I enjoyed this book too.
I agree that alot of the situations & characters were a little contrived, but that I think made what is essentially a novel about how NOT wonderful having a new baby can be more acceptable to most people.
There were lots of situations that I could identify with: the lonliness, total fatigue, trying to figure out how to have a shower before lunch, the constant worry about doing the right thing, breastfeeding in public, and definitely feeling unable to admitting when things
aren't going well... the list goes on.
Making some of the situations/ people more glossy or funny than they would be in real life made it a much easier book to read and enjoy, whilst still being able to identifying with lots of what the characters went through - good and the bad.
I was actually pleased at the large numbers of references to breastfeeding in the book - its such a fundamental part of having a new baby, and it really really did feel like it took up most of my day! BFing a child after the first couple of weeks has become
not the normal thing to do over here now - and doing it in public is parctically a social disgrace. There is a big movement over here to make it more socially/ publically acceptable, but it will take time to overcome our Victorian attitude.
Negatives? I did feel it a little long in places, particularly with respect to Ayinde, and sex during the first months after childbirth???? Yeah right
