What do you think?
Rate this book
Mum's the Word: The sh*t nobody tells you about parenthood until it's too late
★★★ NUMBER ONE BEST SELLER IN CHILD CARE ★★★
★★★ VOTED BEST GIFT FOR MUM 2021 AT THE PROJECT BABY AWARDS ★★★ • ‘Boss’ – Sam Avery – The Learner Parent
• ‘Hilarious moments that will strike a chord with mothers everywhere’ – The Daily Mail
• ‘You are bang on with everything. You’re the first person who has finally said it’ - The Hot Mess Mums
• ‘Funny and frank’ - Honest Mum, Vicki Broadbent
• ‘The laugh out loud tales are relatable and raw‘ - The Natural Parenting Magazine This is motherhood laid bare. No filters, no frills, and often, no f**king clue. These are the hilarious, hidden tales about parenthood that InstaMums have cropped out for the leaking nipples, the sh*t-stained t-shirts and the truth about those bloody night feeds. These are the brilliantly funny and honest stories that every mother needs to hear - exposing the truth about parenthood. Mum's the Word gives a refreshingly raw and candid insight into life with a newborn baby; uniting mothers against the Supermum pretence and acknowledging that we’re all just winging it anyway. Rebecca’s dry and undeniably funny stories will test any mother's pelvic floor to the limit. So grab a Tena lady, latch on and take a seat. The book provides a hilarious insight into the horrors of pre-partum perineal massage, losing every shred of dignity during birth, and the joy, fear, exhaustion and love that encompasses the transition to Mum. Alongside the hilarity, Mum’s the Word provides a refreshing raw exposure to unfiltered motherhood. Unlike other memoirs of this kind, the book focuses specifically on the first year of parenting; and delves deep into the hidden world of Newmumdom. An easily-accessible alphabet structure provides the format for the scores of true short stories. The quick-paced tales are kind to the target audience; a time-restricted mother who may dip in and out during feeds, though the all-too-relatable humour will keep the pages turning well after the baby has fallen back asleep. The witty and often shocking #mumfails (of which there are many!) are interspersed with moving stories about grief and guilt. Rebecca gives a poignant, heartfelt account of the impact that new parenthood has on a relationship, on friendships and work priorities. Mum's the Word has topped the Amazon best-seller charts with 5* reviews all round! Still need persuading? Here are just 5 of the reviews that this brilliant little book has received since its release in May this • 'The funniest book on parenthood I have ever read. Had me laughing out loud' • 'You will be laughing from the first page' • 'Absolutely brilliant' • 'Like Adam Kay's 'This is going to hurt' but for Mums' • 'Loved how truthful and real this book is'
★★★ VOTED BEST GIFT FOR MUM 2021 AT THE PROJECT BABY AWARDS ★★★ • ‘Boss’ – Sam Avery – The Learner Parent
• ‘Hilarious moments that will strike a chord with mothers everywhere’ – The Daily Mail
• ‘You are bang on with everything. You’re the first person who has finally said it’ - The Hot Mess Mums
• ‘Funny and frank’ - Honest Mum, Vicki Broadbent
• ‘The laugh out loud tales are relatable and raw‘ - The Natural Parenting Magazine This is motherhood laid bare. No filters, no frills, and often, no f**king clue. These are the hilarious, hidden tales about parenthood that InstaMums have cropped out for the leaking nipples, the sh*t-stained t-shirts and the truth about those bloody night feeds. These are the brilliantly funny and honest stories that every mother needs to hear - exposing the truth about parenthood. Mum's the Word gives a refreshingly raw and candid insight into life with a newborn baby; uniting mothers against the Supermum pretence and acknowledging that we’re all just winging it anyway. Rebecca’s dry and undeniably funny stories will test any mother's pelvic floor to the limit. So grab a Tena lady, latch on and take a seat. The book provides a hilarious insight into the horrors of pre-partum perineal massage, losing every shred of dignity during birth, and the joy, fear, exhaustion and love that encompasses the transition to Mum. Alongside the hilarity, Mum’s the Word provides a refreshing raw exposure to unfiltered motherhood. Unlike other memoirs of this kind, the book focuses specifically on the first year of parenting; and delves deep into the hidden world of Newmumdom. An easily-accessible alphabet structure provides the format for the scores of true short stories. The quick-paced tales are kind to the target audience; a time-restricted mother who may dip in and out during feeds, though the all-too-relatable humour will keep the pages turning well after the baby has fallen back asleep. The witty and often shocking #mumfails (of which there are many!) are interspersed with moving stories about grief and guilt. Rebecca gives a poignant, heartfelt account of the impact that new parenthood has on a relationship, on friendships and work priorities. Mum's the Word has topped the Amazon best-seller charts with 5* reviews all round! Still need persuading? Here are just 5 of the reviews that this brilliant little book has received since its release in May this • 'The funniest book on parenthood I have ever read. Had me laughing out loud' • 'You will be laughing from the first page' • 'Absolutely brilliant' • 'Like Adam Kay's 'This is going to hurt' but for Mums' • 'Loved how truthful and real this book is'
220 pages, Paperback
Published May 28, 2020
16 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 4, 2022
A hilarious and delightful book about pregnancy, the first year or so of having a child, and I laughed so much!
