100 books like Baby Laughs

By Jenny McCarthy,

Here are 100 books that Baby Laughs fans have personally recommended if you like Baby Laughs. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay: And Other Things I Had to Learn as a New Mom

Claudine Wolk Author Of It Gets Easier! . . . And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers

From my list on making new motherhood easier.

Why am I passionate about this?

I thought being a new mom would be easy. Ha! I was shocked at how hard it was. My little baby—who mostly cried and came with no instructions—was a mystery. Determined to figure him out, I interviewed any mom who would talk to me—family members, girlfriends, moms at the YMCA, moms at parks, strangers on planes—any mom who would give me insight. They offered advice on burping, rocking, and sleep schedules and then morphed into advice on my relationship and warnings to hold on to my own dreams. The honesty and humor helped so much that I wrote a book on the subject to help other moms.

Claudine's book list on making new motherhood easier

Claudine Wolk Why did Claudine love this book?

Any "New Mom" book that is written with humor and honesty is OK is my book! Ms. Wilder's book is refreshing, honest, and funny on many topics "new mom" related. She discusses many issues a "new mom" will encounter. She starts with the issue of "instant bonding"—what a relief to know that I was not only one to take a few weeks to fall in love. From there she discusses other biggie "new mom" topics - the realities of breastfeeding, bottle feeding, baby-blues, feeding solid foods, babysitters, venturing out with your newborn, other new mothers, handling friends without children, sex after baby, A-type mommies, and different parenting styles, and much more. This is a book you can read in one sitting or one topic at a time. The author's honest, witty style is engaging and entertaining, and I suspect will give many "New Moms" a peaceful night's sleep.

By Stefanie Wilder-Taylor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The moment the second line on the pee stick turns pink, women discover they've entered a world of parenting experts.

Friends, family, colleagues, the UPS delivery guy -- suddenly everybody is a trove of advice, much of it contradictory and confusing. With dire warnings of what will happen if baby is fed on demand and even direr warnings of what will happen if he isn't, not to mention hordes of militant "lactivists," cosleeping advocates, and books on what to worry about next, modern parenthood can seem like a minefield.

In busy Mom-friendly short essays, Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay…


Book cover of I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids: Reinventing Modern Motherhood

Claudine Wolk Author Of It Gets Easier! . . . And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers

From my list on making new motherhood easier.

Why am I passionate about this?

I thought being a new mom would be easy. Ha! I was shocked at how hard it was. My little baby—who mostly cried and came with no instructions—was a mystery. Determined to figure him out, I interviewed any mom who would talk to me—family members, girlfriends, moms at the YMCA, moms at parks, strangers on planes—any mom who would give me insight. They offered advice on burping, rocking, and sleep schedules and then morphed into advice on my relationship and warnings to hold on to my own dreams. The honesty and humor helped so much that I wrote a book on the subject to help other moms.

Claudine's book list on making new motherhood easier

Claudine Wolk Why did Claudine love this book?

Finally, the truth about motherhood in an easy-to-read, entertaining style. I picked this gem up before I went down to the shore and my girlfriend and I read it to each other in front of our spouses on the beach. My favorite part of the book is the honest, hilarious quotes from the women who were interviewed. Their insights were thought-provoking! (Especially the gal who stated quite clearly what is not foreplay!) 

By Trisha Ashworth, Amy Nobile,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Scratch the surface of the Super Mom and you may find someone who isn't even sure she can get through the day, let alone "do it all." Or at least that's what Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile felt. Curious, they began asking other mothers and found that after twenty minutes of touting the joys of motherhood, moms would inevitably admit that they were stressed out, exhausted, and depressed that their child's first word was "Shrek." After conducting over 100 interviews, Trisha and Amy discovered trends too similar and too widespread to be ignored. Whether the mom was in the office…


Book cover of The Girlfriends' Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood

Claudine Wolk Author Of It Gets Easier! . . . And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers

From my list on making new motherhood easier.

Why am I passionate about this?

I thought being a new mom would be easy. Ha! I was shocked at how hard it was. My little baby—who mostly cried and came with no instructions—was a mystery. Determined to figure him out, I interviewed any mom who would talk to me—family members, girlfriends, moms at the YMCA, moms at parks, strangers on planes—any mom who would give me insight. They offered advice on burping, rocking, and sleep schedules and then morphed into advice on my relationship and warnings to hold on to my own dreams. The honesty and humor helped so much that I wrote a book on the subject to help other moms.

Claudine's book list on making new motherhood easier

Claudine Wolk Why did Claudine love this book?

