The Best Friends' Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood

by Vicki Iovine

The Best Friends' Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood [Paperback] Vicki Iovine

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Humor, Self Help, Family, Reference

Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Mindy Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has the same type of flow and feeling as 'the Girlfriends guide to pregnancy', but I didn't like it as well as the first one. The first half takes you through the first week after delivery, which was a blur for me anyway, so by the time I got to this book I was already past it. The second half went quick and wasn't as helpful as I wished.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not supportive of natural childbirth so it rubbed me the wrong way. But it was amusing at times when it was not offending me.

[Chelsea | thrillerbookbabe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. It was funny but not necessarily helpful. I wouldn't say this is about the first year of motherhood, maybe the first three months maximum. It felt like this book could have been much shorter and was more of a strong opinion piece with nothing backing it up. Entertaining I guess, but not something I'd read to learn anything.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Skip all the parenting classes and books in preparation for the birth of your first child. Honestly, if you showed up to the hospital, the doctors and nurses would instruct you in everything you needed to know and you could ask as many questions as you wanted! It's AFTER that baby comes home that you need the help! This book was my saving grace. I realized I wasn't going nuts and was sane and just trying to adjust to being a mom. A MUST read for all moms-to-be.

[Clair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, sincere and eye opening, and i would recommend to anyone who just has a baby. It is quite American but there's enough in there to make it worth the read.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a kick out of Vicki Iovine's Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy, so when I came across "Surviving the first year of motherhood," I wasted no time in picking it up. While I enjoyed the first one, I loved the second.

I think this book should be required reading for all new moms, and soon-to-be moms, if for no other reason than the chapter "Blue, Baby, Blue" dealing with postpartum depression. This is easily the clearest description of the condition I've ever read because it says more than just "a case of baby blues that doesn't go away." It covers some of the symptoms that no-one tells you about - the ones that are common to ppd, but can make you feel ten times worse for experiencing them because you think you're the only one that feels that way (because nobody told you these specific feelings were possible).

Among others, it touches on the difficulties of making decisions, the fear of being alone, avoidance of the baby, and some of the really scary anxieties that can also come with it.

The rest of the book is worthwhile too, just for the giggles it provides.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trust Vicki to make you laugh through the most challenging year of parenthood. I've enjoyed all her guides and they are a nice contrast to What to Expect the First Year which tends to get me all worried that the kids are not developing as they should (or coming down with some awful disease). The Portable Pediatrician: A Practicing Pediatrician's Guide to Your Child's Growth, Development, Health and Behavior, from Birth to Age Five Is also nice to have on hand when you do start wondering about the kids.

[Lauren Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely loves the girlfriends guide to pregnancy and couldn't wait to read this book. The title is complexly deceiving. It should be called the girlfriends guide to pregnancy continued. I thought this book would tackle issues about feeding, diapering, and development of the babies first year. Not so much. The first half of the book is about delivery and the first few weeks home with your little one. So if your baby is older than ~3 weeks old, like mine, this book will not be relevant to you.

This year of copyright is 1997. A lot has changed since then. Advise is a bit outdated.

The humor of the first book is still there so I would recommend this book to gals that have not yet delivered and who want to read an extension to the first book.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I flew through this book. It was nice to read about everything that I was experiencing and know that it's "normal".

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like her books a lot. I learned how other mothers feel about a thing a child does. How to respond to other mothers advice, etc. Now when Julia is a toddler I will pick up that book of hers. :)

[Adrienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I purchased this Girlfriends' Guide about 2 weeks into my first year of motherhood. I had loved Vicki Iovine's Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy and hoped for the same fun and entertainment in this book. Although The First Year is not as funny as The Pregnancy, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Again, Iovine offers silliness and fun anecdotes about first year milestones. The one thing about this First Year book: it's for the mother, not the baby. While I did not agree with many things Iovine thought were ok, she does give some decent advice that many "real life" people may want to consider. For instance, she talks about breastfeeding being easy to give up when you are insecure. That is true. That is why many women give it up. While I would have liked to see her advocate breastfeeding more, the fact is, more women do not breastfeed than do! Surprise, surprise. I also had pretty much decided we would family bed by the time I read this book and Iovine is against the family bed. She spends one paragraph on the pros and a page and a half on the cons. Oh, well. She isn't the first person I've run into who didn't like the family bed.

Overall, this book is entertaining. I suggest it to anyone who liked her Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy. If you didn't like that book, chances are, you won't like this one either. You should probably feel pretty confident and secure in your own parenting before reading this, just in case you feel like her opinion doesn't agree with yours and you are swayed by that view.

[Gretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book are really good, like the section on breastfeeding and end bit about having the second child. The author manages to be quite non-judge-mental and she’s pretty funny and irreverent. However, a lot of this book is QUITE outdated. The section on what to expect at the hospital is no longer get useful, since rooming in and other baby centered practices have become common place. She also makes a lot of assumptions about what Daddy won’t be doing. I think the father’s of the 2020s expect to be much more involved than those of the early millennium. Still I found it an easy read and one of the only books I could read while I pumped, because if items lightness. Just skip the outdated sections.

[Katrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vauvani on jo yli vuoden vanha, olen siis jo selviytynyt monista asioista, mistä kirjassa puhutaan. Kyllä Vicki sanoo asiat niin kuin ovat, suoraan ja ilman häpeä. Se on hyvä asia, ja välillä naurettaa, välillä itkettää, haha! Äitiys on rankka, se on ihanin ja pelottavin asia maailmassa. Kuitenkin kirja välillä liioitelee niin paljon, että ärsytti. Voi olla, että draama on amerikkalaisille niin tärkeää, mutta minä olisin kaivannut lisää huumoria, ilman tosi pelkoa. Vickin sanoen mukaan me kaikki äidit ovat ihan sekaisin ja toimimme tyhjillä aivoilla. En voi sanoa että välillä tuntuu niin, mutta jos sitä toistuvasti kuuluu, ei kukaan tämän kirjan jälkeen enää haluaisi lasta...

[Helene · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that literaly saved my life. For the first time I stumbled into a personal growth/self training I don't know how to categorize it, AND THE BOOK ACTUALY ROCKS!

🤿🆘️🏴‍☠️
Pregnant at the old age of 38 and having no idea of what to expect, this was my guide, my life vest to float in the baby blues of the first year of becoming a mother.

I have never read any of the other books of Vicki Lovine and so I was shocked to find it both smart and funny prepering me to the emotional roller coaster ahead of me.
Very, Very well done!

[Adriana · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a few times that I could identify with what the book was saying but overall, my pregnancy was almost nothing like how she described hers. Her and I are two totally different people so I found myself disagreeing with her about how you feel during pregnancy. Honestly though, I had it pretty easy with my first pregnancy.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have been more helpful to read while pregnant rather than four months after giving birth. I couldn’t connect with some of her advice or stories. The book had a few pieces of helpful information, but I skimmed most of it and am happy with that.

[Jasanna Czellar · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed the author's informal tone, I just couldn't get into the book. She made some broad generalizations and that left a bad taste in my mouth. I didn't continue reading since I have plenty of other books to read that will likely be more educational and enjoyable.

[Lauren Soverino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, sincere, straight to the point. Easy to read and multiple parts were extremely validating / helped me feel not so crazy! The getting your body back chapter needs some serious revising and rewriting - with a nutritionist and a body positive tone. Overall I’d recommend this one!

[Laney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely one of the more fun motherhood books I’ve read. I loved that it was all about MOM and not the baby, and I loved her sense of humor throughout. This would have been helpful to read before having a baby but I’m still glad I read it now and I am def going to check out her other books!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would recommend people read this before giving birth as much of the book is about the hospital stay and first few days of the baby's life. I would also say it applies more to the first 3 months of life than the first year.

[Diana C · Rating 2 out of 5]

4/10

[Maiya Deleon-Gawelek · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. There are other books that are funnier and have more useful information.

[Naomi Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little sassy and opinionated. Take it with a grain of salt, and it’s pretty good.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I read “The Girlfriends’ Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood” by Vicki Iovine during the early weeks after delivery. Iovine has such an easy writing style that really does feel like a conversation with your girlfriends. And through the book she articulates thoughts that reassure the reader that they are not ht first or the only ones to have ever thoughts or experienced this, from the scary fears of accidentally harming your child to asking your doctor if you are performing your keels correctly. The book had me laughing out loud so many times. A few of my favorite lines: p. 48 on breastmilk production “… still greater was the discovery that breast milk doesn’t come out of a hole at the tip of your nipple, like on a baby bottle. IT COMES OUT OF SEVERAL HOLES ALL AROUND THE NIPPLE, LIKE A RAINBIRD SPRINKLER! Now, how on earth did I live thirty-four years as a woman and not know this?” P. 16 on the effects of no privacy during childbirth “You will be numbed to this humiliation early on. Now I know why women of childbearing age or older never seem to mind the common dressing rooms at places like Loehmann’s or Filene’s Basement - they lost their modesty during childbirth.” P. 214 on baby dandruff “Even the biggest worriers among us are pretty certain that dandruff is not a serious health risk, but that doesn’t make it less disconcerting because IT DIMINISHES OUR PERFECT BABY’S BEAUTY, and that’s almost as serious. We smear the tops of their heads with gentle baby lotions, only to end up with infants with the greasy pompadour of Danny Zucco.” “Our advice: Use a baby washcloth with some baby oil on it to slough off some of the flakes. Rinse it well with warm water, put a little lotion on it and comb whatever hair there is artfully over the flaking part, much the way a middle-aged man combs his longer hairs over his bald spot.” P. 216 on raisins in poop “Another funny poop food that you will feed your baby sometime during the first year is raisins. No matter how thoroughly the baby seems to gum or chew those little devils, they show up in the diaper completely intact, as though they had been stirred in straight from the box."

[Courtney Hatch · Rating 2 out of 5]

My sister gave me this book in anticipation of my motherhood. I get that you are supposed to feel that same "oh my goodness I'm not alone in all of these crazy emotions and experiences" feeling that people seek for in things like buzzfeed articles, and I think that this book does accomplish that. It is good at making you feel like you aren't the worst person/parent on the planet. The snarky tone of the whole thing, though, really turned me off. I got really tired of reading passive-aggressive comments about "husbands that just don't get it" and "let's feel validated in our mutual bitterness towards (insert aspect of childbirth here)." Maybe I just read it pre-maturely and would be laughing out loud if I read it a little later in my parenting journey. The part I did appreciate, though, was that the author invited you to be on the same playing field as a reader. What I mean by that is there was never a time that you felt the author was being condescending towards new moms...something that I think is very very difficult for people to do when giving advice on motherhood.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful for this book for describing the oftentimes less than glamorous aspects of raising a baby. Iovine describes how she would wear clothes that were comfortable enough to wear to bed but also looked okay during the day. This made me laugh because I did this at times when my sleep was erratically scattered about, without any stretch longer than an hour at a time. A new mom appreciates hearing that she is normal after all. I also think it's a case of misery loving company. I want to hear from other people who are as sleep deprived and blue as me, not the cheerful supermoms who have babies that sleep through the night at three weeks old. Anyway, I think this book is more helpful than the pregnancy guide. I found I needed more advice and help adjusting to motherhood than pregnancy. For me, morning sickness was a cake walk compared to dealing with a colicky newborn.

[Karen Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this book to any new mom. Consider it free therapy with a side of humor and wise advice from a supportive group of good girlfriends. I get this book down off the shelf after each child and read it to ward off postpartum depression. Read it in the bathtub, while nursing, in the middle of the night, whenever you get a chance. I predict it will make you laugh aloud at least once and will definitely have you nodding your head in mirthful agreement. I must warn you that the author is very frank so sometimes she goes farther than I would to explain bodily functions (both yours and your babies') and sexual things. If you can get past that, this book will help you get past the first topsy turvy weeks of your new baby's life.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't agree with some of the parenting tips in this book as far as routines and sleep. As I have found success in other sources. But this was a great book for the humor in parenting. This book lets you in on many of the secrets no one indulges you in. For example what post labor is like. The book is funny because it's true and it is much easier to get through the first year when you have something to laugh about. I might have been scared had I read it before I had my son. It was a great read to reflect on the experience. I recommend this book at least for the laugh and the you time.

[Annarosepenny]

Never would have picked this up on my own - Just saying. Iovine tries to appeal to every kind of mother, so I was able to find a few nuggets of recognition and validation. It felt good to have a former playmate of the year talk about feeling as about sexy as Alice from the Brady Bunch. And to feel assured that it will come back! I felt misty-eyed when she writes about that 1st birthday, making it to that milestone, crawling into their first baby's nightlite-glowing room with a tricycle, grinning and singing, until he was excited as they were. It's not always easy, but I'm a good mom, and I love my baby...

[Mrs. Schonour · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like a lot of this book didn't apply to me. Maybe I'd feel differently if I had a baby, but I can't imagine relating to this book even then. It seems very alarmist and goes against a lot of what I believe. For example, the book tells women that they must give birth in a hospital. I admire women who have home births. It seems as though this woman's relationship with her husband isn't very strong, which is sad. My spouse is definitely very supportive and wouldn't do any of the ridiculous things the author's spouse has done. The tone is very alarmist, which I didn't enjoy. Some of the information is good, but it can probably be found in better parenting books.