The Sh!t No One Tells You About Baby #2: A Guide To Surviving Your Growing Family

by Dawn Dais

The third book in Dawn Dais's popular Sh!t No One Tells You series covers all a parent needs to know once the reality of having two children settles in.

Around the time your first baby turns a year old your brain will turn on you. For reasons that are still not understood by science, the sleep deprivation and postpartum hormones you barely survived with your first baby fade from memory and will be replaced with idyllic images of your growing child.

This is when your brain, having officially lost all regard for your well-being, begins to fantasize about a second baby. And for the first time since becoming a parent these thoughts don't make you break out in hives.

Before you know it, you are dressing your first child in "I'm Going to be a Big Sister!" T-shirts and catalog-shopping for bunk beds. This will be fantastic!

But then that familiar morning sickness kicks in. And your adorable 18-month-old transforms into a two-year-old terror. That's when those hives start to return.

With Dawn Dais's trademark witty banter, The Sh!t No One Tells You About Baby #2 includes chapters such as "You Have Officially Lost Control of the Situation," "Siblings Aren't Nearly as Adorable as You Imagined," "You'll Have a Favorite," and "Having Kids Looks a Lot Easier on TV."

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2016

About the author

Dawn Dais is a freelance writer, designer, and filmmaker from Sacramento, CA. Her two previous books, The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women and The Noncyclist's Guide to the Century and Other Road Races, were published by Seal Press, have topped Amazon.com best-seller lists, and have been featured by countless TV and print media sources. Her uniquely sarcastic yet inspiring tone has entertained and guided an enthusiastic core of readers towards their various ridiculous athletic goals. Dais has a popular website, dreaminmotion.net, which has 5,000 members and features downloadable training plans, blogging, and run tracking. Her first film recently received national distribution. Dais lives in Sacramento, CA, with her partner and one-year-old daughter, Vivian.

Reviews

[Missy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was fine. Felt like a compilation of moms’ posts from Facebook.

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Not sure what I was hoping for, but this wasn't it. Trying way too hard to be funny and just isn't. Also this isn't even worth reading if your children are spaced out more than a 3 year age gap. I'm pregnant with my 2nd and my 1st is 5 1/2 and a lot of the stuff I just didn't find relatable because we are past the toddler stage with my first.

[sammi_reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flat out: this book was sh!t. It was a fluff money grab without much useful information or advice.

I only give it any credit because any moms out there without mom friends or online mom groups will like seeing they are not alone in their daily struggles. However most second-time moms will read this and gain nothing. Everything was obvious and more written for entertainment than real advice, but was also not quite humorous enough to be a comedy book.

My advice? You can skip this one.

[Nicole Cann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny. Not particularly helpful but I appreciate the “I’m in the trenches with you” tone of the book.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. As a new mother of two (I had two babies 18 months apart), I felt some of these topics so hard. It was nice to see that I was not alone. I even shared parts of it with my husband to show him how I felt (i.e. Feeling mediocre at everything) more clearly. I listened to the audio version and loved the humor and stories involved. Thank you for writing this. There are very few books (on audio especially since I don't have time to read an actual print book anymore) that talk about adding a second baby to your life.

[Priscilla Chau Davey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Of I didn’t have anxiety before about having 2 kids, I certainly do after reading this book. I can understand the author’s satire and even appreciate her honesty and her journey, but for the whole book? Griping and complaining and situations getting worse and worse. It isn’t until the Epilogue that there’s positive insight and recognizing the beauty of 2. But it’s all too late in giving me confidence, hope and motivation to want 2. And while this may be the reality for some, at least include practical tips!

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing if you're a mom at all. It's harsh truth coupled with joyous humor. This author is one of my mom heroes. Thank you, Dawn, for writing this book. I needed this book desperately to see that other women struggle with being a mother. You are an inspiration. This book has given me an idea of what 2 kids will likely be like. Very good for if you're considering growing your family.

[KatieE · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was okay. It was sometimes funny but not laugh out loud funny. Most was common sense and I honestly found some of the stories from the other moms she references more discouraging than helpful.

[Maja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and funny, this is the book that helps you feel sane when you've had too little sleep. Not sure why people seem to think it's a self help book? It's not aimed at giving you advice, it's to make you laugh and realize that this parenting stuff is hard for everyone.

[Taylyn Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75! I adore Dawn's writing. I love commiserating with her lol. Expecting my 2nd kid in a few weeks and my children will be almost exactly 3 years apart, so the reviews of this book are correct, this is definitely geared towards parents if toddlers/very young kids who are expecting new babies!