New motherhood comes with it many pressures. The pressure to take care of a newborn and yourself, for starters.  There is also a societal pressure, it seems, as we strive to be the perfect mother. We feel everyone is questioning our every "mother-move." Vicki Iovine's book is a help in this regard. Written with honesty and humor, it gives new mothers a glimpse "behind closed doors" to the "real" world of new motherhood. Knowing that you are not alone is always a help! My favorite part is the author’s honesty. It is refreshing to hear an opinion, agree or not.

By Vicki Iovine,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Girlfriends' Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When it comes to your new baby, everyone from Dr. Spock to Dr. Brazleton has an armful of advice. But no one's delivering any tips on how you can care for yourself. Now, four-time delivery room veteran Vicki Iovine answers your questions, calms your fears, and cracks you up as only a girlfriend can, with straight advice and hilarious observations on...

"Baby euphoria": Is it a mind-altering drug?

"Husband? What Husband?": Taking care of the big baby, as well as the little baby

"I Want My Old Body Back!": What you can fix and what you can't

"The Droning Phenomenon":…


Book cover of The Second Nine Months: One Woman Tells the Real Truth about Becoming a Mom. Finally.

Claudine Wolk Author Of It Gets Easier! . . . And Other Lies We Tell New Mothers

From my list on making new motherhood easier.

Why am I passionate about this?

I thought being a new mom would be easy. Ha! I was shocked at how hard it was. My little baby—who mostly cried and came with no instructions—was a mystery. Determined to figure him out, I interviewed any mom who would talk to me—family members, girlfriends, moms at the YMCA, moms at parks, strangers on planes—any mom who would give me insight. They offered advice on burping, rocking, and sleep schedules and then morphed into advice on my relationship and warnings to hold on to my own dreams. The honesty and humor helped so much that I wrote a book on the subject to help other moms.

Claudine's book list on making new motherhood easier

Claudine Wolk Why did Claudine love this book?

I loved this book. The second nine months is the true story of Vicki Glembocki's journey into those first few months after childbirth. Although the story is a memoir, Glembocki writes it so well that it reads like a novel—a novel you won't put down until you are finished. From beginning to end, Glembocki bravely bares her soul for the new mom's benefit and cleverly manages to hit all the "new mom" topics through her personal experience. From breastfeeding, to newborn crying, to changes in relationships, to new mom bonding, to finding other new mom friends, to back to work issues, Glembocki manages to cover them all with wit and candor. I found her new mom tale "spot on accurate." It is so exciting that truth is finally coming out. Take advantage of the gift this author has created, New Moms, and read about her experience. Moms will find that…

By Vicki Glembocki,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Second Nine Months as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When her daughter Blair was born, Vicki Glembocki experienced the first blast of maternal bliss that she assumed would carry her through the next nine months of sleepless nights and all the challenges that come with a new baby. So why was the transition into motherhood so hard? Because no one told her the real deal about what lay ahead. Finally, one mother gives the unvarnished truth about those first months, from the worry over whether you're bonding, to the suspicion that you're the only woman on earth who lacks the maternal gene." Funny and brutally honest, Glembocki lets new…


Book cover of Mother Is a Verb: An Unconventional History

Glenda Goodman Author Of Cultivated by Hand: Amateur Musicians in the Early American Republic

From my list on hidden lives of women in early America.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been a devoted reader of fiction, and I especially enjoy novels and short stories that delve into characters’ interior lives and motivations. I find people fascinating, both in books and in real life, and I am always trying to figure out why people do or say certain things. I should probably have become a psychologist or a detective instead of a musicologist. I am passionate about doing as much of that kind of sleuthing as a scholar as possible.  

Glenda's book list on hidden lives of women in early America

Glenda Goodman Why did Glenda love this book?

I listened to this audiobook about motherhood while pushing my newborn second child in a stroller. Sarah Knott takes the reader through the stages of becoming a mother–conception, miscarriage, pregnancy, birth, newborn care, childcare, and resuming work–and then doing it again with a second child.

Throughout, Knott contrasts her own experiences with those of women in the past, especially in North America and Britain. The differences are striking, not just in healthcare but also in social support. I thought about the women I'd written about who had many children and how important familial support was.

As a fellow professor, I was heartened to read about Knott's experience returning to work and re-finding her academic mind. She writes poignantly about how motherhood is a constant interruption. It is so true!

By Sarah Knott,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mother Is a Verb as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Welcome to a work of history unlike any other.

