Tech bytes for tea?

To all mothers out there … Happy Mother’s Day!

Flowers for all mothers on Mother’s Day. These beautiful flowers adorn a florist’s shop in Kumamoto, Japan. Taken with Nikon D800.

And to all mothers-to-be or newly-minted mothers, here’s a book to find out what not to expect when you are expecting.

Muddlehood (S$25.90). Available online, at Popular, Books Actually, Thomson Medical.

“Muddlehood” is a collection of essays by parents on life in the first year of parenting.

It was written by my wife and a few of her friends to share the trials and tribulations of motherhood, or how they “muddled” through it all.

The authors noted that when they were going through their first pregnancies and looking for advice and things to pay attention to, it was difficult to come by a book that was truly honest about the difficulties and psychological rigours the expecting mother was to encounter.

So having gone through it, they decided to pen down their own experiences as honestly as possible – to share what “expecting mothers never expected”.

However, despite the rigours of motherhood, the consensus among all the authors was that – at the end of the day – motherhood is the most rewarding thing a woman could experience, and it was worth every bit of angst or trouble they had to go through to have the baby.

This is an excellent book for the expecting mom to find what they never tell you to expect.

It’ll make a handy book to buy yourself if you’re contemplating having a baby, and an excellent present to give an expecting or newly-minted mum.

“Translucent” flowers at a greenhouse in Beppu, Japan. Taken with a Nikon D800.