Motherhood

Motherhood! Soon after Emmanuelle was born someone asked me how I liked motherhood. I did not really have any comments other than the polite "It is great". Maybe it was too soon, since I am just now getting used to the idea that she is ours and we are not just babysitting, nobody is coming to get her, she is here to stay! Now I can say that motherhood IS great but definetly harder than I thought.

Of course we want to do the best for our child but don't always know what the best is. Often I find myself torned between all the different theory of parenting. And what if I don't do the right thing and messes her up for the rest of her life. How can I make sure that the doctor never gives me the "Spoiled child" handout? How can I make sure that my baby will end up a good person?

One of the question you are sure to get when talking about your 6 month old baby is "Is she good and sleeps through the nights". You start wondering if your baby is not sleeping through the nights does that make her a "bad" baby. Is she abnormal because she does not sleep through the nights? Should I let her cry to sleep or should I rock her to sleep? Should I let her sleep in our bed on Saturday mornings?

Well Emmanuelle will fall asleep on the breast and is sleeping through the nights on occasions. Sometimes she will wake up 2-3 times per nights. Maybe it is because of the guilt of only seeing her awake for 3 hours a day, but I really cherish and almost look forward to the time that we have alone at night. Mommy guilt is way worst than sleep deprivation and Emma is a GOOD baby eventhough so does not sleep through the nights.

Being a parent changes you. On the one hand you become completely intolerant of truly bad or neglectful parenting. On the other you realize that people are different, there are very few "right" ways to do things, what may work for you and your family may not work for others (or even for baby #2), and that even the most loving and caring parents can make mistakes sometimes.