- Stop comparing yourself to other moms! Breaking news: there is no prize for Mom of the Year. Just because you don’t breastfeed until your baby can speak 3 languages or juice the organic vegetables you grow in your backyard does not make you a bad mother.
- Stop comparing your baby to other babies. So your best friend’s baby started walking at 6 months and reciting the alphabet backwards at 8 and your baby is almost a year, still army crawling and trying to eat every stuffed animal she owns? So what. Every baby is different and
perfect in their own way. If your best friend’s baby tries to sled down the stairs headfirst tomorrow, would you wish your baby did the same? - Trust your instincts. You know your baby more than anyone else. Advice is great, but ultimately go with your gut feeling.
- Stop and enjoy the moments. Between never ending laundry, washing bottles and picking up a trail of toys for the 45th time today, it’s hard to stop and take it all in. But take a few minutes every day with no television, no phone and just watch your little one experience the world. It’s a guaranteed smile.
- Give yourself a break. You are your harshest critic. No one is going to fault you for the dishes piled up in your sink or for the fact that you haven’t showered in a week. You have a baby. Let the unimportant things go- there will always be time to fold the laundry, but snuggles before bedtime only comes once a day.
