Book Review: Didn't I Feed You Yesterday? by Laura Bennett

I was a big fan of Laura Bennett's on Project Runway. She was a finalist in the third season, and she was pregnant with her sixth child at the time of taping. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant, I rewatched my season three DVDs to see how this glamourous woman handled the pregnancy and the unusual pressure of reality television. I resolved myself to not necessarily wearing a cocktail dress every day, but to avoiding sweatpants (and other assorted lounging pants, unless I'm getting ready for bed) as much as possible.

After being such a fan of hers and admiring how strong a woman she is, I was a little disappointed in her new book, Didn't I Feed You Yesterday: A Mother's Guide to Sanity in Stilettos. It was an entertaining peek at her unusual life, but it was less a guide and more an inventory of all the messes her husband and five boys make. There was nothing sane about it; in fact she talks a lot about how boy stuff drives her crazy. I'm all for fun, laidback parenting, but her kids sort of come off as brats rather than free-spirited, creative children. I think she was trying to portray them as free-spirited though. It's hard to tell, as the writing was disjointed and didn't flow evenly from chapter to chapter.

I do like the attitude that women shouldn't give up their personal style and shouldn't give up taking care of themselves so they can take better care of their families. But that was pretty much summed up in one short chapter, toward the end of the book. Myself, I find it just as easy to pull on a skirt as it is sweatpants, and I love heels. I'm not giving them up until I'm so pregnant that I topple out of them. Of course, bare feet are more practical for just around the house. I save the heels for work and nights out.

But in the disjointed Laura way, she talks about what a mess her apartment is with spilled food and ankle-breaking toys strewn about, and that's okay because boys will be boys. But she never resolves how, if she's wearing her little black dress all the time, she's kept herself clean from the general mess of babies. What does Laura wear when she knows she's going to be spit-up on? When she's changing a diaper? That's what I want to know. It's possible that those things don't happen to her. She talks about having nannies and a housekeeper, but it's difficult to know exactly what they do. (If there's a housekeeper, why is the house always such a mess?)

If you're a Laura fan, if you like the reality, tell-all genre, or if you're a parenting-book junkie you'll probably enjoy this book. I get that the "guide" part may be intended to be tongue-in-cheek, but I guess I just didn't find it funny or clever enough to pull me in.

Image from goodreads.com. I was not compensated in any way for this post. Items were purchased by me for personal use.