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

by Lauren Smith Brody

Overview

The Fifth Trimester is your new best friend: a brilliant, tells-it-like-it-is guide that helps moms cope with the demands of the real world after the baby arrives

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. No matter what the job or how you define work, you're going to have a lot of questions. When will I go back? How should I manage that initial "I want to quit" attack? Flex-time or full-time? How can I achieve 50/50 at home with my partner? What's the best option for childcare? Is it possible to look like I slept for eight hours instead of three? And . . . why is there never a convenient space to pump?
     Whether you're in the final stages of pregnancy or hitting the panic button on your last day of leave, The Fifth Trimester is your one-stop shop for the honest, funny, and comforting tips, to-do lists, and take-charge strategies you'll need to embrace your new identity as a working parent and set yourself up for success.
     Based on interviews with 700+ candidly speaking moms in wildly varied fields and incredible expert advice, The Fifth Trimester tackles every personal and professional detail with the wit, warmth, and inspiration you need to win when you head back to work.
     Like What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Happiest Baby on the Block, this is an indispensable guide every new mom needs on her shelf.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385541411
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.40(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.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

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

Chapter 2 The Second Cutting of the Cord (This One You Feel) 30

Chapter 3 Getting Through "I Have to Quit": Your Five-Step Pain-Free Plan 55

Chapter 4 On Looking Human Again (A Noble Goal): Part 1: Beauty 64

Chapter 5 On Looking Human Again: Part 2: Your Body and Style 87

Chapter 6 On Feeling Human Again: Your Most Essential Goal 103

Chapter 7 Pumping Doesn't Have to Suet 134

Chapter 8 The Easiest Way to Win at Reentry: Manage Up, Manage Down, Manage Sideways 157

Chapter 9 That Whole 50/50 Partnership Thing: (Aka: The Chapter That Keeps You Married) 186

Chapter 10 What if You're Your Own Boss?: Ultimate Freedom, Ultimate Pressure 213

Chapter 11 Master Your New Time "Off" 234

Chapter 12 Eighteen Life-Changing Conversations: How to Initiate Them, and Exactly What to Say 256

Afterword 283

Resources 287

Acknowledgments 291

Author Interviews 295

Notes 297

Index 307

Editorial Reviews

12/05/2016
Veteran women’s magazine editor 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. Brody was an editor at Glamour when the first of her two children was born, and, like many working mothers in the U.S., she returned to her office at the end of her 12-week leave, just when “baby wakes up to the world.” The timing, argues Brody, is unfortunate, but working women must nevertheless find ways to cope with the transitional period that she calls the fifth trimester. In 12 solution-packed chapters, Brody covers (among many other topics) childcare, sleep deprivation, wardrobe, breast-pumping, and dad’s involvement, basing her advice not only on her own experiences but on input from more than 700 survey respondents. In addition to discussing solemn subjects such as postpartum depression, Brody makes her readers laugh with commentary on subjects such as preparing for the inevitability that “your baby will puke on you.” The meatiest chapter is the last, in which Brody provides tips for communicating with employers. Working moms will find a wealth of ideas to help navigate the challenging transition period in this friendly and practical guide. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

This is not a book you should read – it’s a book you MUST read if you are returning to work after the birth of a child.  Lauren Smith Brody provides real news that you cannot only immediately use, but that also will help you to maintain your sanity during The Fifth Trimester!  I loved it and you will too.” 
—Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., author of New York Times bestselling Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office and co-author of Nice Girls Just Don’t Get It

"Motherhood can be joyful, exhausting, confusing, wondrous and isolating all at the same time. Now try going back to work. That’s where Lauren Smith Brody’s The Fifth Trimester is an invaluable guide. Filled with practical advice and the stories of hundreds of women – informative, hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking – Smith Brody makes the case 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: Work, Love & Play When No One has the Time and director of The Better Life Lab at New America

"Returning to work can be challenging, but Lauren 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 and What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast

"The practical and entertaining read covers everything from finding the right schedule to pump breast milk at the office, to effectively dealing with postpartum depression, to adjusting your postpartum work wardrobe....so much helpful advice."
—Seattle Times

"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...In addition to discussing solemn subjects like postpartum depression, Brody makes her readers laugh...Working moms will find a wealth of ideas to help navigate the challenging transition period in this friendly and practical guide."
—Publishers Weekly 

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

Read More