What do you think?
Rate this book
Winging It!: Parenting in the Middle of Life!
What they tell you when you fall pregnant after the age of 35:
You're a geriatric.
What took you so long?
Your life as you once knew it, nice clothes, city breaks and nights out with the girls is over. Forever.
What they don't tell you:
It is possible to have grey hair and a beautiful bouncing baby at the same time.
Breastfeeding is a competitive sport.
You feel an overwhelming love that makes the wait for your baby worth every single moment and every one of those grey hairs.
In this hilarious and indispensable guide to midlife motherhood, Alex shares her own experiences and those of other mums on the joys of first time parenthood - when it arrives that bit later in life. From the fear of leaving it too late when the maybe-baby years of career and meeting the right partner are priorities, to struggles with conception and even the opposite - being an older Mum can be a minefield.
In her first book, Alex gives us her 'winging it' advice and tips from her experience of pregnancy to the first 9 months of her baby. Along with funny stories and anecdotes of first time motherhood, this is a book for mums to read while grappling with breastfeeding, lamenting creaky knees and wondering if body mass post birth is enough to prevent alcohol reaching breast milk...
With honesty and her trademark humour and charm; Alex Jones gives laughs, tips and what's really worked for her.
You're a geriatric.
What took you so long?
Your life as you once knew it, nice clothes, city breaks and nights out with the girls is over. Forever.
What they don't tell you:
It is possible to have grey hair and a beautiful bouncing baby at the same time.
Breastfeeding is a competitive sport.
You feel an overwhelming love that makes the wait for your baby worth every single moment and every one of those grey hairs.
In this hilarious and indispensable guide to midlife motherhood, Alex shares her own experiences and those of other mums on the joys of first time parenthood - when it arrives that bit later in life. From the fear of leaving it too late when the maybe-baby years of career and meeting the right partner are priorities, to struggles with conception and even the opposite - being an older Mum can be a minefield.
In her first book, Alex gives us her 'winging it' advice and tips from her experience of pregnancy to the first 9 months of her baby. Along with funny stories and anecdotes of first time motherhood, this is a book for mums to read while grappling with breastfeeding, lamenting creaky knees and wondering if body mass post birth is enough to prevent alcohol reaching breast milk...
With honesty and her trademark humour and charm; Alex Jones gives laughs, tips and what's really worked for her.
- GenresAudiobookNonfiction
320 pages, Hardcover
Published April 5, 2018
7 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Alex Jones
89 books122 followersThere is more than one author with this name in the database. Not all books on this profile belong to the same person.
Alex Jones is an American radio show host. He hosts The Alex Jones Show from Austin, Texas, which airs on the Genesis Communications Network and shortwave radio station WWCR across the United States and online. He is the founder of InfoWars.
Alex Jones is an American radio show host. He hosts The Alex Jones Show from Austin, Texas, which airs on the Genesis Communications Network and shortwave radio station WWCR across the United States and online. He is the founder of InfoWars.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 28, 2018
This book is aimed at expectant mothers over 30 and although that doesn't really apply to me (I've already had my baby and in my twenties, albeit only just), I saw Alex being interviewed about the book and some of what she said piqued my interest. Alex mentioned not deliberately waiting until she was 39 to start a family, but just not having found the right person until that age. I had made the usual assumption that she was a career woman and simply hadn't found time to have a baby amongst her job of interviewing Dame Shirley Bassey one minute and reporting on the manufacture of police whistles the next. (Don't get me wrong, I was an avid watcher of The One Show until, ironically, I had my baby and found I could no longer watch it as it clashed with the bedtime routine.)
First a mention to the format of the book. This was fairly dinky for a hardback, somewhere between A5 and A4 size which I loved as it didn't feel like an enormous tome if you wanted to read it on the bus or something. It also has an integral ribbon bookmark which I always love and came in so handy. These things matter to a serious book reader so thank you for these considerations!
