Whatever your age, becoming a mum for the first time brings excitement, anxiety and numerous challenges. But how do you cope when, to top it all off, you discover you are almost old enough to be the mother of everyone else in your birth prep group? As one in five babies is born to a mum over 35, and the number of women over 40 giving birth has doubled, The Secret Diary of a New Mum (Aged 43 ¼) is Cari Rosen's timely and hilarious account of becoming a first-time mother in her 40s.
Whether it's deftly side-stepping questions about your age and baby number two, weeping as younger counterparts ping back into their size ten jeans within thirty seconds of giving birth, or your doctor suddenly referring to you as geriatric Cari approaches the shared experiences of an ever-increasing number of mothers with insight, humour and honesty.
The Secret Diary of a New Mum by Cari Rosen was published on 11 March 2021 by Duckworth Books. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this #RandomThingsTours Blog Tour.
I am not a mother. I've never wished to be a mother. I have every respect of every woman who makes that huge huge step. Really, I'm probably not the target market for this book, but oh my goodness, I have absolutely loved every single page of it. I have laughed myself silly at times, I have read passages out to my husband .... we both laughed ... in that smug, child-free fashion that smug child-free people have!
I have also cringed, and I've also been a bit angry. Angry on the behalf of the author, who I have met, and who I do NOT consider to be old. However, in the world of pregnancy, and ante-natal, and post-natal, and afterwards, she's been told that she's old. No matter that she's highly intelligent, has had an enormously successful career, can provide financially and emotionally for her child. Oh no, that counts for nothing. It seems, to be the perfect mother, you need to be aged around 20, with bags of energy, a stomach that flips straight back to being as flat as a pancake as you leave the maternity wing, and no grey hairs!
Cari and her husband wanted their child. They didn't meet as teens, they met later in life. They were happy and they wanted a child. They were fortunate to conceive pretty quickly and whilst Cari was delighted, she kind of knew what was coming.
This is one of the funniest books that I've read for years. If and when I meet Cari again, probably at a book event, when we can leave our houses once more, I don't know how I will look her in the eye. Her startling description of a breast pump, and just how far a nipple can extend brought tears to my eyes. I felt the pain, but I also thought it was hilarious. Sorry Cari.
What shines through in Cari's book most of all, is her undeniable love for her daughter. It is clear that she and her husband are rock solid, and between them they have created and formed a funny and bright child. Some of her sayings just delighted me, and I would have loved to be that person on the park bench who she sat beside and showed her stomach too. Trips to the supermarket sounded joyful, I too will now ensure that I say hello to every fish on the counter ... who cares if they are dead? Cari's daughter certainly doesn't
This is honest, hilarious and utterly magical. When I finished the book I immediately began to miss hearing more about life in the Rosen household. Wonderful and highly recommended from me.
These days Cari is a full-time editor and writer who lives in London but adheres firmly to the maxim ‘You can take a girl out of Manchester – but you’ll never take Manchester out of the girl.'
Find out more about the author here: www.carirosen.com
Twitter @cazroz
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