a funny thing

This is so funny to me. If you have known me for at least 6 months, you know that I really really struggled with this whole baby thing in the beginning. And, when I say beginning, I mean like the first, oh, four months. There are about a million parenting philosphies out there, but I chose to follow BabyWise. It's all about schedule and routine and parent-directed feeding and a baby that sleeps through the night by eight weeks. Sign me up!

Well, it was h-a-r-d. Oh, there are so many things I could say to this. I was frusterated. Breast-feeding didn't initially work. I couldn't keep Waylon awake long enough to get the full feeding the book said he needed. It took him to 10 weeks to finally sleep through the night and even then, he woke up several times.

It's so crazy, now that I'm trying to list all the ways it was sooo hard, I can't think of any. But, trust me. I had a hard time. I wanted things to be exactly like all the books I had read in preparation said they would be. And they weren't. Nothing was. And I felt like I was failing. Or Waylon was failing. Bless his little heart, I was so hard on him in those first months.

We changed some things. Let go of a lot. We got it together and now it's positively dreamy. One of the biggest lessons I've learned is to not put too much bank in books. Each parenting book should start with a disclaimer: 'We're glad you purchased this book. Please know that by simply reading this book, you are not guaranteed an ideal outcome. Really, we can not guarantee you anything. You will read this. You will believe what you are reading is real. And you will think you are crazy when nothing happens like what you have read. Happy reading! Look for our follow up book -'Raising the Perfect Toddler.' That's what they should say. Every last one of them.

There is such a perfect picture painted of the first months of a baby's life. It is supposedly intimate and sweet and peaceful and whispery. The hazey new mother adjusts to sleepless nights naturally and with grace. The baby opens wide its tiny mouth and latches to the doting mother's breast with ease. Humming. Rocking. Cooing. Bonding. Lots of bonding.

Well, I'm here to tell you (especially you soon-to-be or already-are new mothers) that it's not always like that. If you're reading this thinking, 'But it was like that for me and my baby...sigh,' then you have not recovered from pregnancy brain and you are in fact completely diluted. No doubt. Don't get me wrong. It is defintely the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am truly living the life I have always dreamed of. But, the beginning was hard. And hard times still sneak in here and there. I mean, we're raising actual people here.

Now to the funny part. I follow this blog 'Chronicles of a BabyWise Mom.' As a BW mom myself, I love it. It's very informative and helpful. But, there was a question posted by a new mom that's struggling a little bit, so (of course) I gave her my two cents. And she asked more questions of me. And then, another mom asked me questions. So, here I am, giving BW advice to questioning moms. Is that funny to you?

Joey said he was going to write a new parenting book - The How to Raise a Baby Without a Book Book. I told him, I'd probably read that one, too!