Though it may seem at the outset that life can’t change much more after the first, many parents are in for a shock when they realize having another child does not merely mean ordering two Happy Meals instead of one. Most parenting books are written for first-time mothers. Yet the addition of a second baby raises wholly different and often more challenging concerns. Already proficient, parents no longer need to read about infant care. They’re worried about sibling rivalry, but also about themselves.

In thirty humorous and insightful essays, Jennifer Bingham Hull chronicles her leap from one child to two, providing tips, insights and comic relief for parents venturing beyond one child. Challenging conventional wisdom, Hull tackles issues ranging from the difficulty of maintaining friendships to time management, sex, yelling, firstborn relations, divided attention, logistics, room sharing, child spacing, and balancing work and family.

Beyond One wins book award!

In essays such as Muscles and Wrapping Paper, Hull provides an honest and funny portrayal of married life after having the second child, as well as useful advice for sharing parenting duties and managing motherhood once outnumbered. In The Amazing Toddler Diet, she describes losing 50 pounds while buying in bulk. Sex Preferences cites the pleasures and pitfalls of raising children of the same gender. Memory portrays how her father’s death revealed the long-term value of siblings. Hull’s realization in Lipstick Therapy that highfaluting first-time mom standards often don’t work after having the second baby is a refreshing change from the traditional more-work-for-mommy parenting prescriptions.

Describing the first three years of life with two children, Beyond One provides tips, insights, and humor for mothers who not only want to grow a family, but get a life.

“Jennifer Hull charms us with her honesty about the difficulties created with a growing family. Beyond One provides wisdom and comic relief for women making one of life’s great leaps. A great read!”—Susan Jeffers, Ph.D., author of Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway and I’m Okay…You’re a Brat!