Book thirty-four: Maternity Leave by Julie Halpern

I'm giving this four stars because in many spots this book had me laughing so hard I had to stop and gather myself before I could keep going. 

Halpern does a great job of, through her daily journal-type entries interspersed with correspondence and FB status updates, portraying the isolated, harried, boring days of home experienced by first time stay-at-home parents. 

Annie is on maternity leave. Grappling with her changed body, the newly present life she is expected to know how to care for, an aging cat, and a slightly sex-obsessed husband, she spends her days feeling rushed, guilty, and alone. But there is a lot of humor that gets her through it all, and an incredibly understanding husband and mother and sister. 

One section that had me in stitches: "56 Days Old / I tried running again this morning. Things went well for maybe a minute, but then it felt like the bottom was about to drop again. What a bizarre sensation. I envision my vaginal area looking like something like a Hellmouth from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and if I shake it up too much, everything -- demons, vampires, fallopian tubes -- is going to start flying out into the new dimension I opened." --pg 104

A fantastic read for any mom or dad.

34 down plus 18 to go.