Rebecca Eckler talked about being pregnant in KNOCKED UP: Confessions of a Hip Mother-to-be and in WIPED! Life with a Pint-sized Dictator, the little angel has arrived and is slightly less than angelic. Or maybe that's just the perspective of a woman who has had little sleep, can't fit into any of her clothes and wonders when life could possibly be normal again.

Baby Rowan is, of course, a true joy to her parents, but both Rebecca and her live-in partner (whom she calls The Fiancé throughout the book), become quickly aware that they weren't prepared for life with a baby. Despite the help of a nanny, with whom Rebecca is unsure how she should interact, it takes them awhile to adjust.

Luckily for the reader, there are numerous funny and poignant moments as Rebecca and The Fiancé work through these adjustments. Through birthdays, dealing with the grandparents and learning to live without sex and sleep, you'll be taken on a journey that will ring true -- at least in part -- for every parent out there.

The book opens with Rebecca walking into a wall and breaking her nose. The Fiancé, instead of being properly sympathetic, spends his time cautioning her to be quiet so as not to wake the baby. The scene sums up all the changes in your life that these precious, squalling, attention- grabbing little ones bring.

As a work-at-home mother of three, WIPED! certainly brings back memories. Those first two years -- well, WIPED! could have been easily labeled Hell! But I've got to admit, the beginning of this book put me off a little. In her aim at humor and touching reality, Ms. Eckler ignored the moments of joy. She eventually got there, but I was a little turned off by the complete focus on the bad moments (and yes, there are plenty of them, I'm aware!). Her complete focus on getting her figure back and how bad she looked was also a little off-putting. But while that focus didn't lighten much, the book did begin to show how much she loved little Rowen and how joyful she was, too. Another challenge for me was the nanny. I think very few people who read this will relate to having a nanny -- and Ms. Eckler's awkwardness over that relationship and complaints about it ring a little "spoiled" to most of us without the money for that luxury.

It sounds like I didn't like this book, but somehow that's not accurate. I think it's challenging to write a personal experience book that everyone will relate to. Like Erma Bombeck's work, there are parts that bring hysterical laughter, near tears and some that don't touch your own life experience. There is much of value in WIPED!