I came across this one while promoting my blog. The author was promoting this book and I decided to check it out. I love parenting books. I have no kids of my own (nor any plans to ever have a kid) but I just love books about it. Especially the funnier ones. The ones not shying away from the shit-fest it can be.
I just love how this book was written. Not just going from pregnancy to the first year of a baby as how many books do, but instead it was an ABC! We start with Accidents (happen), because even with the best intentions and all the safety, sometimes you just hurt your tiny little one. Like by taking her out of the car. Or when cleaning her… oh I won’t tell you more than that, that just had me laughing and crying. And so we go through the whole alphabet and read all about Rebecca’s experiences on parenting and pregnancy. About how she feels about those moms who always seem to know everything and have everything perfect. About friendship and going out again after having a baby. About trying to do your best and it just doesn’t feel like the best. About weaning and teeth. About poop (and the amazing ones that babies can do). About trying out different kind of plays, like water play which just ended with Isabelle (the baby) dumping the bowl of water over herself and crying like hell. XD About sniff tests and getting the baby to sleep (and the worries that come with that the first few nights). There is just so much in this book and Rebecca has a great way of telling us about everything. I loved her way of writing and I laughed so much. I just flew through the book and before I knew it I was at Z.
And believe me, she doesn’t shy away from any detail. Be prepared. XD
I just have to mention X though because it had me laughing: “Let’s be honest, nothing begins with X. She doesn’t play the xylophone and hasn’t needed an x-ray (yet). So, it’s included for completeness (and word count).”
All in all, if you want an honest, funny, poop-filled, great book about parenting and pregnancy then I would highly recommend this one! I do hope that Rebecca Oxtoby writes another book, this time about toddlerhood and what comes with that!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I came across this one while promoting my blog. The author was promoting this book and I decided to check it out. I love parenting books. I have no kids of my own (nor any plans to ever have a kid) but I just love books about it. Especially the funnier ones. The ones not shying away from the shit-fest it can be.
I just love how this book was written. Not just going from pregnancy to the first year of a baby as how many books do, but instead it was an ABC! We start with Accidents (happen), because even with the best intentions and all the safety, sometimes you just hurt your tiny little one. Like by taking her out of the car. Or when cleaning her… oh I won’t tell you more than that, that just had me laughing and crying. And so we go through the whole alphabet and read all about Rebecca’s experiences on parenting and pregnancy. About how she feels about those moms who always seem to know everything and have everything perfect. About friendship and going out again after having a baby. About trying to do your best and it just doesn’t feel like the best. About weaning and teeth. About poop (and the amazing ones that babies can do). About trying out different kind of plays, like water play which just ended with Isabelle (the baby) dumping the bowl of water over herself and crying like hell. XD About sniff tests and getting the baby to sleep (and the worries that come with that the first few nights). There is just so much in this book and Rebecca has a great way of telling us about everything. I loved her way of writing and I laughed so much. I just flew through the book and before I knew it I was at Z.
And believe me, she doesn’t shy away from any detail. Be prepared. XD
I just have to mention X though because it had me laughing: “Let’s be honest, nothing begins with X. She doesn’t play the xylophone and hasn’t needed an x-ray (yet). So, it’s included for completeness (and word count).”
All in all, if you want an honest, funny, poop-filled, great book about parenting and pregnancy then I would highly recommend this one! I do hope that Rebecca Oxtoby writes another book, this time about toddlerhood and what comes with that!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
July 5, 2020
A wonderfully hilarious, brutally honest look at the early months of motherhood. The author writes from the heart on so many things that I can relate to as a mum with a young child; she does nothing to sugar coat how ridiculously hard motherhood is.
