Customer Reviews

The 7 Stages of Motherhood: Making the Most of Your Life as a Mom

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I greatly enjoyed this book! As a mother of two "tween" girls (stage 6), the chapters in the book about the early years brought back memories of that time with my girls, while the later chapters gave insight and encouragement to parenting them at their current ages and beyond. While some parenting books can be quite dull, this book makes you feel like you're having a conversation with a friend and discussing your mistakes and solutions. The author is not shy about sharing her own mistakes and trials during parenting her two children. She also has many references to parenting publications and suggestions for how to handle trying times.

The author is a former editor-in-chief of Parents magazine, of which I was a subscriber during that time. I remember reading about and seeing photos of her children in the magazine and was surprised to read they are now ages 18 and 14. Wow! Time does march on!

The ultimate message of this book is to enjoy each and every bit of motherhood, good and bad, because you will soon be wondering where the years went.

Enjoy!

I got this book because a friend of mine recommended it. I had positive expectations, but was very dissappointed. The author is EXTREMELY negative about motherhood. When she discusses the various stages of motherhood she really goes on and on about the negatives [and of course there are plenty of those] but she rarely if ever mentions the positive things about motherhood that make it SO worth it.

Her chapter on pregnancy and birth were just depressing - not ALL women experience pregnancy as an unwanted, horrible thing. Not ALL happily married women's first thought upon finding out they are pregnant is that they should have an abortion! Not ALL women feel big, fat, ugly, and completely not sexy during pregnancy. [OK, all of us may feel that way now and then, but many women have a basically very positive experience of pregnancy and birth]. And my word, her section on childbirth was alarmist at best - hysterical is more like it. She likens mothers who have unmedicated childbirth to "barbary macaque monkeys" and sees nothing positive, good, or beneficial coming from childbirth [with or without drugs]. Forget about the "rite of passage", the great reward at the end, and all that good stuff - according to Murphy, its a losing proposition all the way around.

Her chapter on the post partum time period would make a pregnant mom want to slit her wrists - she makes it sound like all mothers hate and resent their babies and spend the whole post partum period neck deep in post partum depression. While post partum depression IS a very serious issue and one that needs to be compassionately handled by all involved, this picture she paints of post partum life is just plain bleak - all the sorrows are categorized at great length and none of the joys are mentioned at all. Very sad and totally unbalanced.

Her section on breastfeeding was especially terrible. Did you know that breastfeeding is awful, painful, and really, really hard? Apparently so. I'm pregnant with my fourth, and breastfed my first three and I really didn't realize this at all. Wow. Needless to say, if you plan to breastfeed, just skip her horror stories.

I finally put the book down without finishing it. A complete waste of money. I couldn't stand the negativism and I really wondered why on earth this woman had children to start with? And WHO thought it was a good idea for her to edit Parents magazine? My children are not parasitic, life destroying organisms that I have to manage so that I can find more ME time - they are amazing, loving, vital, excellent little people. They make my life a true joy [and sometimes a real sorrow, but that's the rollercoaster of motherhood]. They are the best thing that ever happend to me, and I feel sad that apparently not all mothers feel that way.

So, be warned. If you enjoy motherhood for the most part, like your kids on most days, or find anything positive at all in being a mother, this book is likely to just depress you.

I thought this book would be mostly about me! Instead, I had to wade through stories and advice about child rearing to get to the few parts that were actually about the mother. It seemed more like this was the 7 Seven Stages of Child Development. If I wanted to read books about how to deal with my child at each age, I would've gotten a different book. All of this is helpful but it just wasn't what I thought the book would be about.

I loved the author's honesty and realistic viewpoints of motherhood! How refreshing to read something which makes me feel like I'm not alone in my struggles with breastfeeding, going back to work, etc. The myriad anecdotes were wonderful in helping me understand that there are many, many women out there who feel the joys AND challenges associated with motherhood. Having recently read several books regarding discipline, potty training, sleeping, it was nice to read a book written by someone who actually didn't overwhelm me with their "preachiness" toward what mothers should and shouldn't be doing to raise the "perfect" child. Loved it!

i originally checked this book out from my local library when my son was 5 months old and halfway through, i knew that this was a book i needed to have on hand. the authors candid accounts of the different faces of parenthood (miscarriage, first baby, second baby) were refreshingly realistic. this is not a how-to book, Murphy never claims to be a parenting expert (i believe the two words together are an oxymoron) but this book definitely deserves a place on your bookshelf. Its easy enjoyable reading.

One of the best qualities i received from my mom was a sense of humor, especially the ability to laugh at myself. I loved this book. I laugh, scream, and cry all the time with my kids and I'm in school to be a teacher. I love kids and I love (sometimes) how honest they are. My sense of humor is often times still that of a kid and I thank God for it everyday! This book rocks! All of the mommas in this book ROCK!! It's too bad for the women who didn't like this book, but then again maybe not. That is the wonderful thing about being human, a woman, a mom -- we're all different. Thank God for those differences too.

I did not read it but purchased it for my wife. It was very helpful and reassuring during those first months with a newborn. It was recommended to us by our pediatrician.

I listened to this book instead of reading it while commuting to work. I must say this book made me cry, made me smile, laugh and remember things I had forgotten about my children's lives. The author writes things mothers feel, but we are afraid to say. Reading some of the reviews makes me think that some women are just not willing to admit that motherhood is precious, the best job I've ever had, but also the most challenging, and this is what this book is about, the unspoken aspects of motherhood and a recognition to all mothers for our work, being the unrecognized heroes and you realize how much we do in life that never rewarded, it is only expected.
I loved this book, I would highly recommended to any mom, especially new moms. It is a tribute to motherhood and I am making my husband listen to the book so he can understand that motherhood is more than just giving birth.

I was looking forward to reading about mothering adult children, but this is mostly about mothering children while they are still at home.

As I read, it sound like some friends that try to push their kids video tapes on your throat all the time, like those friends that can't stop detailing every little feat, picture, songs that their kids made. Realist, yes, but who cares listening to her kids stories, what cuteness came from their mouth, etc, etc. This was the most annoying book I ever read. I was going almost going to scream if I hear one more time what Maddie said, what Nick did, etc, I am not interested in listening to her journals. If I could get a refund, it will be the best. If you really want to go on and try this book, go get it in the library before wasting money to hear what her kids said, did yesterday, a year ago...