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I just finished reading Babyproofing Your Marriage: How to Laugh More, Argue Less, and Communicate Better as Your Family Grows by Stacie Cockrell, Cathy O’Neill, and Julia Stone, three friends who decided to investigate whether the phenomena they experienced after having children happened to others as well.  I thought I was the only one.  Seriously.  I thought that nobody else went through the—ahem—interesting relationship changes or random, sometimes not-entirely-rational feelings that I did after Princess Tater Tot was born.  Okay, maybe not the only one.  I had heard from various sources that your relationship changes when you have a baby but I definitely did not have any idea how it changes.  Or how I would change.  Why doesn’t anyone want to tell you what’s really going to happen when you have a baby?  Hm.  A question for another post.  Let’s just say that, if I had read this book BTT (Before Tater Tot), I would have been much more prepared for what was ahead.

All three of these women have held or currently hold high-powered career-oriented jobs and have seven children between them.  But they don’t just write about their own experiences, they used this opportunity as a wonderful excuse to ask other women and men deeply personal and embarrassing questions to verify their suspicions!  And do you know what?  These men and women answered.  Candidly.  Graphically. Sometimes hilariously.  

I have to tell you, from the moment I began reading this book, I felt “normal”.  And my understanding of the Daddy perspective increased tremendously!  Men and women are just different and these women really succeeded in giving both sides of the story.  Stacie, Cathy, and Julia use many direct quotes from men and women other than themselves and their husbands to illustrate their points.  They tell it like it is, no holds barred.  From the “10 O’clock Shoulder Tap” to “The Mommy Chip”, it’s all in there! The humor infused with the use of euphemisms for some of the most difficult relationship issues had me rolling as well as nodding my head in agreement.  And they don’t just deal with the marital relationship.  They tackle the in-laws, too!  I would definitely recommend this book, whether you’re on your first child or your third.  If you’ve got more than three already, God help ya’!  I was the second of four and to this day I have no idea how my mother retained her sanity!