Along with a housecleaner and a personal chef, what I really could’ve used when I was a new mom was a good laugh and a lot more funny parenting books. Because while I sat and rocked my newborn as she screamed, it was sometimes hard to not take it all so seriously.

If your new-mom friend is not the type to devour the very serious “expert” books on parenting, instead get her one that’s guaranteed to put a smile on her face. Plus, tucked inside all the “funny” is plenty of sage advice that will give any new parent a much-needed confidence boost too. -Christina

The Perfect Baby Handbook: A Guide for Excessively Motivated Parents puts a hilarious spin on hyper parenting, insuring that even the most hand-wringing new mom will relax a bit as she laughs in relief that at least she isn’t that wacky.

Let’s Panic About Babies
With a title I can totally relate to, this “guide” is loaded with LOL satire that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Written by two of our favorites, Alice Bradley and Eden Kennedy, Let’s Panic will make you laugh at all the ways you are going to screw up that sweet little baby. In other words: It’ll help that new mom lighten up.

Sh*tty Mom: A Parenting Guide for the Rest of Us
A lot of parenting books can make you feel like you are doing it all wrong if you don’t follow their patented XYZ formula. Not so with the new book Sh*tty Mom that’s sweeping the parenting world this month. It’s like a guide for those of us who admit that yeah, sometimes we check our phones at the playground. The horror.

The Gay Uncle’s Guide to Parenting
For those who need a dose of tough love cloaked in humor, this book may be the perfect read. This is the gift for the mama who is so deep in the trenches, she thinks that “going out” is doing her food shopping alone. With his candid advice and super-funny stories, Brett Berk doles out his advice in a fresh, smart way that makes us wish we all had a gay uncle of our own.

Double Time
Mama of twins Jane Roper has us laughing and crying over the sweet, poignant, and utterly ridiculous moments in parenting young children. Her book Double Time is ideal for a fellow twin parent, though parents of singles will definitely relate…and giggle.

Go the F*ck to Sleep
Sleep deprivation is no joke, but man, it can feel good to know that zillions of other parents are doing the endless bedtime dance with their child. Which is why the totally not-PC runaway best-seller, Go the F*ck to Sleep is still among my very favorite books that belong on the very tippity top of the bookshelf. Send it to your exhausted friend who will need to hear the prose in her head as she staggers down the hallway to answer those cries…again.

For even more parenting books, check out our Books for Adults category.