Rating: 
Summary: Read b4 pregnancy & you'll run 4 for the birth control pills
Review: I rec'd this as a shower gift and it scared the pants off of me. Apparently, the soon-to-be-flooded-with-torrents-of-blood pants. The reviewer who pointed out the negativity is right on the mark. Do we really want to know that the author was scrubbing blood off the floor so the nurses didn't have to? Did this even really happen? I found absolutely nothing reassuring, helpful, or comforting in this book. Find an alternative if you can!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't take it so seriously!
Review: I, being of sound mind and body, strongly urge the reader of this book to take her comments about weight and your body lightly. She is NOT a doctor. I don't recommend reading this unless you have already gone through birth. I do find her sense of humor enjoyable and the reading to be fairly easy. I was concerned with her "spin" on postpartum depression. She seems to think every woman suffered from it but there is a difference. Depression is a medical disorder where intervention should be sought, not just normal changes in your thought processes. DUH, you just had a baby. She insinuates that this big change in a woman's life is a less than awe-inspiring event. I personally wouldn't change a thing about mine.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Vicki!
Review: Keep your sanity and read all of her books. They are the new "childrens owners manuals", ranking right up there with Dr. Spock.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally a book that tells it like it is!!!!! A must Moms!
Review: I have to say that the 1st book I read by Vicki (that is how you feel after reading her books - that you can call her by her first name!) was the pregnancy survival book which I found fun, hilarious and informative - but it was the 1st year of motherhood that for me was a very importrant part of my post partum recovery - I read the book before I had my daughter and after - not til after I had dd though did I realize how on the nose she is...and the book helped me thru hard time - not with facts or medical info....with down to earth, funny wisdom that what I was going thru was normal......when I felt some symptoms of PPD, I read her chapter over and over...when we had sleep issues, I would go over her chapter - not for info. but for SUPPORT...for a laugh....to know these things would get better.....I had friends and family but this was just another outlet....I would recommend this book for all Moms to be.....I think there is nothing to lose by knowing the truth......and if you never have some of the issues Vicki explains in her book, then good for you!
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: This book wants to be a funny point-of-view book but the humor is immature and totally self-involved. The advice in this book is taken from the experience of one woman, who's only expertise is she's had children herself (so doesn't the world owe her - big time!) I'm afraid the gist of the book is her, her, her. If you find her cute (as she herself certainly does) I guess you'll like it. I found her grating. The few bits of serious advice can be gotten (together with lots more useful advice) in other, more professional, books. With all the good books out there it is really a wonder that this book manages to always be stocked on the shelves. Lord knows it would be nice to get a humorous book that 'tells it like it is' about motherhood, but this book ain't it.
Rating:
Summary: Read this AFTER you've survived the first year...
Review: ...or you'll never get pregnant. This hysterical, true book is an entertaining read, but a little scary if you're about to have a baby.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Way to Discover "THE TRUTH"
Review: For some reason there seems to be a conspiracy out there preventing women from finding out how awful the post-partum period can be. I guess many women really don't want to know ahead of time and after they survive it conveniently "forget" it. How else can you explain continunous human fertility??!! Seriously, though. I bought this book during week 38 of my pregnancy and it was a real eye-opener. Unlike some other reviewers, it did not scare me or depress me. Instead it allowed me to prepare for what was ahead. One year has passed and my babe is now a toddler. Upon reflection, the book rings true now as much as back then. Except for the hemorrhoids (thank god), I experienced every single thing Iovine discussed. and yes while it was a beautiful but extremely painful period of time, her humorous words gave me comfort and the knowledge that others had experienced the same exact thing somehow gave me hope that I would overcome it. Aside from psychological relief, the book also provides some practical advice that can help an expectant mother prepare in advance. The what to bring to the hospital list was invaluable etc.
Rating:
Summary: Review #2
Review: I just wrote a one star review and just had to add something to it. After reading some of the other reviews, especially those that say to "lighten up", or assume that we are biased if we don't enjoy Vicki's emphasis on weight, and should understand this is not medical advice, etc... I have to comment that eating discorders are out of control in this country, and that is not something I can take lightly. This book could easily spin a post-partum woman into a binging and purging woman, and I do not mean that to be funny. I figured since Vicky was a Playboy model (25 years ago) I could find her height online- she is 5'7". That means that the 112 weight she considers normal- and anything over is chubby, at best, by her description- is a Body Mass Index of 17.5, which is considered very underweight by any professional in the area of fitness. Even at her pregnancy weight of 150 she was at a Body Mass Index of 23.5, which is still in the healthy (and not overweight) range of 20-25... that is for a non-pregnant woman. SO, please, at the very least, if you enjoy her humor, please do not take her comments about staying slender by eating "nearly nothing" to heart!! If she had never lost a pound, she would still look fantastic, at least outside of Malibu and/or the Playboy mansion.
Rating:
Summary: The best book for new moms
Review: This book was, by far, the best help of all the "first year" books I read. Vickie tells it like it is. She writes from experience, not medical fact. It's also very funny. Just start reading it before the baby is born because you won't have any reading time with a newborn!
Rating:
Summary: A must have for all mothers!!
Review: I absolutley adore anything that this woman writes! She let me know that the things I was feeling and the ridiculousness that was going on in my body were normal. She has a great outlook on motherhood and presents it in a very funny and positive way. You really do feel as though you are a part of gaggle of friends.
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