What I appreciated most about this book is that through all the humour and the “Oh my god, it’s not just me moments”, there were snippets of real heart and vulnerability in what the author wrote. Yes she talks about how challenging and overwhelming motherhood can be, but she also talks about how much she loves her child, and how she struggles with watching it all fly by. A favourite quote of mine from the book is:
Relatable quotes like this make all the difference when reading parenting books, at least for me. I prefer the people who are honest about the hard bits and don’t try to hide behind their picture-perfect Instagram walls for fear of being judged. More books like this out there would make it a lot easier for mums to be gentler with themselves when they don’t meet society’s perceived standards.
To sum this book up in the author’s own words: “I do wonder whether anyone actually has their sh*t together or if it’s all a pretence. I’m praying it’s all lies, but if it’s not, please don’t tell me.”
Recommend for anyone who is heading into a new parenting experience for an honest account of what it’s really like with some humour to take the sting out, and also to help ease some of the parenting guilt. Also recommend for anyone just coming out of those first months of parenting as a funny, nostalgic look back at what you’ve just survived.
What I appreciated most about this book is that through all the humour and the “Oh my god, it’s not just me moments”, there were snippets of real heart and vulnerability in what the author wrote. Yes she talks about how challenging and overwhelming motherhood can be, but she also talks about how much she loves her child, and how she struggles with watching it all fly by. A favourite quote of mine from the book is:
"After a lot of tears and snappy, exhaustion-fuelled arguments, we both agreed that we needed to make a conscious effort to find us again. Not Mummy and Daddy, but Bec and Dan. It’s easy to say it now, but it had taken us 7 months to even realise we were lost.”
Relatable quotes like this make all the difference when reading parenting books, at least for me. I prefer the people who are honest about the hard bits and don’t try to hide behind their picture-perfect Instagram walls for fear of being judged. More books like this out there would make it a lot easier for mums to be gentler with themselves when they don’t meet society’s perceived standards.
To sum this book up in the author’s own words: “I do wonder whether anyone actually has their sh*t together or if it’s all a pretence. I’m praying it’s all lies, but if it’s not, please don’t tell me.”
Recommend for anyone who is heading into a new parenting experience for an honest account of what it’s really like with some humour to take the sting out, and also to help ease some of the parenting guilt. Also recommend for anyone just coming out of those first months of parenting as a funny, nostalgic look back at what you’ve just survived.
October 8, 2020
This months book for @bookscap book club was mums the word and I’m gonna be honest when writing this review as Rebecca definitely was whilst writing the book. When I received it at first I said this isn’t for me, I’m not a mum and I have fear and anxiety that I won’t get to be (due to PCOS and Endometriosis). I also thought that the book may put me off wanting a child with the horror stories 😂 Then I read the dedication and laughed out loud literally and I actually couldn’t wait to read it. This is my first non fiction book that I have read and after finishing a horror I thought I could do with something lighthearted. What I didn’t expect was to be having huge laughing fits at a book, and relating with it in unexpected ways.
There’s parts in this book where I’ve thought yes I’ve been the friend to moan to the mum of our group about how tired I was. Which I know everyone does but you actually don’t think about it until now. This book has made me think so differently, I will be going round my friends for a brew now however I will be making it.
Also don’t get me started on the questions section of when are you having another. I’m at the stage in life now where people are asking me when are Lewis and I going to have a baby, or saying I’m next to have one. No one should ask these kind of questions. No one knows peoples struggles when trying to have a baby, or even if someone doesn’t want a child. We as women should never have to explain ourselves. We can do what we want with our own bodies.
Whilst reading this book I’ve also spoke to my mum about it and she’s been like yep that happened with your brother, or she’s been crying laughing telling me tales of our childhood.
This book definitely deserves five beautiful, heartfelt, and well deserved ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. And this book has made me even more broody than I was before I started it
There’s parts in this book where I’ve thought yes I’ve been the friend to moan to the mum of our group about how tired I was. Which I know everyone does but you actually don’t think about it until now. This book has made me think so differently, I will be going round my friends for a brew now however I will be making it.
Also don’t get me started on the questions section of when are you having another. I’m at the stage in life now where people are asking me when are Lewis and I going to have a baby, or saying I’m next to have one. No one should ask these kind of questions. No one knows peoples struggles when trying to have a baby, or even if someone doesn’t want a child. We as women should never have to explain ourselves. We can do what we want with our own bodies.
Whilst reading this book I’ve also spoke to my mum about it and she’s been like yep that happened with your brother, or she’s been crying laughing telling me tales of our childhood.
This book definitely deserves five beautiful, heartfelt, and well deserved ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. And this book has made me even more broody than I was before I started it
October 7, 2020
Absolutely loved this book!!! Couldn’t put it down!! Even though i’m not a mum myself, but i’ve plenty of friends who have children and have said how “hard work” it is!!
