The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom's Guide to Style, Sanity, and Success After Baby

by Lauren Smith Brody

Overview

Packed with honest, funny, and comforting advice—“a book you MUST read if you are returning to work after the birth of a child…. I loved it and you will too.” —New York Times bestselling author Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D.

The first three trimesters (and the fourth—those blurry newborn days) are for the baby, but the Fifth Trimester is when the working mom is born. A funny, tells-it-like-it-is guide for new mothers coping with the demands of returning to the real world after giving birth, The Fifth Trimester contains advice from 800 moms, including:

•The boss-approved way to ask for flextime (and more money!)
•How to know if it’s more than “just the baby blues”
•How to pump breastmilk on an airplane (or, if you must, in a bathroom)
•What military science knows about working through sleep deprivation
•Your new sixty-second get-out-of-the-house beauty routine
•How to turn your commute into a mini–therapy session
•Your daycare tour or nanny interview, totally decoded

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101971888
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/06/2018
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	5.16(w) x 7.94(h) x 0.86(d)

About the Author

LAUREN SMITH BRODY is the founder of The Fifth Trimester movement, which helps businesses and new parents work together to create a more family-friendly workplace culture. A longtime leader in the women’s magazine industry, Lauren was most recently the executive editor of Glamour magazine. Raised in Ohio, Texas, and Georgia, she now lives in New York City with her husband and two young sons.

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Introduction
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "The Fifth Trimester"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Lauren Smith Brody.
Excerpted by permission of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction xix

Chapter 1 Who's Taking Care of Your Little Person? 3

Chapter 2 The Second Cutting of the Cord (This One You Feel) 37

Chapter 3 Getting Through "I Have to Quit" 66

Your Five-Step Pain-Free Plan

Chapter 4 On Looking Human Again (A Noble Goal) 76

Part 1 Beauty

Chapter 5 On Looking Human Again 103

Part 2 Your Body and Style

Chapter 6 On Feeling Human Again 122

Your Most Essential Goal

Chapter 7 Pumping Doesn't Have to Suck 159

Chapter 8 The Easiest Way to Win at Reentry 185

Manage Up, Manage Down, Manage Sideways

Chapter 9 That Whole 50/50 Partnership Thing 219

(AKA: The Chapter That Keeps You Married)

Chapter 10 What if You're Your Own Boss? 250

Ultimate Freedom, Ultimate Pressure

Chapter 11 Master Your New Time "Off" 274

Chapter 12 Eighteen Life-Changing Conversations 300

How to Initiate Them, and Exactly What to Say

Afterword 333

Resources 337

Acknowledgments 341

Author Interviews 347

Notes 351

Index 361

Editorial Reviews

Brody gets the challenges of going back to work as a new mom. . . .  She explains how to tackle it all.” —PeopleStyle

“A book you MUST read if you are returning to work after the birth of a child. . . . I loved it and you will too.” —Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., author of the New York Times bestselling Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office  

“[This] practical and entertaining read covers everything.” —The Seattle Times
 
“[Brody] is a passionate advocate. . . . She provides tangible tips and helpful advice from women who have been there and who more than survived, they thrived.” —CNN.com
 
“[A] no-BS guide to help moms, particularly new moms, cope with all the demands of the real world . . . like how the hell do you return to work, take care of another life, and somehow carve out time in the day for, you know, yourself?” —Shape.com

“An invaluable guide. . . . Brody’s book shows that the absolute lack of public policy to support working families makes an already tough situation worse. And while we need to work to change that, in the meantime, she makes clear: you’re not alone, you’re not crazy, and she’s got your back.” —Brigid Schulte, author of the New York Times bestselling Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time
 
“The women featured in Brody’s book offer advice for coping emotionally that runs the gamut from learning how to not blame yourself for mistakes to not make any major career decisions in your first few months back to work.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Fantastic.” —Good Morning America
 
“Returning to work can be challenging, but Brody is a friendly and reassuring guide with a simple message: You can do this. It will get better. Packed with helpful tips and inspiring stories, The Fifth Trimester is the manual new moms need for succeeding on the job and in life.” —Laura Vanderkam, author of I Know How She Does It

“[Brody] cover[s] the frustrating realities of working-mom life in a chipper, big-sisterly voice.” —The Cut
 
“Brody writes nimbly and wisely about a subject she is well versed in: the conflicts, struggles, and triumphs of returning to work after having a baby. . . . Working moms will find a wealth of ideas to help navigate the challenging transition period in this friendly and practical guide.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“Like having a well-trusted friend impart bits of wisdom before a meltdown occurs.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“The working mom bible. The perfect gift and sanity-saver.” —GoodHousekeeping.com
 
“Told with insight and witty turn of phrase, this account also draws on [Brody’s] personal experience of momming in the magazine world.” —The Times of Israel
 
“Brody takes on the role of a wise mentor who’s just a bit more chic than most of us but who takes us under her wing nonetheless.” —Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

2017-02-02
How professional women can "make those first three months back more than just an exercise in treading water."After the birth of her first child, former Glamour executive editor Brody took 12 weeks of maternity leave. At the end of that time, however, she quickly discovered she was unprepared for the physical and emotional toll that came with her return to work. After her second child, she was a bit more prepared but still wished there was a helpful guide to aid her during the transition. Seeking to help other soon-to-be and new mothers, the author interviewed more than 700 women via a 50-question survey and compiled the results and her own experiences into this book. Brody discusses the pros and cons of hiring a nanny versus sending your infant to day care and points out to parents what to look for in both situations. She discusses the practical and emotional ups and downs of having to pump breast milk at work and offers useful suggestions on the type of clothing to wear, how to store the milk, and how to continue to work efficiently while pumping. She analyzes the emotional distancing necessary to return to work after such a short span of getting to know your new child, how to avoid resenting your male partner for his seemingly easier role in the process, and how to juggle the workday and an infant if you work at home. Throughout, Brody's advice is sound and easily assimilated, like having a well-trusted friend impart bits of wisdom before a meltdown occurs. She also instructs readers how to look presentable at work even when exhausted and still carrying extra pounds and how to carve out some much-needed alone time to recuperate and relieve stress. A candid, straightforward, and helpful guide for mothers returning to work.

Kirkus Reviews