I rounded up 10 books that make great gifts for new moms (or even dads), whether you’re looking to make them laugh, feel all warm and fuzzy, or calm their nerves with some bestselling advice. 

When I gave birth to my first daughter, I was completely terrified. I had no idea what to expect. I mean, I knew I would give birth and that it would be somewhat painful and that there would be a tiny person that I had to take care of and teach how to be a good human at the end of it all. That stuff was scary enough on its own, but what about all of the unknowns?!

I grabbed all of the books I could get my hands on and, with a highlighter and notebook at my side (in true nerd fashion), dove right in.

In a lot of ways, it helped me. It let me get a better understanding of the things I could learn about (baby gear, changes to expect in my body, etc), which made things slightly less overwhelming. I just wish that instead of only reading practical books full of tips and facts, I also read from parents in the thick of it. Parents laughing at the absurdity of it all would have helped to take the edge off. Parents writing about their uncertainty would have made me feel less alone.

I try to keep all of this in mind when I talk to new or soon-to-be moms. There are so many things they might need reassurance about. Books come in handy for that and make great gifts for new moms.

That said, try to think a little bit about what they might need reassurance about. Has she been worrying about how she’ll get baby to sleep? Is she so nervous that she’s taking everything too seriously? Does she have that deer in the headlights look that seems to say what the hell did I get myself into?! These are all things to keep in mind before gifting a momma-to-be a book (which, by the way, you should totally pair with a gift to pamper her, like this homemade body butter).

To help you out, I found ten books that get rave reviews and broke them into categories.

From cleaning up messes to wrapping up leftovers and going grocery shopping, having kids can lead to a lot of garbage. If you’re looking for ways to help your family produce less waste, I’ve found some great eco-friendly solutions that don’t sacrifice style or quality.

Think of all of the stuff you throw away in a typical day.

There’s the plastic straw you stick into your smoothie on the way out the door. Or the disposable cup you grab at the local coffee shop. There are the flimsy plastic bags you shoved some fruit into at the grocery store to corral them in your cart and the giant wad of paper towels you used to mop up that juice spill. There are also all of those layers of packaging for individually wrapped items and the cotton balls you used to scrub the mascara from under your bleary eyes at the end of the day. And that’s just you!

A whole family can create a ton of garbage in a single day. It’s crazy if you start to really think about how many things we throw away. And while I’m not suggesting we all run out and plan to become zero waste familyies, I do think there are some simple changes we all could make to produce less waste.

I took to Etsy to find some creative—and really freaking pretty—products that can help us all be just a little bit more eco-friendly.

Lice might be teeny, but they strike fear into the hearts of parents everywhere. To take away at least a little bit of the panic, I asked a lice treatment professional all of the big questions about lice that parents want to know, touching on everything from lice prevention to facts, treatment, and cleaning tips.

This post is sponsored by Lice Free Noggins.

Nothing makes a parent’s skin crawl faster than hearing the dreaded L-word: lice.

The second the letter comes home from school, parents start itching. Every time your kid so much as brushes her hair out of her face, you lunge, combing through with your fingers in an effort to find the little critters you are sure have taken up residence there.

So far, we’ve had lice once and I still have nightmares thinking about it. Both girls and I ended up with it and I spent weeks combing through our hair and cleaning every surface in our house I could think of. By the end of our ordeal, I was ready to shave our heads and move, leaving all of our belongings behind so that no little creatures could hitch a ride with us.

Figuring it doesn’t have to be that dramatic an experience, I decided to talk to a lice professional and ask her every single question I could think of about the little buggers. Lena Gorelik, founder of Lice Free Noggins, was kind enough to answer all of my neurotic questions without making me feel like an idiot.

Read an excerpt from the first chapter of Abbi Waxman’s new suburban satire, Other People’s Houses, which unravels the hilarious havoc an affair wreaks on an upper-middle-class LA neighborhood.

Looking for a fun read to sink your teeth into?

Abbi Waxman, the author of The Garden of Small Beginnings, has a new book coming out tomorrow and it sounds like Lianne Moriarty-level juiciness!

Other People’s Houses is a hilarious new novel about a suburban neighborhood and the affair that unravels their community.

Told through the perspectives of four families, the novel shows how the affair exposes all sorts of insecurities and strife within an upper-middle-class LA neighborhood. So far, it’s gotten some rave reviews with PopSugar calling it “A smart, thoughtful look at marriage and suburbia” and Booklist saying that “Once again, [Waxman] manages to take a far-reaching topic and sprinkle it with spicy dialogue, adorable kids, and characters who feel like best friends. . . Recommend to those who like to turn pages quickly without sacrificing complex characters.”

Possibly the most attention-grabbing review for me though came from Kirkus: “Charming yet provocative. . . . This is a voyeuristic (in a nice way) and humorous trip through what is usually hidden behind closed doors. Waxman is a master at purveying the wry humor that rides just below the surface of even the tough times.”

Sign. me. up.

I’m super excited to be able to give you a sneak peek at an excerpt from the first chapter of Other People’s Houses! Check it out below.

We are always looking for books to add to our To Be Read list. We look for books of all levels: picture books, beginner chapter books, middle-grade fiction, and books that busy moms can enjoy. Figuring I can’t possibly be the only one out there who is hunting for good reads for a variety of age levels, I put together a list each month of the books my family has been reading. Sometimes our thoughts on them will be gushy and glowy. Other times they’ll be lukewarm. Either way, we’ll let you know if we think they’re worth your time.

Nothing about this month was particularly leisurely for me. March was filled with birthdays and snow and school closures. But we did manage to squeeze in some solid reads in the middle of all of the madness. Here’s a little peek at what we read…