The Modern Girl's Guide to Motherhood

An embarrassingly long time ago, the publisher of The Modern Girl's Guide to Motherhood sent me a review copy, asking if it might be of interest to Parent Hacks readers. "Absolutely," I said with good intention, and then proceeded to get buried in the omnipresent pile of laundry, unreturned phone calls, and frustrated desire to sleep more than five hours per night.

I've since had a good, long look at the book, and I'm pleasantly surprised by its tone and practical content. I had expected lots of how-to-look-sassy-with-a-three-month-old-on-your-hip! sorts of tips. My mistake. Author Jane Buckingham has put together a great collection of realistic advice about birth and new motherhood (newborn to 5). She manages to be thorough yet succinct, readable yet not overly "dishy." The book covers what to buy (and what not to), planning tips for that surreal calm before the storm before the baby arrives, survival tips for the first few weeks at home, all the basic baby care stuff (nursing/feeding/changing/bathing/sleeping/health) and low-key parenting advice.

She also aggregates the "expert" opinions on the hot-button topics of sleep and behavior, saving you from having to slog through their books as well.

My only niggly criticism: the title made me thing this book was geared toward girls, as in very young mothers. I realized my mistake quickly enough (the cover image makes it pretty clear), and I get that there is a brand involved (the title of Ms. Buckingham's previous book and her Style Network show is The Modern Girl's Guide to Life), but still. I don't think of myself as a "girl."

No matter. All in all, a good book -- one I would have liked on my shelf as my due date approached.

Other good parenting reads covered here in the past:

• The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance
• The Toddler Owner's Manual
• It's a Girl (I reviewed It's a Boy on my own blog)
• Asha's favorite parenting reading (books, mags, blogs, sites)
• Moxie's recommended baby-care books
• Waiting for Birdy

...and as a surprise for those of you who made it to the bottom of this post, I have two copies of the book to give away! Answer this question on your blog or in the comments: what's your favorite parenting blog or website that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves? I've found many of my favorites via others' blogrolls, but I know there are hundreds of sites that have yet to be discovered. Let's beam the flashlight of love at these sites! (If you post on your blog, be sure to comment or trackback with the post's permalink URL.)

On Friday, September 8, I'll choose two lucky winners at random from all the entrants. Have fun!

Tags: Jane Buckingham, Parenting, Parenting books

Comments

[Twinmama]

One of my favorites is The Imperfect Parent: http://www.imperfectparent.com/

[Moira]

my favorite blog that reminds me that I'm a good mom by making me laugh at my child and myself..

http://boatpond.typepad.com/boatpond/

of course, I'm new to reading these parenting websites, I usually read books, and I'm not sure that one counts as a website. My usuall first stop for emergency information (as it I NEED AN ANSWER NOW!) is craigslist's parenting forum.

[caley]

I really like http://www.rookiemoms.com/ because of all the different ideas for activities they share every day- activities that are geared toward infants and very young toddlers. It is so hard to come up with something you can do with a 6 month old! They've got lots of ideas.

I also LOVE http://www.dc-baby.com/. Its a great resource for parents and families who live in the DC-VA-MD area, and is updated almost daily.

[Andrea]

I like urban baby - but I think they get too much attention - I would have to answer the question by saying parenthacks of course!

[Amie]

I love VeryMom (www.verymom.com). She is so honest about the joys, trials and tribulations of being a parent. I also loved her posts on natural childbirth, cloth diapers, breastfeeding, and all the other "weird" (her words) choices she has made.

[emjaybee]

My favorite mom blog (that's not famous) is One Good Thing (http://www.buggydoo.blogspot.com). She's hilarious and an excellent writer, parenting two boys (one w/ special needs) and running an online, um, "love devices" store. She rocks.

[tb]

Actually, this is my first parent blog, since I will be a parent in the somewhat near future, what with my wife and I in the early throes of the adoption process. I have a lot of research to do, and this is the first blog I came across, so I'm also grateful for this particular posting. Thanks for the tips, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

[Lauren]

http://www.thingamababy.com/baby/

Is one of my favorite new blogs that I found, written by a dad and it's his look at baby and toddler stuff from birth to kindergarten....

[Nancy]

The Trixie Update (http://www.trixieupdate.com) - written by a dad. Currently there's a picture a day (weekdays) and an occasional story, but there were several telemetries including diaper changes and bottle tracking. He also has software for tracking your own baby's inputs and outputs.

[kelly jeanie]

http://www.momadvice.com/?referrer=feed

I read a lot of parenting blogs and this is one that has really good articles, and looks great. I especially liked the month of slow-cooker recipes.

[Katie]

I think http://shapeofamother.blogspot.com/ is a great site. It allows people to see what real women's bodies look like after having children.

[mamafunk]

One of my favorite "mommy" blogs is http://msbootyhomemaker.blogspot.com

she is a social activist and dedicated mama. very inspiring!

[Meghan]

Suburban Bliss is at the top of my daily Must-Reads. Melissa is so honest about her experience as a mother, if you aren't already reading her site, you should be.
http://www.suburbanbliss.net/

[Rob O.]

I've gotta send some props over to Greg at Daddy Types (http://www.daddytypes.com) for his guy-oriented scoop for new dads.

[Oona]

I have been very moved lately by http://www.drowninginkids.com, a real and raw mama blogger.

[Heather]

If I have an extra minute in my day, I read parenthacks.com (true!), an extra two minutes and I read http://www.bloggingbaby.com, and with an extra three minutes, I like to catch up on some of the deals on http://www.mommieswithstyle.com.

:-)

[Kayla]

Poop and Boogies!

http://poopandboogies.blogspot.com/

It's a dad's perspective on raising kids, and it helps me to understand what's going through my husband's head sometimes!

[Alecia]

My favorite is Kiddley.com.

I've posted this to my website at
http://kneedeepinlife.com/2006/09/parent_hacks_contest.php#comments

[Efrain]

I like http://pediascribe.com

[Kelly Leahy]

If I can only get enough time to read one blog a day, it's Beth's at http://playgroupdropout.clubmom.com/

[kristine]

A local mom blogger was highlighed in our newspaper recently, and I really enjoy her humor in a busy family of boys:
http://tinykingdom.ivillage.com/parenting/

Love the links... more stuff to enjoy!

[jennifer]

This has been linked by someone else under another title, but Childbearing Hipster is by far my favorite: http://www.childbearinghipster.com.

[Tim]

I don't know if Dad Gone Mad is new to folks here or not, but Danny sure knows how to make this dad laugh. On behalf of his readers, Danny recently "adopted" an Air Force officer serving in Iraq and his family...Project Lovebomb.
http://www.dadgonemad.com/

[Rob Slagle]

my favorite parenting blog is 365 First Time Parenting tips

http://365parent.blogspot.com/

It's from the dad's perspective, which is probably why I enjoy it most. I almost feel that I've got a leg up for when my little tyke arrives at the end of January 2007.

[Liz]

Now that my son has moved on to eating solids my new favorite site is http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

It's a good reference even if you do not want to make your own food. Plus it gives some nifty mixtures to try.