosive situation." Instead of having the same fights over and over, Dunn and her husband must figure out a way to resolve their larger issues and fix their family while there is still time. As they discover, adding a demanding new person to your relationship means you have to reevaluate -- and rebuild -- your marriage. In an exhilarating twist, they work together to save the day, happily returning to the kind of peaceful life they previously thought was the sole province of couples without children. Part memoir, part self-help book with actionable and achievable advice, How Not To Hate Your Husband After Kids is an eye-opening look at how the man who got you into this position in this first place is the ally you didn't know you had.

The authors of the New York Times–bestselling Sh*tty Mom are back with a hilarious guide presenting common parenting scenarios with advice for getting through the year the sh*tty mom way. Told in the same tongue-in-cheek voice as the original, this sequel is full of funny parenting tips and relatable stories for contemporary moms. Sh*tty Mom for All Seasons explores the occasions throughout the year that test every mother’s patience and inspire self-deprecating humor and that second glass of wine. With chapters organized by season, the book will teach you how to navigate the bumpy roads of motherhood, learn to laugh at the occasional parenting fail, and maybe even appreciate your own mother. Or not. Sample chapters for the sh*tty mom year include: Fall: “Yes, We All Have to Be Here: The Annual PTO Funsraiser” Winter: “Mom’s Real New Year’s Resolutions” Spring: “I’m Running Off with the Gardner: April Fools!” Summer: “Summer Reading Lists & Other Great Reasons Why You Don’t Home School” The Emmy Award–winning TODAY show producers and self-proclaimed sh*tty moms, Alicia Ybarbo and Mary Ann Zoellner, together with humorist Erin Clune, bring you the perfect book for mothers who don’t take themselves too seriously.