A few weeks after my first son was born, when my husband went back to work, and when my mom flew back to the States, I remember looking at my new baby surrounded by all his ‘stuff’ in my tiny Notting Hill flat and thinking… ‘now what?’ The thrilling and cozy feeling of a new baby had quickly turned into a slightly harsh reality: life with a new baby can be monotonous, dull and tiring. I needed to get out of my house and keep myself busy!

I wish I would have had The Rookie Mom’s Handbook for a little guidance… Our friends from the popular Rookie Moms blog have just compiled 250 clever and fun activities to do with (and without) your baby. The activities are organized by baby’s age –months one through 12, and are written in short, funny, read-able chapters.

Heather Gibbs Flett and Whitney Moss, both moms to two, offer up activities that will keep you organized, sane, entertained, confident and social.

Activities like: pretend you’re in Paris, buy a yoga ball to ‘bounce it out’ when your baby cries, put on a dance party for your baby, empty out your purse, e-mail your baby, etc, etc.

The book is designed especially for new moms, but even after surviving babyhood twice already, I still found the handbook to be helpful and inspiring.

Now… if only they would write a handbook for surviving toddler-hood!

-Courtney