How to Crack an Egg with One Hand: A Pocketbook for the New Mother

by Francesca Beauman

Within these pages you will find all you need to know (and a few things you don't) in order to embark on the mindboggling journey that is modern motherhood. Discover humorous yet pertinent advice on everything from what a new mother ought to wear on the red carpet to the best books to read while feeding a baby, and marvel at what Mark Twain had to say on teething, Vladimir Nabokov on prams, Mrs Gaskell on six-month-olds and Mrs Beeton on breastfeeding. From the totally frivolous to the deeply serious, from the cultural to the historical, from the history of the Caesarean to celebrity baby names, this is an intelligent, classy and eclectic guide for every twenty-first-century mother or mother-to-be. For it is important to acknowledge that, even though they may have a basketball in their stomachs, they still have a brain in their heads. It is a book to give to friends, daughters and sisters - and to cherish for yourself. True, you may not ever need to know what year the epidural was invented, how to write your child's name in Chinese, or what the gestation period of an anteater is, but isn't it fabulous to know that you do?

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting

216 pages, Hardcover

First published March 14, 2013

Reviews

[Aiza Idris (biblio_mom) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and relatable. If you're an expecting mother, its a way of getting an early insights of the life of a mother. But it also offers knowledge, informations and how tos while being pregnant, like places you can go to spend babymoon.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not thinking of becoming a mommy anytime soon but if I were, this book would be on my list. Friendly and cheeky, the author tells it like it is. Practical, chic advice for a mom-to-be and for those of us who are just curious to see what the author says. And I did learn how to crack an egg with one hand!

[Rachel Brand · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a Christmas gift from my mother, who had just found out that Simon and I were expecting our first child. I think she picked this up in a book sale a while back and had been waiting for someone to have a baby so she could gift it to them. Split into short sections, this book is perfect for picking up when you have a spare moment (brushing teeth, waiting for something to load on the computer, etc) which means it's also probably perfect for new mums!

This book is riddled with a really random assortment of statistics, personal stories and extracts from historical/literary texts. Personally, I love statistics, so it was interesting learning about maternity leave in different countries or popular baby names in the nineteenth century. Some of the historical extracts were hilarious (particularly the letter written to The Times in the mid-1800s to complain about recently invented prams taking up space for pedestrians) and others made me eager to research the person or book more. There was one artist mentioned that I'm definitely going to investigate.

I wasn't so keen on some of the author's personal opinions on how you should approach different aspects of parenting or post-baby life, mainly because she wrote in a rather patronising, know-it-all tone. For example, she suggested that new mums shouldn't let their childless friends know how much their lives have changed and never moan about anything, in order to try to keep up friendships. While I'm never a fan of moaning for moaning's sake, I don't want to lie to my friends and cause them to think that I am absolutely up for going clubbing at 2am on a Tuesday night three weeks after the baby gets here ;) At least they made for some interesting discussions between me and my husband, but we won't be taking all of the author's suggestions to heart.

Some of this book is just filler. Random lists of facts that are only vaguely related to something to do with babies (e.g. you'll spend a lot of time looking at the moon while feeding your baby at night, so here's some facts about the moon) that just seemed to be put in the book to pad it out.

The author's interest in literature and history definitely appealed to me, and since I know I'll probably be going back to look up a few people or books here and there, I'm giving this book 3.5*. It was fun to pick up whenever I had a spare moment, even though there were definitely some sections that I skimmed or skipped. A cute gift for a new parent!

[Kristin Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how this book contained a lot of interesting facts that don't necessarily pertain to being a mother, but are entertaining/interesting to read. There was a list of countries with their maternity leave policies, a list of records of the world's youngest and oldest moms in history, (was shocked to read that the youngest recorded mom is history was 5 years old when she gave birth. :/ ) There were also yoga pose suggestions to help with pregnancy. Overall a good read.

[Fusspot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, but I had the wrong impression when I started and was disappointed. Got it as an ebook from the library and was expecting something more like a collection of essays - not what this is! This is a book of silly lists.

As far as silly list books go, it's perfectly good. Would recommend.

[Jessica Felton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't find it of much interest though I dutifully read it through. A few interesting snippets but overall a strange collection of oddments.