Motherhood, reading notes and a possible early birthday present

Motherhood is wearing me out. Little S is amazing, his sunny personality is really coming through, he seems to already have a sense of humor and he's incredibly cute. But he has soooooo much energy and I don't. He wakes up so early, at around 5 am and I'm just not functional at that hour. Plus he's been testing out his lung strength. Constantly. I'm surprised that I have the brain power to read The Odyssey on my commute to work.

I'm really behind on my reviewing... I haven't even reviewed what I read for the Read-a-thon! One of the books I read was Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay, which I absolutely loved. The story is amazing! As is the fact that all three books in the trilogy were total pageturners, usually at least one is weaker than the others. I know that some people didn't like the introspective aspect of Mockingjay, but it worked for me. I thought that it was a perfect state to be in following all that happened. I'd need some recovery/introspection time too. I was satisfied with the ending too. Maybe it didn't have that 'happily ever after' touch to it, which made it more realistic. That melancholy tone added an extra layer to the story, I thought.

There, can that count as my review?

My kindle is in the house! Joe ordered it early so that it would get here in time for my birthday in December and now it's way early! It's sitting in the spare room in its amazon box. And mocking me. I think it's cruel not let me have it, don't you? I mean it's RIGHT THERE. I'm negotiating with Joe, last year's present was late so I think it's only fair that this year's is early. Right? ;-)

The Best Friends' Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood by Vicki Iovine

I really like this series of books about pregnancy and motherhood by Vicki Iovine. Last year, I read the Guide to Pregnancy and found it very helpful and honest. I'm happy to say that this book was just as helpful. And honest. :-)

Iovine provides information in an informal way, telling us about her own experience and the experiences of her friends. It's a fun and honest discussion of the beginnings of motherhood and includes the tough bits too. Getting lots of different stories means you get various perspectives but no judgment. Plus you see that you're never alone in what you're experiencing and that there are people who experience extremes of all situations. Sometimes things are better and sometimes things are worse.

The only criticism I have is that most of the book was really about the first 6 months. I've done that now and would have liked some more information about what to expect in the coming months. The title says 'first year' so I assumed it covered more.

I won't go into details here, since the subject matters appeals to such a small number of people, but if you're ever in need of such books, this series is a good choice. Not as good as Naomi Stadlen's What Mothers Do, Especially When it Looks Like Nothing, but still worth getting. It made me laugh out loud a good number of times and a new Mom sure needs that! :-)