Now, the book isn't supposed to be a pregnancy/birth guide or a 'What to Expect When You're Expecting'. Alex is clear about that in the introduction and at other points in the book where she refers you to more in-depth sources of specific information (of which there are hundreds of other books, apps and websites). The point of the book she says is a 'support group' of her and other parents' experiences of starting a family. To me it all came across as more of a memoir of her time being pregnant, the birth and the first year of baby Teddy's life rather than something that would answer all my questions if I was still expecting. Although I was interested to read this, being a fan of Alex Jones, I'm not convinced the book is one I'd want to have on my shelf and refer back to. Having a baby is a bewildering and stressful time and while it was comforting to know that 'even her off the telly' went through the same trials and tribulations, I would not recommend only reading this book as you will still have many unanswered questions. But again, that wasn't really the point.
Peppering Alex's experience was contributions from other parents with sometimes similar and sometimes wildly different tales to tell. The intention was good, but I didn't always find these very helpful. They kept popping up in the middle of her telling us one of her anecdotes and I found they interrupted the flow. I think it would have been better to have them all grouped together after each chapter or something (although, yes, that would not have looked as aesthetically pleasing to have long passages of texts and not small chunks broken up with the blue boxes as in the current format). There were also some contributions from more reputable sources such as midwives and fertility experts which I found more useful.
I don't think it's fair to rate the book in terms of how far I agreed or disagreed with Alex's way of doing things. Inevitably there were some areas, such as her hellish breastfeeding experience, where I found myself nodding along and feeling like 'thank God it wasn't just me', and other areas where our experience differed such as her return to work and search to find a nanny. Throughout the book it is stressed that every parent is different, every baby is different and there is no right or wrong just various shades of 'doing your best'. So anyone with strong feelings on anything to do with birth and childrearing e.g. breast vs formula feeding, dummy or no dummy, co-sleeping or own bed etc, please do try to come down off your high horse BEFORE reading this book as, for the final time, this is HER experience only and not her telling you that's the way it needs to be! I would hate for people to slate this book because it didn't match exactly with their own opinions -- how could it? Let's all just bear that in mind please :)
The tone of the book was excellent and down to earth without following the line of some of those awful mummy blogs, the 'lol kids are sooo tricky aren't they? Here take a look at my instagram pics and let's all Keep Calm and Have a Prosecco' stuff I hate. She was very honest and didn't try to sugar the pill, but never came across patronising or like she knew any better than me because she earns considerably more. It was a quick and enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it. This book has made me feel better about the job I'm doing of raising my son thanks to her 'we're all in this together' attitude and I still feel like I benefited from reading it even though I'm past all the pregnancy and birth parts. Overall very impressed with this!
p.s. there were a few typos in this, perhaps in the rush to get the book out while it's still current. Hopefully these will be corrected in subsequent editions.
First a mention to the format of the book. This was fairly dinky for a hardback, somewhere between A5 and A4 size which I loved as it didn't feel like an enormous tome if you wanted to read it on the bus or something. It also has an integral ribbon bookmark which I always love and came in so handy. These things matter to a serious book reader so thank you for these considerations!
Now, the book isn't supposed to be a pregnancy/birth guide or a 'What to Expect When You're Expecting'. Alex is clear about that in the introduction and at other points in the book where she refers you to more in-depth sources of specific information (of which there are hundreds of other books, apps and websites). The point of the book she says is a 'support group' of her and other parents' experiences of starting a family. To me it all came across as more of a memoir of her time being pregnant, the birth and the first year of baby Teddy's life rather than something that would answer all my questions if I was still expecting. Although I was interested to read this, being a fan of Alex Jones, I'm not convinced the book is one I'd want to have on my shelf and refer back to. Having a baby is a bewildering and stressful time and while it was comforting to know that 'even her off the telly' went through the same trials and tribulations, I would not recommend only reading this book as you will still have many unanswered questions. But again, that wasn't really the point.
