Entertainment Books Children's Books In How to Baby New Yorker Cartoonist Liana Finck Offers Un-Advice for New Moms and Moms-to-Be (Exclusive) The cartoonist and memoirist drew PEOPLE a selection of exclusive pieces of advice in preparation for Mother's Day By Liana Finck and Lizz Schumer Liana Finck and Lizz Schumer Liana Finck is the author of three graphic novels, a memoir and has published several collections of her cartoons with Penguin Random House. Her work has been featured in many publications including regular contributions to the New Yorker. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 30, 2024 03:00PM EDT Liana Finck and 'How to Baby'. Photo: Jorge Colombo; Penguin Random House Anyone who's ever had a baby, thought about having a baby or (let's be honest) looks to the casual observer like they might be biologically capable of having a baby has gotten questions about it or worse, well-intentioned advice that makes the recipient feel the opposite of advised. Cartoonist and author Liana Finck gets it, and she's coming out with a new book that might be able to help. Or at least, help make readers with similar experiences feel seen. As a new mom, Finck began illustrating her early years of motherhood, expressing her insecurities, frustrations and joys in language and images. The Best Mother's Day Gifts to Give the Person Who Gave You Everything In her new book How to Baby: A No-Advice-Given Guide to Motherhood, With Drawings, Finck uses her witty and lacerating cartoons (“Hobbies for Pregnant Women: Waiting on Hold with the Insurance Company”) and weaves them together with comic essays (“You Married a Brute. Worse. You’re a Nag: Go Ahead and Argue with Each Other”), tongue-in-cheek lists (“Nesting. The Comprehensive List of What to Buy and Why Getting Things Used Is Dangerous and Unamerican”), and observations that will make readers go "huh, I never thought about it that way." Below, Finck offered PEOPLE a taste of what we can expect in How to Baby, out April 30. 01 of 11 Ten Unsolicited Tips for New Moms Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck First piece of advice: Listen to no one, especially not the people whose advice is already living rent-free in your brain and especially not lists you find on the Internet. 02 of 11 Get Your Sleep Now Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck Go ahead and hit snooze because once the baby's here, forget it. And if you're already a parent, you may recognize the posture above as basically inevitable. How Stars Celebrated Mother's Day 2023 03 of 11 Even If You Weren't a Yoga Person Before, You'll Love Prenatal Yoga Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck Hey, parenting changes a person. This is the time to stop thinking about those people who have said things like "have you ever tried yoga?" 04 of 11 Congratulations! You're Pregnant! Now Go Buy All the Stuff! Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck You thought shopping for yourself was fun? Try shopping for baby. A whole new family member means a whole new level of justification. Go forth and capitalize. 05 of 11 Get Your Baby on a Schedule Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck Even if they come out of the womb a tiny anarchist. 06 of 11 Don't Listen to the Breastfeeding Zealots Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck In fact, "don't listen to zealots" is good advice, in general. 07 of 11 Don't Listen to the Anti-Breastfeeding Zealots Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck So many people, so many opinions, so little actual science. The best person to tell you whether you're feeding your baby properly is your pediatrician. 08 of 11 Your Parental Instinct Will Guide You Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck Don't worry if you're confused. You're supposed to be, especially if you've never done this before. PEOPLE's Best Books of April 2024: Salman Rushdie's Memoir and New Romance from Emily Henry 09 of 11 You Can—and Should—Stop Caring About Anything Else in Your Life Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck Perfect eyeliner? Forget it. Real pants? Thing of the past. Not having schmutz on your shirt? Not a chance. Welcome to your new standards. 10 of 11 Don't Let Anyone See You've Changed—Or You'll Lose Everything You've Worked So Hard For Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck You know, just in case you need something to spiral about while trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in tonight. 11 of 11 Remember to Savor Every Moment. Are You Savoring? Drawn by Liana Finck. Liana Finck If you dare to zone out for one, single second, you'll miss your baby's entire childhood and they'll grow up to write a book about their terrible childhood. Hey, you've been warned. Close