Meet Becky Vieria, Author of “Enough About the Baby: A Brutally Honest Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood”
Becky Vieria has been sharing the humorous ups and downs of motherhood on her popular Instagram page for years. She recently wrote her first book, “Enough About the Baby: A Brutally Honest Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood” to help moms understand the truth about the first year that many people don’t talk about. Featuring Becky’s experience and real stories from moms, you’ll find a collection of raw stories and topics related to sleep, postpartum body, emotional health, childcare, those first days home, and more. Read on to learn more about her Becky and this must-have book for new parents.
Westchester Family: How did the idea for “Enough About the Baby: A Brutally Honest Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood” come about?
Becky Vieria: The idea to write “Enough About the Baby: A Brutally Honest Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood” came about fairly organically, mostly because it’s an extension of my Instagram page. When I was struggling in early motherhood, I felt desperate and began sharing some brutal truths about what was going on and how I was feeling.
To my surprise, I began hearing from countless moms who were feeling the same or had been in similar situations. Finally knowing that it wasn’t just me who was having a hard time was one of the greatest gift anyone could give me. It absolved a lot of guilt and eased many doubts I held about myself as a mother. I wanted every mom to have access to the same thing, all in one place.
Westchester Family: What do you hope new moms (and moms, in general) get out of the book?
Becky Vieria: I want all moms to know that they matter, specifically with their mental, emotional and physical health. Not only do we deserve that, our babies need happy and healthy moms. Motherhood is hard for everyone, but we don’t often see or hear about the hard parts. Personally, that led me to believe that it was easy for everyone else besides me, which must have meant I was a terrible mom.
I don’t want anyone to ever feel that way. If we know more about each other’s experiences, especially the not so great ones, maybe we won’t blame ourselves when things get tough. Instead, we’l know that a lot of this is common. And that it doesn’t last forever. The book doesn’t just recount the hard times that I and other moms experienced, I interviewed countless experts who offer tips and advice to help them along the way.
Westchester Family: We love the focus on real self care for moms in your book. Why do you think that’s not prioritized in our society?
Becky Vieria: Unfortunately, we’ve become so conditioned as a society to put all the emphasis and focus on the baby–their health, development and general wellbeing. In doing this, we neglect moms and their needs almost entirely. Of course the baby comes first and should be the focus, but that doesn’t mean that moms can’t also have some of that.
It’s not an all or nothing scenario, we can take care of babies and moms at the same time. One major thing moms need in the early days is help. Help with errands, help with things around the house or any type of help that gives them enough of a break so they can shower or sleep. But not many people are truly willing to step in and do that. Instead, society just talks about how strong and capable moms are, how we are “superheroes.” This just furthers the narrative that we can do everything by ourselves, and in a way gives an excuse why people don’t need to step in for us.
Westchester Family: What do you wish you knew then that you know now?
Becky Vieria:I wish I knew that motherhood is hard for everyone. Not hard in that “you’ll be tired” or “it’s not easy when the baby cries,” but “you will be so tired that you will likely put cheese away in your silverware drawer” (which I did) or “there will be moments when the baby cries and you will fall to your knees and cry along with them.” I thought I was doing something wrong or that I was a terrible mother because I’d never heard it described as I was experiencing. I thought I was a failure. I wish I knew that wasn’t true.
Westchester Family: We love your real mom stories throughout the book! How did you curate that selection of women to feature?
Becky Vieria: I feel lucky that these amazing women entrusted me with their personal stories. The majority were submitted to me from my Instagram followers, but I also solicited these from all areas of my life: friends, family, former co-workers. Some were even friends of people in my network who wanted to share their story.
Westchester Family: We love your use of humor on your Instagram page; was that always how you viewed motherhood?
Becky Vieria: I view everything in my life with a dose of humor and that carried over to my Instagram page. So much of what I talk about can be heavy and serious, so I always like to inject some humor here and there to keep everyone’s spirits up. Including my own! Being able to laugh at ourselves or our situations, such as motherhood, has also been a great way to connect with other moms. And motherhood is funny. Kids are hilarious! I love to share those moments with others and hear their stories in return.
Westchester Family: Anything else to add?
Becky Vieria: I love my son beyond measure. I think this should go without saying, but unfortunately moms who are open about the hard parts or even–gasp!–complain, are seen in a certain light by others. There is an assumption by many that in talking about those things we somehow are less of a mom or don’t prioritize our kids. There is no reason why all of these things can’t exist in harmony. We can love our kids, be wonderful mothers and have days where we want to scream, “this sucks right now!” But for those that don’t feel this way, let me reassure you that my son is the light of my life and I love him immensely!
Get “Enough About the Baby: A Brutally Honest Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood” here.
