Table of Contents
• Why share my innermost thoughts with the world? • Cue the Barry White… Trying to conceive! • A shift in my centre of gravity – pregnancy • Labour and delivery – and my discovery that epidurals are the drugs of gods! • Labour and delivery 2.0 – perspectives from the second time around • The aftermath – recovery • Changing 2,324 nappies and 150 sets of soiled clothing – sometimes the baby’s clothes too • 1,064 hours of breastfeeding • Sleep • What do you even do with a baby? • Getting my body back • Things that surprised me • Crying for no reason • Regret • The sales pitch – why people love having a baby • Irrational fears • Firsts • Sex • Baby-inflicted relationship strain • Life lessons I got from strangers • Returning to work • Unsolicited advice for us to impart • Glutton for punishment… Second time around • Third time around • What I learned from the journey
Why Did We Write It?
When I got pregnant, my husband and I thought we should read some pregnancy books. We found
they were either very clinical, or they were autobiographical with anecdotes about being a parent.
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None of them really just said it how it is. We wanted to know what you go through in layman's
terms, we wanted to know how you actually spend your day with a baby. We thought we could put that information out there.
It's hard to directly ask new parents intimate details of what they're going through. They don't have time or brain power to answer properly for a start. But it's a topic that can be sensitive if things are difficult. And people don't want to brag or talk only about their kid. So, conversations are left unsaid.
I wanted people to have a way to have their questions answered.
Synopsis
This non-fiction book is an upfront and amusing account of how it feels to be in the first year of parenting. The intent is to demystify the experience.
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Written by a couple parenting a newborn, it's descriptive through anecdotes and a scorecard of how many nappies were changed, and how many hours were spent breastfeeding (among other things). So, there’s some tangible information to help translate how a parent’s day is spent.
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They address topics that are a bit taboo to talk about and clichés that don’t translate well to people without kids. Ever wonder what actually happens in the delivery room? Or sex after a baby? Why do people say parenting is so amazing in the same breath they say it’s soul destroying?
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Hiding behind words on a page, rather than looking you in the eye, it’s easier to provide you with the sordid details that come with birthing and caring for a baby. They talk openly about all things baby, so they keep it funny and light-hearted to cushion the emotional outpours.
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It was written to help people prepare for a baby when they’re pregnant, by knowing what to expect in layman’s terms, or it can be used to help people decide if they even want to become parents. New parents will find comfort in it too. They show how the perspective can differ between mum and dad, by giving you a commentary from both.
Paperback, Kindle and eBook Available
Meet The Authors
Sarah and James Dunham live in Australia with their two daughters Lily and Mia. Like many others, they are striving for the elusive work life balance.
So, when they have time together outside Sarah’s shift work career as a paramedic, and James’ career in finance, they like to make time for family and friends.
They enjoy playing strategy-based board games, having princess dress up dance parties with their kids, and good long walks. Writing this book together, and having them reflect so heavily on their new family life, has been a therapeutic hobby for them both.