Confessions of a Naughty Mommy: How I Found My Lost Libido [Paperback]

Heidi Raykeil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 21, 2005

Sex. After. Baby.

These three words are whispered by mothers everywhere who find themselves stumped and shocked by the state of their sex lives. Naughty Mommy Heidi Raykeil has been down that road and chronicles her experiences in her online column Sex in the Suburbs. Raykeil knows firsthand that there are still plenty of things our mothers (and friends, and doctors) don’t tell us about motherhood, but that every mother should know.

While the media continues to bombard us with images of sex everywhere we turn, the reality for married couples with children today is much different. Do-it-all-moms seem to be doing everything except IT. Raykeil is out to change that.

Confessions of a Naughty Mommy is a funny, honest, and sexy account of Raykeil’s search for her missing libido—lost in action after she gave birth to her daughter. She takes readers along on her journey from mystified and frustrated new mom through the bumpy awkwardness of reigniting the home fires during naptime and date night to a newfound discovery and appreciation of sex after baby. With humor, grit, and style, she shares what has worked for her and her husband, as they balance their dual roles of parents and lovers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"a charming, hilarious, heartfelt memoir about the rekindling of her dormant sex life with her husband after her first child." -- Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (December 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158005157X
• ISBN-13: 978-1580051576
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #804,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My parents taught me, growing up, to above all else tell the truth and help others. That's what I'm trying to do. I want mothers out there to keep telling the truth -- to each other, to our partners, to society -- about what we're really like and what we need really need. I want us to feel safe letting out our inner naughties, and to have fun doing it. I want us to become "thinkaboutsexaholics" -- or at least to occasionally think about sex. I was us to let ourselves feel hot again, and let ourselves off the hook when we don't. I want to give this confused virgin-mother society a little push in the direction of sexy. And I want to let all those other sexy, tired, uptight, dry, stretched, sewn, poked, pulled, milked, saggy, hot, hairy, awesomely unstoppable mamas out there know they're not alone.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly What I Needed! January 23, 2006

By Diane B. Savahge

Format:Paperback

This frank and breezy account of one woman's step by baby step path back to sexy-ville is just what I needed! Since my husband and I had our daughter, our world is focused on this tiny, special person, and sleeplessness has blurred our eyes for any other type of love. I could relate when Raykeil calls her husband, "Poppy;" pre-baby I vowed never to call mine Daddy, and now do so all of the time, and not as in "Who's your Daddy?" Reading this book put our on-hold love life back in perspective, reminded me of my sense of humor and inspired me to put just as much emphasis on the naughty me as the mommy me. Give this one to all of your postpartum girlfriends!

120 of 150 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Accurate, and therefore depressing June 13, 2006

By A reader

Format:Paperback

I've been through this from the husband's perspective. We had three kids, and despite being physically fine, my wife just checked out sexually. Although she's a decent writer, Raykeil is also, like most mommies, incredibly self-centered. Pretty much the entire world revolves around her and her daughter, and her husband is left to fend for himself, which she even finds sort of amusing. It isn't. I never felt more alone, more lost, more desparate and more in anguish than when I was suddenly reduced to an ATM and an assistant in my own home. She doesn't, in the end, seem too concerned with what kind of damage this did to her husband, how unfair it was, how hurtful or how cruel. And, like mommies everywhere, she uses her status as a potent guilt-weapon. When her husband tells her that condoms reduce some of the sensation and pleasure of sex, she instantly retaliates with that time-honored "Well, try CHILDBIRTH buster!" She found hundreds of ways to make sure her husband knew she didn't care, she didn't want to be touched, she didn't need him. The dead giveaway for me was the line that she had spent something like a thousand nights with her daughter in bed with them. You cannot find a much clearer way of telling your husband that he is your absolute last priority -- and that how that makes him feel isn't really too important. Hit a nerve.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars inspiring and sexy read December 29, 2005

By areader

Format:Paperback

My husband and I are reading this together. Since the birth of our baby, our sex life has disappeared. This book makes us laugh, not worry so much, and it's helping us get back into our pre-baby sexy groove.