This book was funny from start to finish!!
The author Rebecca tells it straight from the heart.
This book was funny from start to finish!!
The author Rebecca tells it straight from the heart.
April 8, 2021
Really enjoyed this honest account of the first year of motherhood. Found myself laughing out loud in places, and almost all of it was extremely relatable!
July 8, 2020
This book will have you in stitches!
An A-Z of the trials and tribulations of becoming a new mother.
Although I had my eldest daughter 13 years ago the similarities in what Rebecca went through and what I went through myself are doing incredible!
A real fun read which will literally have you laughing out loud. A must read for any new mums.
An A-Z of the trials and tribulations of becoming a new mother.
Although I had my eldest daughter 13 years ago the similarities in what Rebecca went through and what I went through myself are doing incredible!
A real fun read which will literally have you laughing out loud. A must read for any new mums.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2020
As someone who has recently survived the first year of motherhood, this book instantly appealed to me. Sure enough it was like someone was describing everything I’d experienced in the previous 12 months!
If you’re expecting or have recently had a baby then I recommend this as a light-hearted and humorous read about what it’s like to be a parent in those early months.
If you’re expecting or have recently had a baby then I recommend this as a light-hearted and humorous read about what it’s like to be a parent in those early months.
June 25, 2020
A must read for Mothers to be and first time Mothers.every well written and hilariously truthful! Will make a great shower book! Dana Bloom
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2021
Bang on
Omg I loved reading this. I can relate to most of the book and found it hilarious to the point I was cry-laughing. It made me look back on my own past experiences as a mother of newborns and toddlers and remember exactly how hard it is and I'm about to do it all over again lol. I definitely look forward to any future books and will be definitely following Rebecca on here. It was refreshing to read a book that is so bang on with everything and not have motherhood be talked about like it's the easiest job in the world when it so isn't. Well done Rebecca, you nailed it.
Omg I loved reading this. I can relate to most of the book and found it hilarious to the point I was cry-laughing. It made me look back on my own past experiences as a mother of newborns and toddlers and remember exactly how hard it is and I'm about to do it all over again lol. I definitely look forward to any future books and will be definitely following Rebecca on here. It was refreshing to read a book that is so bang on with everything and not have motherhood be talked about like it's the easiest job in the world when it so isn't. Well done Rebecca, you nailed it.
February 12, 2021
This book is hilarious but also insightful!
I’ve never felt so heard as a first time mum and it’s great to know I’m not alone in my misfortunes and baby related adventures!
I was genuinely laughing out loud from start to finish!
Highly recommend you read it before you have a baby (if you can handle a very open honest account of what it’s going to be like!)
Or like me, read it just before their first birthday and laugh along in recognition and solidarity with a fellow mummy who’s been there!
I’ve never felt so heard as a first time mum and it’s great to know I’m not alone in my misfortunes and baby related adventures!
I was genuinely laughing out loud from start to finish!
Highly recommend you read it before you have a baby (if you can handle a very open honest account of what it’s going to be like!)
Or like me, read it just before their first birthday and laugh along in recognition and solidarity with a fellow mummy who’s been there!
March 27, 2025
I have just completed a year with my daughter (weirdest way to say I have a 1 year old but I’m going with it)
I think i can relate to pretty much everything in this book. It has summed up motherhood perfectly.
No one is perfect, everyone is winging it and as much as you’d like it to be easy it definitely isn’t. And this book tells you the honest truth.
Definitely recommend it to any new parents so they can have a laugh reading it but also know they are not alone
I think i can relate to pretty much everything in this book. It has summed up motherhood perfectly.
No one is perfect, everyone is winging it and as much as you’d like it to be easy it definitely isn’t. And this book tells you the honest truth.
Definitely recommend it to any new parents so they can have a laugh reading it but also know they are not alone
January 10, 2025
A hilariously honest account of mother hoods trials and tribulations. Rebecca didn't sugar coat any of it and wrote from personal experience. I found this utterly refreshing, with much to laugh about along the way.
January 3, 2021
I loved this book! A true view of parenthood & it hasn’t put me off for when I have my own, makes me look forward to it even more. The writer was hilarious throughout! It’s a must read!!
April 4, 2022
Brilliant. This book is absolutely full of all the fun and the truth of being a mum. An easy and massively entertaining read. Looking forward to book 2
September 24, 2022
I had sore sides from laughing my way through this!! Read it in just over a day but could have easily binged it in a few hours! Will recommend to every new mama and pregnancy person I know.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews