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OLIVIA SIEGL is the proud owner of two tiny humans and creator of popular parenting blog, The Baby Bible; a funny, honest and straight talking blog covering everything from post-baby vaginas to Postnatal Depression, uniting mums worldwide to be able to talk about ALL areas of motherhood – NO judgement!
After suffering with severe Postnatal Depression and Postpartum Psychosis following the birth of her two daughters, Olivia set up The Every Mum Movement, a global movement that empowers mums to take care of their maternal mental health and speak more openly and honestly about motherhood. The movement has gone from strength to strength, gaining support from the NHS HEE, NCT, Netmums and high profile celebrity parents, as well as invitations to speak at the Department of Health and the Houses of Parliament. Olivia also speaks at events and in the media on her experiences of maternal mental health to help raise awareness.
She loves writing and is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post, The Metro and leading parenting sites.
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2018
Copyright © Olivia Siegl 2018
Olivia Siegl asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © January 2018 ISBN: 9780008214869
For my amazing little girls, Éva Loren and Isla-Mai, and my
awesome husband, Jamie, for always believing I could do this. And
to every Mum who has ever doubted themselves – this is for you
Me, Jamie and our awesome tiny humans
KEEP IN TOUCH
One of the best parts about writing my blog has been hearing from
other mums and sharing our tales of motherhood. I would love to
hear from you.
Share and tag your photos of BONKERS: A Real Mum’s HilariouslyHonest Tales of Motherhood, Mayhem & Mental Health using the #BONKERS hashtag
Visit The Baby Bible Blog www.the-baby-bible.com Facebook.com/theoliviasiegl Instagram.com/oliviasiegl Twitter.com/oliviasiegl Join the secret Facebook Group [email protected]
Join The Every Mum Movement www.everymummovement.com Facebook.com/everymummovement Instagram.com/everymummovement Twitter.com/theeverymum
CONTENTS
Introduction A Quick HELLO (as I know you’re busy keeping your tiny human alive)
Foreword A Tiny Word from my Tiny Humans
Chapter 2 It’s Time to Go Back… Waaay Back
Chapter 3 Pregnant and Blooming – (aka Blooming Demonic, Starving and Willing to Kill for a Cheese Burger and a Full-Fat Coke)
Chapter 4 Childbirth, aka Trying to Push a Tiny Human Out of your Vagina
Chapter 5 Becoming Mum – The Early Days
Chapter 6 The Every Mum Guide to Postnatal Depression
Chapter 7 Popping your Motherhood Cherry
Chapter 8 After the After (Birth) Party – Celebrating Our Post-Baby Vaginas
Chapter 9 Going from One to Two
Chapter 10 In Charge of Two Tiny Humans
Chapter 11 Postpartum Psychosis – The Danger of the Unknown
Chapter 12 Feeding Your Tiny Human
Chapter 13 The Every Mum Guide to Weaning
Chapter 14 Snapping Back into You, Post-Baby
Chapter 15 Post-Baby Body
Chapter 16 The Every Mum Guide to Being a Dad
Chapter 17 What Does Motherhood Mean to Me?