Mothering is as old as human existence. But how has this most essential experience changed over time and cultures? What is the history of maternity―the history of pregnancy, birth, the encounter with an infant? Can one capture the historical trail of mothers? How?

In Mother Is a Verb, the historian Sarah Knott creates a genre all her own in order to craft a new kind of historical interpretation. Blending memoir and history and building from anecdote, her book brings the past and the present viscerally alive. It is at once intimate…


Book cover of The Gift of an Ordinary Day

Dorothy Littell Greco Author Of Marriage in the Middle: Embracing Midlife Surprises, Challenges, and Joys

From my list on helping you to thrive in midlife.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been writing and providing pastor care for more than thirty years now. Since turning sixty, I have noticed that aging well is not a given. Many people seem to grow increasingly bitter, resentful, and hard. If we want to become more empathetic, grateful, and loving, we have to keep growing and do our spiritual and relational work. We also need trustworthy guides to help us find our way. I hope to be a wise, compassionate guide for my readers.

Dorothy's book list on helping you to thrive in midlife

Dorothy Littell Greco Why did Dorothy love this book?

Kenison wrote this book when she was in her forties, after she nudged her husband to sell their long-time family house and move to rural New Hampshire with their two teenage sons. The book gives voice to being uprooted, letting go of the familiar, and the profound transitions of mid-life. Kenison writes beautifully of the stirrings and longings that prompt us to see our lives from a new vantage point, ultimately allowing us to move on with grace and grit.  

By Katrina Kenison,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Gift of an Ordinary Day as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Gift of an Ordinary Day is an intimate memoir of a family in transition-boys becoming teenagers, careers ending and new ones opening up, an attempt to find a deeper sense of place and a slower pace, in a small New England town. It is a story of mid-life longings and discoveries, of lessons learned in the search for home and a new sense of purpose, and the bittersweet intensity of life with teenagers - holding on, letting go.
Poised on the threshold between family life as she's always known it and her older son's departure for college, Kenison is…


Book cover of Mom Genes: Inside the New Science of Our Ancient Maternal Instinct

Nicole Hackett Author Of The Perfect Ones

From my list on the non-Instagrammable parts of motherhood.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was pregnant for the first time, I knew exactly the sort of mother I was going to be. I had read all the articles, bookmarked all the tastefully filtered Instagram posts. But then I had my son, and I realized almost immediately how little I knew. It turns out that while those tender Instagram moments do happen (and they truly are magic), there are just as many moments that can only be described as: WTF? My novel, The Perfect Ones, goes deep behind the screens of two Instagram influencers and their messy, conflicting, and fundamentally human feelings on motherhood. Here are five more books about the parts that don’t make the Instagram grid.

Nicole's book list on the non-Instagrammable parts of motherhood

Nicole Hackett Why did Nicole love this book?

I normally gravitate toward fiction, so this one came out of left field for me.

Abigail Tucker, a correspondent for Smithsonian magazine, dives deep into the science of what makes a mother. I think I enjoyed this book so much because it almost reads like fiction between its accessible (and surprisingly funny!) tone and the stranger-than-fiction revelations about what happens to a woman’s brain when she becomes a mom.

By Abigail Tucker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mom Genes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Lion in the Living Room comes a fascinating and provocative exploration of the biology of motherhood that "is witty, reassuring, and takes motherhood out of the footnotes and places it front and center-where it belongs" (Louann Brizendine, MD, New York Times bestselling author).

Everyone knows how babies are made, but scientists are only just beginning to understand the making of a mother. Mom Genes reveals the hard science behind our tenderest maternal impulses, tackling questions such as why mothers are destined to mimic their own moms (or not), how maternal aggression…


Book cover of The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart of Eternity

Wendy Speake Author Of Triggers: Exchanging Parents' Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical Responses

From my list on for gentle Christian parenting.

Why am I passionate about this?

Before becoming a mom, my career was as an actress in Hollywood. Once I took on the role of Mother, however, I stepped off of the stage and onto the page. Telling stories about my weary-making days raising children allowed me to encourage other moms to persevere in doing right even when their own kids do wrong. I wrote Triggers with Amber Lia in 2016 and it has been a best-selling parenting resource year after year.

Wendy's book list on for gentle Christian parenting

Wendy Speake Why did Wendy love this book?

No calling is greater, nobler, or more fulfilling than that motherhood. Every day, as we nurture our children, mothers influence eternal destiny as no one else can. Tragically, today’s culture minimizes the vital importance of a mother’s role. In The Mission of Motherhood, Sally Clarkson helps you rediscover the joy and fulfillment to be found in the strategic role to which God in all his wisdom has called you, for a purpose far greater than you can ever imagine.

