‘Dear Baby I’m Sorry,’ mom confesses to baby in new book

Have you ever wanted to apologize to your baby for some of your newfound parenting ways? Sarah Showfety, a Westfield native now living outside Princeton, has put these and other apologies in her new book “Dear Baby: I'm Sorry...: Apologies for Life's Little Parenting Fails,” which has been featured on “The Doctors” TV show, as well as ABC News, BuzzFeed, The Daily Mail, The Huffington Post, as well as Today's Parents.

“Moms love this book,” says Showfety. “I have had people write to me from all over the world to say thank you for creating 'Dear Baby,' (even grandmothers saying they wish it had been around when their kids were small!). They like it because it tells the messy, irreverent truth about parenting, not some perfect, sanitized Hallmark version. And I think they appreciate that it's the opposite of all the sancti-mommying and mom shaming that goes on on social media today. It is compact and the jokes are bite-sized, a breeze for any sleep-deprived mom to read and get some much needed laughs!”

I asked Sarah what her best apology story was:

'Best' apology story? Hmm...that's hard! There are literally hundreds. I suppose it makes sense to talk about the one that started it all - when I was nursing my infant for what felt like the millionth time after a super-long day and I thought, 'I wish she'd hurry up so I could have a glass of Chardonnay.' The wrongness (and realness) of that thought made me laugh out loud and was the inspiration for creating this book of apologies. But I have many favorites; the time I took a smoothie into the bathroom so I could drink it all myself, refusing to eat the food my baby sweetly offered because I know where that hand has been, dropping some Snoop on her when I ran out of nursery rhymes and not putting her 'art' (a piece of yellow construction paper with a bunch of brown paint that looked like turds) on the fridge. There are so many.

Did she ever worry with today's politically correct climate that some of the stories would go too far?

Of course it did cross my mind if some of my apologies went too far or would turn some people off, but the response has been overwhelmingly positive. In Dear Baby's online community (Dear Baby's Facebook page with nearly 30k fans) moms are craving this kind of honesty - to hear they are not alone in their experience. Parenting small children can be very stressful so this book is my way of telling the truth in a funny way that hopefully parents can relate to.

What would Sarah like readers to come way with?

I'd like readers to come away with lightness and laughter, with the idea that it is perfectly okay and normal to mess up and need time for yourself and lose it sometimes and bring the diaper bag but forget the diapers and sometimes whisper 'don't rush back' when daddy takes the baby out for a walk. It's all okay. You can have down moments, 'selfish' moments, forgetful moments and you are still a great mom.

"Dear Baby: I'm Sorry" is available now!

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