About my book!

With this ultimate beginner’s handbook to raising a baby you can breastfeed like any good attachment parent and then ease your baby into sleeping through the night like the best of the “we-still-go-out-for-date-night” parents. Because here’s a little secret: You don’t have to pick one or the other. You can do both! 

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Writer and new-mom coach Susan Vukadinovic has met with hundreds of mommas at pre-natal and new-baby workshops, and she has woven together their collective, common-sense wisdom in this new book for new parents of the 2020s. 

Inside you’ll find tips for breastfeeding, sleeping and weaning to solids. And there’s a little bit more but not too much more because—let’s be honest now—you’ve got this. We both know you don’t need a comprehensive book that covers *everything*. This book covers just the big stuff, with parent-tested and parent-approved step-by-step instructions that will take you from pregnancy and the minutes after birth all the way to your baby’s third birthday. 

With the right information and support, you can totally nail your new parenting gig. 

In Calgary, Alberta at:

• Baby + Me Maternity Boutique (at their Willow Park location in the south and at their Varsity location in the north)

• Owl's Nest Books in south-central Calgary (located in Britannia Plaza)

• Indigo Books in Chinook Mall

• Shelf Life Books in the Beltline neighbourhood

• Monkeyshines Children's Store in the Marda Loop neighbourhood

• Wild Honey Boutique, where you'll find the ultimate, curated baby-gift shopping experience, also in Marda Loop

• The Cardroom at Kricket's, where you'll find a delightful assortment of perfect gifts for the babies, Swifties, Harry Styles fans and other fun people in your life (and, wouldn't you know, also located in Marda Loop)

• Pages on Kensington in north-central Calgary

• Dragonfly Maternity (located on Centre Street in Tuxedo Park, in north-central Calgary)

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In Edmonton, Alberta at:

• Audreys Books in downtown Edmonton

• Coles Books in Londonderry Mall, in Edmonton's northeast

• Indigo Books in North Town Centre, in north central Edmonton

• Chapters Westside, located on 170th Street, a few blocks away from WEM

• IndigoSpirit in Southgate Centre

• Indigo Southpoint, located in the deep south off Calgary Trail

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In Invermere, BC at:

• Mama + Fawn Co., one of the cutest baby stores I've ever seen!

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You can also order my online book through:

• Birth Supplies Canada Inc. (this midwifery supplies store sells my book for both individual purchase and wholesale) 

• Indigo

• Barnes & Noble

• Amazon.ca (the Canadian site)

• Amazon.com (the U.S. site)

• Your favourite bookstore! 

I'm so glad you asked! If you're interested in a small volume on consignment, you can reach me at susanvukadinovic@gmail.com. I will give you such a good deal, because I love, love, love retailers! 

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If you're looking for a large-volume order with returnable status you also have the option of ordering through your Ingram account.

The Calgary Doula Association invited me to share my story with local doulas in March 2024. Thank you, Calgary Doula Association!

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And I'm looking forward to speaking with mommas at the prenatal yoga and postnatal yoga classes at Dragonfly Maternity this spring!

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If any other clubs, groups, or new-mom friends would like me to come and introduce myself and new book, please send me an email at susanvukadinovic@gmail.com.

Writer and new-mom coach Susan Vukadinovic is an independent expert on the enjoyment of early motherhood by new mothers. Having met with hundreds of mommas at pre-natal and new-baby workshops, she has woven together their collective, common-sense wisdom in her new book for new parents of the 2020s.

Susan Vukadinovic is a writer and new-mom coach who has met with hundreds of mommas at pre-natal and new-baby workshops.

Her writing has appeared around in the world in print and online, from The Globe and Mail in Canada to the Institute of Federalism in Fribourg, Switzerland.

In 2022 she was a recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta) in recognition of her outstanding public service and dedication to education, children and community.  ​ 

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She currently lives in Calgary, in a tidy, green house, with her four favourite people and one incorrigible dog.

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The Actually Pretty Good Baby is her first book. 

Yes, seriously. A medal. 

For all you mommas out there who've ever thought, Someone should really give me a medal, for everything I'm doing around here, this ones for you, ladies! 

I did it. I got my medal. And maybe one day, I hope, you will, too.​ 

I was born in Australia to a refugee family and I moved to Canada when I was two years old. Even though I've always lived in English-speaking countries, I didn't learn English until I started school. My first language was Polish, and I can also hold a conversation in French and Ukrainian.

I grew up in 1980s Edmonton, but I've also lived in Poland, Ukraine, France, Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan. These days I am happy to be settled with my family in Calgary, which puts us only about an hour away from the fabulous hiking, biking and skiing in Alberta's Rocky Mountains.  ​ 

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I have a Bachelor of Arts degree. It just so happens that I graduated at the top of my class in Political Science. (But because I didn't go on to do a PhD in political science, nobody cares. Nobody cares.)

I also have an MBA. Both of my degrees are from the University of Alberta.

I began my career as a policy analyst, including stints with Executive Council (the Premier’s Office) in Edmonton and the City Manager’s Office in Calgary. After starting a family, I transitioned to project consulting for the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, and spent many years as a stay-at-home mom. Currently I work part-time as an elected school trustee.

It was during my stay-at-home mom years that I ran a popular workshop for expectant moms and new moms, and the hundreds of conversations I had during that period inspired me to write my book.  

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Let's see, let's see...what else?

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I have three school-aged children and I dutifully chauffeur them to hockey and piano lessons. I play a mediocre violin myself. I intermittently self-identify as a jogger, and I acknowledge that I should take my dog for more walks.

It has taken nine long years for me to bring my original idea to the printed page.

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I was a neophyte to the book industry when I started, so the challenges have been taxing. I naively assumed that it works like this: an aspiring writer pens a book-length manuscript (the exposition); then submits said manuscript to publisher after publisher (the hero's journey); followed by dozens of rejection letters (the hero's quest hits its nadir); and then finally, perhaps, a book-publishing deal comes through (hallelujah, a happy ending!). 

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I've since learned that book publishing is a closed industry, or at least difficult to break into. Most publishers won’t look at unsolicited manuscripts or work with writers who don’t come with an agent. But agents won't take on new clients who don't come with thousands of social-media followers or a celebrity platform. From the tumultuous pause of the pandemic, to the disheartening difficulty of finding anyone in the industry willing to even glance at what I wrote, to an eye-watering spike in the costs of ink and paper, it's no small feat that The Actually Pretty Good Baby exists at all.  

It's been a huge learning curve, but it's turning the corner. Now I have a book! I have a distribution deal. There's hope that there's a path for a small-potatoes, homegrown Canadian writer.

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And while the challenges have been taxing, they've also been exciting.

The things is, when you work on a project like this for so long, you have to really like it to keep going. And I do really like my little book! I'm quite pleased with what I've got. 

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I've given it so much of my time and energy because I believe in it.

If you get a chance to thumb through it, I hope you like it, too!

It depends who's asking. It's only 300 pages. That's pretty average for a book. Maybe a tad too many pages for @NateBargatze on @NBCSNL. But you can breeze through it, Momma. I know you can!