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Often, when women discover that they’re pregnant, they race for their favorite bookstore (or their local library) to pick up truckloads of books on pregnancy and parenting and things—books that will tell them what to expect during every minute of their pregnancy, what to expect during every minute of their baby’s first year, and how much to freak out when things don’t go as expected. I, however, was not one of those pregnant women. In case you haven’t noticed, I read a lot of other stuff—and, really, pregnancy books tend to terrify me. So I preferred books like the hysterical Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay (and Other Things I Had to Learn as a New Mom) by writer/comic Stefanie Wilder-Taylor.
Wilder-Taylor mentions repeatedly throughout her mommyhood memoirs that, when you’re a new mom, there’s no end to the unsolicited advice that you’ll get from total strangers. No matter where you are, people will feel the need to tell you exactly how to feed / care for / educate / raise your child. And this book is Wilder-Taylor’s answer to all of that unsolicited (and generally unwelcome) advice. It’s filled with her thoughts and (often strong) opinions on everything I’ve mentioned above (and more). But, instead of annoying and unnecessary, her advice is blunt and sarcastic and absolutely hilarious (and sometimes a little bit shocking, too). And, most of the time, she’ll say exactly what you’re thinking.
Sippy Cups is like a long, refreshing conversation with your most no-nonsense mommy friend—the kind who will happily (and hilariously) dish about anything after a martini or two and who will encourage you, support you in your decisions, and let you know that anyone who has a problem with your formula feeding or use of disposable diapers should mind her own business (though she probably wouldn’t say it quite so politely).
Wilder-Taylor calls it as she sees it—whether she’s offering her opinions on breastfeeding, postpartum depression, getting your baby to sleep, or the other mommies at the park. The chapters are rather randomly arranged, and the observations are completely irreverent, but they’re often surprisingly insightful, too. And while you’re laughing like a madwoman at her anecdotes (it’s okay—you can blame the hormones), you might just learn a thing or two at the same time.
Most importantly, though, you’ll come away feeling a little better about your ability to parent a little person of your own. Wilder-Taylor gives the same kind of advice that a wise friend gave me as soon as I told him about my pregnancy: every child is different, and every parent is different—so you need to do what feels right for you. And that advice is more valuable than the advice of all of the nosy women at Target.
Of course, if you’re one of those people who believe that there’s absolutely nothing about parenting (or pregnancy) to joke about (or if you’re a staunch, advice-giving, demand-making supporter of things like exclusive preschools or Attachment Parenting), then you’ll most likely be offended by this book. Buy another one of those What to Expect books instead. But if you could use a good belly laugh to help you survive the ups and downs of this whole crazy adventure, I recommend picking up a copy of this hilarious little book.
