One Size Doesn't Fit All

The tiger mom versus the mom who had no follow through -– Wow! These ladies really put me to the test, because neither in my mind had the right answer when it comes to parenting. As with almost everything I can think of, you need balance (not a thing I found with these moms) and the ability to be flexible so that you can nurture your child's individual personality -- there is no one size fits all when it comes to parenting!

Can we stop for a moment though and comment on Jessica's pink, club-tastic closet? I know, I know, I digress! I felt like I needed a martini while I was standing in there. If I had a closet like that, it would be hard to ever actually put on jeans. I think I'd come out constantly over-dressed and definitely in head-to-toe sparkles!

I am sure the sleep training probably seemed a little harsh, but as any parent knows, to be good at it one not only needs to sleep but your child needs to have sleep and healthy doses of it. A child with an unhealthy and interrupted night time ritual and sleep pattern often has problems at school and is far less happy during the day. I mean it's obvious being tired is no fun for anyone, especially not a little one. Unfortunately the quickest way to a restful night’s sleep is very hard on the old heart strings. It’s called the extinction method and asks for you to put your child down to sleep and then not go back in again. Believe me, it's tough. Daron has to sit on me when we do it with our kids, but they are always so much happier once you can lay them down and they can go to sleep and stay asleep unassisted. I know, I know, you are probably thinking, “What a heartless bitch,” but trust me. I am a push over about many things, but sleep is not one of them, and ultimately my children thank me for it. Sleep training, however, cannot start until your babe is four-months-old and at least fourteen pounds. But in my experience most parents wait longer, until the babe is over six-months-old.

Speaking of sleep, I've had very little of it as baby Vivienne is only one-week-old. You'll have to forgive me if my blog posts get a little loopy, but when one is writing them at 3 in the morning while pumping they tend to be a little strange!