The Yummy Mummy's Survival Guide [Hardcover]

Forget the frump. Wave goodbye to those leggings – there's a new breed of mothers on the baby block. Yummy Mummies don't leave their sense of style in the maternity ward – the loving hands that rock today's cradles are manicured and moisturised.

Becoming a mother, however Yummy, is still as challenging as it ever was. RELAX: help is at hand, with this no-holds-barred guide to surviving the biggest transition of your life. Liz Fraser is a (mostly) stylish mother of three young children, and offers a much-needed, fresh look at what happens to us, our relationships and our wardrobes when we take the plunge and fill our tidy homes with Lego.

Hilarious, honest and poignant, Liz uses her experiences of motherhood to help you through pregnancy and the first year with your baby, making the whole event seem manageable – even desirable.

Along with stylish, practical advice and searingly frank entries from Liz’s diaries other new mums have their say, including well-known Yummy Mummies such as Jemima French and Tamara Mellon.

This indispensable guide is the stylist, personal trainer, box of anti-depressants, bar of chocolate and best friend which every woman can carry around in her handbag. Because becoming a mother doesn't mean you stop wanting to look and feel fabulous – it just becomes a little trickier!

I wrote this book because, after many years of talking to other Mums, I realised there was a desperate need for motherhood to be portrayed in a more positive, more contemporary, more realistic light. The only books available were so dreary, dull and uninspiring, and seemed to imply that I would love being at home all day covered in baby sick, with saggy boobs and bad hair, and wouldn't miss the Old Me at all - but neither I nor any of my friends felt that way! So I decided to write down all the things I wished I had known, both when I was pregnant and when I first became a mother, to reassure all women who read it that we all find pregnancy and motherhood hard at times, but that becoming a mother doesn't mean you have to look awful and give up the girl you used to be. Of course your life will change (a lot!) but with a little effort you can still look great and have a very fulfilling life. I have tried to be as honest as possible, and to treat my readers as intelligent, modern women. Most importantly, I never say that I am a perfect mother, and here is how to be as perfect as me! I am as flawed as the next exhausted, slightly flabby, frazzled mother, but I know that there are easy ways to make myself look and feel a lot better about myself, in other words a lot Yummier, in order to be the best mother I possibly can for my kids. If I can help even one women to enjoy the experience of motherhood more, then I will be very happy. X Liz.

Forget the Frump. Wave Goodbye to those leggings: there's a new breed of mother on the baby block and, though far from perfect, she likes to at least try a little! Help is at hand with this no-holds-barred guide to surviving the biggest transition of your life. Liz Fraser is a mother of three young children and offers a much-needed, fresh look at what really happens to our minds, relationships and wardrobes – whether Primark or Prada - when we take the plunge and fill our homes with Lego and nappies.

Hilarious, honest and poignant, Liz uses her experiences - every disaster and occasional triumph - to help you through pregnancy and the first year with your baby. Along with practical advice and searingly frank diary entries, other Mums – from Liz’s neighbour to Kate Winslet - also share their experiences and top tips.

This indispensable guide is the stylist, personal trainer, box of anti-depressants, bar of chocolate and best friend which every woman can carry around in her handbag. Because motherhood doesn’t stop you wanting to look and feel fabulous - it just becomes a little trickier!

Having left Cambridge armed with a science degree, Liz Fraser worked in TV, presenting shows such as BBC’s Holiday and Channel 4’s The Virtual Body. After the birth of her second child, she gave up work to become a full-time mother. Six months later, in desperate need of adult conversation and a creative outlet, she returned to work part-time. She is now a freelance writer and lives in Cambridge, in a house not quite as tidy as she’d like, with her husband and three children.