By Sally Clarkson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Mission of Motherhood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Discover how understanding God’s purpose and design can empower you to be the mother you long to be.

No calling is greater, nobler, or more fulfilling than that motherhood. Every day, as we nurture our children, mothers influence eternal destiny as no one else can. Tragically, today’s culture minimizes the vital importance of a mother’s role. In The Mission of Motherhood, Sally Clarkson helps you rediscover the joy and fulfillment to be found in the strategic role to which God in all his wisdom has called you, for a purpose far greater than you can ever imagine.


Book cover of I Am Not Your Baby Mother

Amy Beashel Author Of Spilt Milk

From my list on modern motherhood.

Why am I passionate about this?

I had a very distinct vision of what kind of mother I would be: patient, kind, and creative. And I can be all of these things, but so too can I be frustrated, furious, and exhausted beyond belief. This contradictory experience of motherhood was what I wanted to explore in Spilt Milk and is the motherhood exposed in these five books which, while very different in form, share a willingness to acknowledge the darker and less curated aspects of a relationship that can be as stifling as it is wonderful.  

Amy's book list on modern motherhood

Amy Beashel Why did Amy love this book?

As Spilt Milk’s protagonist Bea Straw is a mum-blogger, I was keen to read experiences of real-life “mummy influencers”. Braithwaite’s book – part memoir, part manifesto – was of particular interest because she is Black, somewhat of a rarity in the picture of motherhood painted by social media that tends to be both very white and very middle class. 

Documenting the difficult birth of her daughter and the subsequent mishandled complications, Braithwaite exposes the many and varied ways in which women of colour are disadvantaged and endangered by racial bias. 

While light in tone, there’s a power and vulnerability in Braithwaite’s writing, and I learnt so much from this brilliant book.

By Candice Brathwaite,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Am Not Your Baby Mother as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER*

'Really good ... accessible, sometimes shocking, honest, and feels written from the heart' - Bernardine Evaristo

'I gobbled it in one weekend and encourage everyone - mother, or otherwise - to do the same' - Pandora Sykes

'Remarkable' - Lorraine Kelly

'Searing' - Dolly Alderton

'I absolutely loved I Am Not Your Baby Mother' - Giovanna Fletcher

'Brilliant' - Sophie Ellis-Bextor

'An essential exploration of the realities of black motherhood in the UK' - Observer

'Urgent part-memoir, part-manifesto about black motherhood' - Red

'[An] original and much-needed guide to navigating black motherhood' - Cosmopolitan

'The woman…


Book cover of My Wild and Sleepless Nights

Manni Coe Author Of Brother. Do. You. Love. Me.

From my list on memoirs that capture the struggle of everyday life.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a gay man born into an evangelical Christian family, my coming out story was wrought with pain, trauma, and separation from family and loved ones. In the same year I lost my best friend in an accident. My world tumbled and I had to crawl back to a place of reckoning. Walking became my path to healing. So when my brother Reuben, who has Down's syndrome sent me a message from the isolation of a care home in the pandemic, I knew he was in trouble. Those five words - ´brother. do. you. love. me.´changed our lives. I thought I might know a way to save him.

Manni's book list on memoirs that capture the struggle of everyday life

Manni Coe Why did Manni love this book?

As a guy with no children, motherhood has always intrigued me.

What does motherhood actually feel like? How does it change you? How to describe the bond between mother and child? I had questions that would be difficult to ask any mother. In this soaring memoir, Clover has answered them all for me. She has a skill to convert the most mundane into life-changing and the routine into extraordinary.

Clover’s style is engaging and intimate. She leaves no stone unturned in this ‘heart on her sleeve’ book about what it really means to be a mother.

By Clover Stroud,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked My Wild and Sleepless Nights as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Raw, elemental and beautiful.' Telegraph
'This is quite simply the best book about motherhood I have ever read.' - Eleanor Mills in the Sunday Times

Mother to five children, Clover Stroud has navigated family life across two decades, both losing and finding herself. In her touching, provocative and profoundly insightful book, she captures a sense of what motherhood really feels like - how intense, sensuous, joyful, boring, profound and dark it can be.

My Wild and Sleepless Nights examines what it means to be a mother, and reveals with unflinching honesty the many conflicting emotions that this entails: the joy…


Book cover of Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay: And Other Things I Had to Learn as a New Mom
Book cover of I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids: Reinventing Modern Motherhood
Book cover of The Girlfriends' Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood

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