I like that Dawn isn't trying to push any personal advice, medical information, or complicated schedules onto fellow parents (we get enough of that elsewhere) and is instead just trying to sit with other moms in some of the LEAST glamorous moments of parenthood - when things are filthy and loud and weird and your heart is literally overflowing with love despite it all. It's so real. It actually makes me excited for all the stages all over again....Dawn's satirical "DON'T DO IT" advice on having more children is paradoxical to the absolute doting she does over her children and their antics! It's really sweet.

I read her first The Sh!t No One Tells You when I was expecting my first in 2020. Even as a single parent back then, these books still read as SUPER relatable! PLUS THE HUMOR IS AMAZING AND I AM FOREVER CHUCKLING AT THESE.

[Grizelda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book helped me put things in perspective having given birth to baby #2 a few weeks ago. As a new mom of two - toddler and newborn - the book provided examples of various other mothers dealing with the same concerns, worries, and emotions that I have been recently experiencing. What I most appreciated from Dawn is her message that this journey, yes, made up of exhausting and messy moments is also exhilarating filled with new experiences. It made me realize this journey of having a newborn and toddler is only for a short time and as much as I want to see my children start playing with each other that I should cherish this special time with both of them.

[Katie Schliep · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Dawn Dais! There were surprisingly a few tear jerking chapters in this book but really helped put into perspective how everything will change with the arrival of our second baby! I love her humor and approach in all of her books. My husband was constantly asking my why I was giggling so much while reading!

[Katie Kulp · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is heavy on laughs and real-life experiences, but light on actual advice/tips other than “drink more wine and count down the days until your kids are older.” I enjoyed the funny anecdotes and appreciated the authenticity of the author, but I wouldn’t recommend this as an actual “survival guide” to raising multiple kids!

[Bridget Skuggen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pretty sure Dawn Dais hates being a mom. Motherhood is challenging enough without a book attempting to be funny by making literally everything about being a mom seem negative. This book just made me feel down, like I just listened to someone vent about their awful life for a few hours. It also made me feel like I’m a really really good mom…

[Amanda Castro · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sweet epilogue that was empowering but the whole front premise of the book seemed like a long rant. Wouldn’t recommend it but I imagine it was cathartic for the author and some may enjoying the similar rantings of mom.

[Alex Stroud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really funny and insightful and just ~slightly~ terrifying 🤣
It's just a little bit outdated, because at the end of the book it said "don't look at Pinterest". Funnily enough, it's hard not to look at Pinterest looking families when they're all on Instagram!!!

[TJ Wasserman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basically unreadable. I’m not sure if the author is the most cynical, baby-hating person on the planet or what, but this was the most doom-and-gloom, woe-is-me account of parenting I’ve ever encountered.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny!

[Ann Charles Vegdahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny. Truthful. No depth.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. I really wanted to like this, but it was just a little bit too far over the line of pessimism for the humor to be enjoyable for me.

[Nephtali · Rating 1 out of 5]

A little happy go lucky format for my taste, and most of the tips/advise given I already knew.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Expected this to be informational but it was just a series of rants and personal stories. +1 star because at least it was entertaining. This is one you can listen to on 3x speed and not miss anything

[Aakriti Tripathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, relatable- and well, entertaining!

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, very realistic, and I had a lot of laughs. I enjoyed all the personal stories. I just wish there were more examples of siblings with a larger age gap.

[Reagan Kapasi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked: anecdotal tone. Disliked: felt a bit gossipy.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny. Mostly funny stories and the author’s experience. But not informative as I thought it would be. A quick easy read, a good laugh, and struggles of parenting with two kids.

[Ben Preston · Rating 2 out of 5]

All this book does is provide validation for parents who gave up. Nobody needs advice on how to do the bare minimum

Also the prose is annoying. It’s like someone just printed out their mommy blog

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second one of Dawn's books I've read and loved! I skipped the one about toddlers although I'll probably go ahead and get it too just to complete the set. Her books are witty, funny, and make me feel like I'm not the only one out there who thinks this way about my children. It's nice to be able to sit back, relax, and laugh about all of the insane moments of motherhood. That's what this book does.

[Cari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Dawn Dais's writing! I feel like I'm part of her family by now!

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the author's sense of humor, but that was about it. This is pretty basic (and obvious) information, which I did not find particularly helpful. Funny tho.