10 Years Since I Forgot To Take My Pill (and wrote a book about it!)

Well. Would you look at that. It’s been TEN YEARS since I unleashed I Forgot to Take My Pill! An Honest Diary of a First-Time Mum into the world – and no one’s called child services..yet.

From Blog Rants to Book Deals (Sort of)

Back in 2010, in the absolute mire of becoming a mother for the first time, I did what any frazzled woman with Wi-Fi and a questionable filter would do: I started blogging about it. Those rants, confessions and “why won’t this fkn baby sleep?!” moments eventually turned into a book; part memoir, part therapy session.

It was never meant to be literature. It was meant to say, “Hey. I’m losing my mind. You?” And apparently, a lot of you were. You beautiful, exhausted messes. (PS Jacob started sleeping through the night when he was ten. TEN FFS)

My wee launch in 2015 at Chez Max, Dublin

What’s It About Again?

It’s not a parenting manual. It’s a warning (!)
I Forgot to Take My Pill! is an honest (too honest?!) account of first-time pregnancy and all the madness that comes with it, right up to having Jacob and precisely how wild and emotional and ridiculous and fabulous becoming a fist-time mam was. And also how poo became such a huge part of my life.

If you ever felt like you were failing at parenthood just because you didn’t have a pastel-filtered Instagram life, this book was for you. And still is.

People Actually Read It?!

To my absolute shock, it resonated with people. Readers from all over sent messages saying things like:

  • “This book made me laugh, cry, and seriously consider birth control.”
  • “Finally, someone says it like it is – messy, maddening, and occasionally magical.”
  • “I read this while breastfeeding at 3am. You owe me a new phone; I dropped mine laughing.”

Honestly, connecting with other parents through our collective insanity has been one of the great joys of my life. That, and getting to say “I’m a writer” out loud has been pretty cool.

Listed as one of the 'Best 10 Baby Books For New Mums' by Mum's Grapevine in Australia!

10 Years On: Still Unfiltered, Still Undone

So what’s changed in 10 years?

  • I had a second kid (I Forgot To Take My Pill… AGAIN?!).
  • I wrote more stuff (this book lead me to write for HerFamily.ie and FamilyFriendlyHQ.ie).
  • And I’ve learned that being a parent never gets easier. You just get better at hiding in the bathroom with snacks.

Thank you to everyone who bought the book, shared it, recommended it, or read it while hiding from your toddler in a laundry basket. You are my people.

Here’s to another 10 years of surviving, swearing and sharing the madness. And maybe remembering to take our pill next time.

‘I Forgot To Take My Pill!’ is available to buy on Amazon, along with Sharyn’s second book, ‘Newborns Are Awesome!’ (the irony!) and a third to be launched late 2025. Follow her author profile on Amazon for all updates here: https://www.amazon.com/author/sharynhayden