Whatever makes you a more sane, healthier, happier person ALSO makes you a better parent.
Don't feel you HAVE to do something, like breastfeeding or co-sleeping or "My Baby Can Read" or making all your own babyfood or taking care of every middle-of-the-night feeding... And don't feel you can't take a little time off from being mommy once in a while.
The best thing you can do for your child is to be a functional human being, so driving yourself crazy about how to be the best mom you can be is just shooting yourself in the foot. Remember that nobody's perfect, that you are a human being first and a mother second, and that you will do a great job, no matter what somebody else might think about your parenting. It's not easy to genuinely screw up being a mom, but it is easy to drive yourself to the brink of insanity. So stay away from the brink, and keep yourself otherwise happy and healthy enough to really enjoy the rest of parenthood.
Try to take in and enjoy the experience. Put things into your memory forever. This probably sounds cliche, but it goes fast. My oldest is 16 and I struggle to remember his younger years because I felt like I spent so much time just trying to cope. It's a precious and fun time, try to treat it as such.
Great advice Tristi I would like to add find time to do something for yourself. That way you will not be overwhelmed with all that you have to do. Take 20 min. a day just for you. Relax, write a poem, take a power nap. Let your husband watch the baby during that time and don't bother them as they bond.
My gut response was to "Guard your sleep! Get as much as you can, when you can, because there is not a single good parenting decision borne from exhaustion."
Then I thought how that wasn't really parenting advice. I think what I would say is this: "Spend time getting to know your kids. They all have a certain energy, demeanor, attitude from the very beginning. Their stories are yet unwritten, and as much as you may want to write an ending for them, the best parents I know are more thrilled by the surprises in their kids stories than they are about needing to write-their-own-ending." The best decision I have made is to be excited about watching our kids' stories unfold...I just help them turn the pages.
Follow your instincts. If your gut is telling you to do something, do it. It might not be what your mother would have done, but this is your baby, and you've been blessed with the right instincts to take care of it.
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Whatever makes you a more sane, healthier, happier person ALSO makes you a better parent.
Don't feel you HAVE to do something, like breastfeeding or co-sleeping or "My Baby Can Read" or making all your own babyfood or taking care of every middle-of-the-night feeding... And don't feel you can't take a little time off from being mommy once in a while.
The best thing you can do for your child is to be a functional human being, so driving yourself crazy about how to be the best mom you can be is just shooting yourself in the foot. Remember that nobody's perfect, that you are a human being first and a mother second, and that you will do a great job, no matter what somebody else might think about your parenting. It's not easy to genuinely screw up being a mom, but it is easy to drive yourself to the brink of insanity. So stay away from the brink, and keep yourself otherwise happy and healthy enough to really enjoy the rest of parenthood.
My gut response was to "Guard your sleep! Get as much as you can, when you can, because there is not a single good parenting decision borne from exhaustion."
Then I thought how that wasn't really parenting advice. I think what I would say is this: "Spend time getting to know your kids. They all have a certain energy, demeanor, attitude from the very beginning. Their stories are yet unwritten, and as much as you may want to write an ending for them, the best parents I know are more thrilled by the surprises in their kids stories than they are about needing to write-their-own-ending." The best decision I have made is to be excited about watching our kids' stories unfold...I just help them turn the pages.