Zen Sarcasm Reviews

Because New Motherhood Doesn't Have to Mean Six Months of Solitary

I am a bonehead: I was supposed to review "The Rookie Mom's Handbook" last night and I completely forgot.  I have no excuse, really: in between dinner and the ritual watching of TV and putting the baby down to sleep the deadline whooshed silently by with so much as a weird stirring inside me.

But a day late, albeit not a dollar short, I am here to tell you about this fun little volume which purports to have 250 activities to do with your newborn.  This is a companion volume to the Rookie Moms
website and blog-- or rather a spin-off/compilation: the website has even more ideas (for free!) for new moms to do with their new babies, which is how the book idea got started. 

I could not think of a better book to give to a new mother, who is still confused and maybe a little depressed and forlorn and at times might feel saddled with the responsibility of carrying around a little defenseless and completely dependent little body, instead of realizing she's been given a whole new perspective on life.  The book is filled with easy suggestions you can at least give a try or consider when you feel more comfortable with baby-- something as simple as grabbing a cup of coffee at an al fresco café or going to see the pretty flowers at your local botanic garden or conservatory of flowers; things that may not occur to a mom who may feel that baby is too fragile or that she will not be accepted by other people.  I honestly believe new moms need to hear these pieces of advice --neatly packaged in small morsels for the short-term-memory-deprived set-- because these are the things that no parent how-to book will tell you about.  These are the little things that can beat the baby blues.

If you have a baby shower for a first time mommy coming up, you now know what to get her.  And if you need ideas yourself, now you know where to go on the web!  Pay a visit to the Rookie Moms!

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Thanks, MotherTalk for including me in the blog tour for this book.

Yummy Enough to Re-read

Sometimes things are born in a place of pain and hurt, and evolve into beautiful things that can transcend their beginnings and serve a higher purpose. 

Maybe this is not the first thing that may hit most people when they start to read The Yummy Mummy Manifesto: Baby, Beauty, Balance and Bliss, but it gave me pause.  The author and illustrator of this charming, quirky tome, Anna Johnson, came into her own motherhood with feelings of hurt, impotence and alienation, first as the recipient of an emergency caesarean section; and later as a new mother feeling isolated and alone, far away from family and trying to find like-minded mothers in that dance that many of us have done and known so well-- that mother-centered flirtation that leads women encumbered/blessed with children to loiter around parks and public areas hoping to find someone with whom to bond and with whom to share age-appropriate woes.

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What makes The Yummy Mummy Manifesto a good book to buy and recommend as a new mother and to a new mother is the lovely language --frank, rich, and evocative-- and the feeling that you get that this is a person who is leveling with you.  Ms. Johnson may be new to this motherhood business --as many of us are, really-- but her candor in relating her experiences, her choices, and her memories of mothers past make the read a very fun one.  And really, her candor in sharing her pain, disappointment, frustration and ultimately embracing of the reality she was given, are what make this book what it is: a guide to becoming the mother you want to be-- and really, the designer clothing is optional.

Although Ms. Johnson rails against the all-too-common experiences of motherhood being more like a faceoff of beliefs and customs --working mother vs. stay-at-home mother, etc. just to name one such "category"-- I can't help but point out that the book is a much more fulfilling and pleasant read if one ascribes to at least most of the practices that the author herself has followed.  In fact, I expect that a formula-feeding mother who may read this book might walk away feeling a little less than yummy herself because she did not breastfeed her child or children.  I do not claim that this was the author's intention: it is clear that her purpose with this book and with the support of breastfeeding is to promote and celebrate this and every aspect of the experience of motherhood.  However, I can see how the differing view can bristle when reading the breastfeeding chapter, for instance.

This might also be the case with the very explicit and saucy chapter on being very pregnant and very horny. 

I personally had to let out a loud laugh when I embarked upon this particular chapter --you always think you're the only one-- but I can also see how other people might find that part of the book distasteful and downright rude.  Even some of the illustrations, which feature nursing mothers and beautiful, sensual and in some cases nude women might raise eyebrows.  This book is not meant for people who blush easily and/or are uncomfortable with their bodies-- or perhaps it's meant just for them.

But one of the more fun parts of the book, and which everyone can certainly enjoy, is the tips for dressing during the different stages of pregnancy and postpartum, and all the other great ideas for becoming the yummy mummy you want to be: anything from small treats to stealing bits of time or sexual intimacy from the beast of motherhood lack-of-time-itis.
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I can honestly say I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and have already started recommending it to my friends.  Thank you MotherTalk for including me in this book tour and allowing me to partake of such a fun book.

"Me-Time" Never Sounded So Lovely

When I first started on the long, arduous, never-ending, and not-enough-showered path of motherhood, I remember vowing something that went along these lines,

"I am SO NEVER letting the television be my babysitter!  TV is a sure sign of BAD parenting."

Insert venom spit, fire and brimstone.

Feel free to point and laugh-- I deserve it.

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Later, I realized just how foolish I'd been.  Granted, I did wait until about the year mark to expose Herr Meow to television (or at least television specifically tailored for him), but once I broke that seal I realized that, well, if you are picky and if you really don't let it happen for super long periods of time.... well... it's not THAT bad.

Except for Baby Einstein.  BE is still the devil, and you can't tell me no-- those puppets and those repetitive sequences are sheer weirdness and creepiness.

This is just a little roundabout way to tell you that a new CD and DVD out there for kids from 0 to 5 years old called "That Baby" IS NOT EVIL.

Not in the least.  At all.  As a matter of fact --and this would totally kill my street cred, btw-- I bawled like a little baby during the first song, which is a medley of "Happiness Runs" by Donovan and "Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell.  It's a lovely, pretty song, and it tickled my tear ducts and my little stony heart.  Go figure. 

"That Baby" is fun and sweet and has songs you'll probably know the lyrics to  --especially if you're into 60s and 70s folksy stuff.  The vocal arrangements are very sweet and fun and the visuals in the DVD are not irritating nor repetitive nor fraught with scary puppets doing unexplainable things.  Here, wherever there are puppers, they sing and dance-- both very straightforward activities, as far as puppets are concerned.

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As for the true critic in this process, Herr Meow was mesmerized by the songs and by the kids in the video.  As soon as I popped it in, he started to dance and twirl right on my lap and hours later I caught him making up lyrics to a tune that sounded an awful lot like "Anything is Possible."

All in all, I think "That Baby" --both the CD and the DVD-- would make a great gift for a child or for a baby shower.  Good tunes, good arrangements, good visuals AND no scary puppets.  What more could you ask for?

Get your butt to the "That Baby" website and get your copies there directly.  Click here to go there!
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Hello, an iPod nano?!?!??!  WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! (and thank you, MotherTalk!)