Peppering Alex's experience was contributions from other parents with sometimes similar and sometimes wildly different tales to tell. The intention was good, but I didn't always find these very helpful. They kept popping up in the middle of her telling us one of her anecdotes and I found they interrupted the flow. I think it would have been better to have them all grouped together after each chapter or something (although, yes, that would not have looked as aesthetically pleasing to have long passages of texts and not small chunks broken up with the blue boxes as in the current format). There were also some contributions from more reputable sources such as midwives and fertility experts which I found more useful.
I don't think it's fair to rate the book in terms of how far I agreed or disagreed with Alex's way of doing things. Inevitably there were some areas, such as her hellish breastfeeding experience, where I found myself nodding along and feeling like 'thank God it wasn't just me', and other areas where our experience differed such as her return to work and search to find a nanny. Throughout the book it is stressed that every parent is different, every baby is different and there is no right or wrong just various shades of 'doing your best'. So anyone with strong feelings on anything to do with birth and childrearing e.g. breast vs formula feeding, dummy or no dummy, co-sleeping or own bed etc, please do try to come down off your high horse BEFORE reading this book as, for the final time, this is HER experience only and not her telling you that's the way it needs to be! I would hate for people to slate this book because it didn't match exactly with their own opinions -- how could it? Let's all just bear that in mind please :)
The tone of the book was excellent and down to earth without following the line of some of those awful mummy blogs, the 'lol kids are sooo tricky aren't they? Here take a look at my instagram pics and let's all Keep Calm and Have a Prosecco' stuff I hate. She was very honest and didn't try to sugar the pill, but never came across patronising or like she knew any better than me because she earns considerably more. It was a quick and enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend it. This book has made me feel better about the job I'm doing of raising my son thanks to her 'we're all in this together' attitude and I still feel like I benefited from reading it even though I'm past all the pregnancy and birth parts. Overall very impressed with this!
p.s. there were a few typos in this, perhaps in the rush to get the book out while it's still current. Hopefully these will be corrected in subsequent editions.
May 30, 2020
Most of this is actually decent but it has to be scored low for the stuff about vaccinations ('i wish I'd done more research rather than just accepting the NHS advice' and stating that anti-vaxxers may have a point), and for her favourite teething solution being homeopathy. Also, the solution to housework issues is not to tell your husband when you need 'help' with the chores.
The monkey/red book story is a good'un though.
The monkey/red book story is a good'un though.
October 16, 2020
I listened to this audiobook when we were expecting our second child. Even though the book is written mainly for women, there are so many occasions in the book that I can relate to as it happened between my wife and I. The narrators' voice was amazing and made me listen to each chapter enthusiastically.
June 26, 2022
I didn't really know who Alex Jones is before I read this book and I'm not a parent so I'm not really the target audience here. I liked her down to earth style and some of her reflections, especially on the more emotional parts of becoming a parent, were really interesting. I always like hearing "behind the scenes" in other people's families and decisions so that was interesting too.
June 24, 2018
Really relatable and funny book. I am 32 and have an 11 month old and really enjoyed this book and Alex's honest account of pregnancy, the birth and life with a newborn. I only wish I had read it sooner.
April 14, 2022
Brilliant book - can recommend for anyone who is expecting a baby. The personality of Alex really shines through in this useful and relatable guide to pregnancy and motherhood. It’s an auto-biography with great advice, both funny and relatable - I totally loved it.
January 4, 2019
While not in a position to have a baby myself, my best friends are in the thick of having babies and raising tiny people at age 35+. I loved this book - it was warm, funny, and seemed to offer much more real insight into the experience of having a baby in this day and age, warts and all. I loved that it addressed issues around age, fertility, sleep, feeding, work, relationships, endless advice from others, etc. and kept it real while also being encouraging. Really enjoyed reading it, for my own interest and curiosity, and also for being as understanding and informed as I can for friends who are new parents and going through it all.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews