Series: Genre: Publication Date: April 4, 2017 Pages: 352 (Hardcover) Published By: Doubleday Books Website: Lauren Smith Brody The Fifth Trimester on Goodreads My review copy:
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The Fifth Trimester is your new best friend: a brilliant, tells-it-like-it-is guide that helps moms cope with the demands of the real world after the baby arrives.
The first three trimesters (and the fourth--those blurry newborn days) are for the baby, but the Fifth Trimester is when the working mom is born. No matter what the job or how you define work, you're going to have a lot of questions. When will I go back? How should I manage that initial "I want to quit" attack? Flex-time or full-time? How can I achieve 50/50 at home with my partner? What's the best option for childcare? Is it possible to look like I slept for eight hours instead of three? And . . . why is there never a convenient space to pump?
Whether you're in the final stages of pregnancy or hitting the panic button on your last day of leave, The Fifth Trimester is your one-stop shop for the honest, funny, and comforting tips, to-do lists, and take-charge strategies you'll need to embrace your new identity as a working parent and set yourself up for success.
Based on interviews with 700+ candidly speaking moms in wildly varied fields and incredible expert advice, The Fifth Trimester tackles every personal and professional detail with the wit, warmth, and inspiration you need to win when you head back to work. Like What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Happiest Baby on the Block, this is an indispensable guide every new mom needs on her shelf.
(Goodreads)
Since the birth of Teacup Human, my TBR pile has shrunk substantially. Seriously. Check out my Goodreads page and there is a total of 25 books between my "To Read" and "To Read Own" shelves - and only three of those are currently published.
My priorities shifted and while I still read, and enjoy reading, the time to lounge on the couch and just read for hours is a thing of the past. Fair trade off, but that just means I'm picker when it comes to what I read and far more ruthless when it comes to DNFing titles.
I'm not a huge fan of nonfiction titles. I'll read some here and there depending on the topic, but when The Fifth Trimester fell into my lap I knew that as a new mom and a working one at that, I had to give it a read.
The only drawback, for me, is that by the time I got around to reading The Fifth Trimester, I had already been back to work for two months and had found somewhat a groove between Mom-Andrea, Working-Mom-Andrea, and Human-Woman-Andrea. Not an easy balance, but I got a hang of it. For now anyway. ;)
Had I read this prior to coming back to work, it would have been more helpful and insightful as to what I was about to experience. Lauren includes amazing tips, hacks, and stories from fellow mothers.
One of my favorite things Lauren includes, which I have since adopted, is the "sub-sixty-second" plan for the "morning when your baby decides to nurse twice, or poops on your clothes, or just needs to be held during the exact time that you usually reserve for getting ready." Luckily, Teacup Human doesn't have many of these mornings and if she wakes up early I can put her in her bouncer next to my vanity and she entertains herself, but every once in a while all my focus needs to be on her. Or else.
Lauren's writing is like talking to a girlfriend and her antidotes of fellow friends/mothers who have been in the same situation were calming. Sort of in an "I'm not alone" sort of way. One of the things she stresses is that while it's important to take care of your baby, obviously, it's also extremely important to take care of yourself.
I'd definitely recommend this to any mother on the verge of returning to work or just to any new mother in general.
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