meditations of a blueberry

So, you just had a baby. Your first. Your heart is flowing with love for this little life that you created (or not! Sometimes it takes longer to bond for some moms, and that's okay too!). You're on your way home from the hospital (or snuggling in your bed post homebirth). You know your life is going to change, but you have no idea how much. Laundry will pile up and be a permanent fixture in your home. The odd time that you finish it, your child will immediately spill something or their diaper will leak or they'll spit up all down your back. Your walls will never be clean for more than five minutes again. If you're lucky, you will get to clean them when the kids aren't home and they will stay clean for as long as they are gone. "I'm hungry" and "Why?" will become the soundtrack to your life. A trip to the grocery store alone will feel like a vacation. In fact, you will start considering that "me time." You will be so tired that ...

For some reason, when you become a parent people think they need to offer you advice, ask bizarre questions and tell you their horror stories. These offers of unsolicited advice actually start when you are pregnant , and don't end with birth. Even with E being almost 17 months, I am still receiving advice I never asked for! It can get quite frustrating, as there are as many ways to parent your children as there are parents. And just because something worked for one child doesn't mean it will work for another. E is currently going through something (developmental leap?) that is affecting his sleep like nothing else has before. He wakes up constantly, and does NOT want to sleep in his crib. He will sleep on you, but the second you try to put him down in his own bed, he screams. Thank goodness that mrblueberry is an engaged partner who participates in the nighttime parenting. If I had to do this alone, I think I would likely pull out my hair. In my complaining about his sleep issu...