Child.com
Women often lament that motherhood doesn't come with a rulebook, but that's about to change thanks to Betty Londergan's lighthearted laundry list of 101 don't-miss maternal guidelines. From finances to fashion, this snappy digest eschews the usual mommy mumbo-jumbo in favor of fresh, first-person pointers that invite you to embrace pregnancy and parenthood without forsaking your "inner babe." Some standout tips: Tipple a cocktail (or two). Ditch your frumpy, unflattering wardrobe. And perhaps most important: Quit putting your personal interests on the back burner. "If I can help just one mother crawl out of the ooze of total self-denial back into the relative paradise of sporadic self-indulgence," Londergan writes, "I'll consider my time on the planet well-spent." Mission accomplished.