Babies Don’t Make Small Talk (So Why Should I?): The Introvert’s Guide to Surviving Parenthood

Humorist Vick debuts with a fun look at parenting as an introvert. To deal with the fact that “a baby can make it hard to do something as simple as go to the grocery store alone,” Vick offers helpful tips in addition to poking fun at common parenting advice (“You should not be a tiger mom if you are a sloth mom”), and walks readers through developments from childbirth to preschool, addressing such concerns as sleep issues (reframe middle-of-the-night wake-ups as alone time), how to handle conflicting advice (beware those suffering from “parenting amnesia”), and eating in restaurants with toddlers (readers can take comfort that their toddler won’t throw the first fit the spot has seen). Along the way, she covers subjects specific to introverts, such as skipping the gift-opening limelight at a baby shower and sending an extroverted caretaker on the preschool birthday party circuit in their place. Vick also reminds readers that Instagram feeds are not authentic and tells parents they neither can nor should want to “cherish every moment.” This will be an invaluable resource gor introverts about to become parents, though anyone with kids will appreciate Vick’s perspective on the absurdity of parenthood. (Aug.)