Cured

 Disclaimer:  I know I've rambled and ranted about this before.  But this time, I am even more serious about it than the time before.  I am a recovering addict of "taking parenting books too seriously" and writing about it helps me.  Feel free to skip the words and look at the cute pics (with captions) if you wish.

All decked out and ready for my uncle's birthday celebration.

 I haven't written and rambled about motherhood lately.

  Where we are and how we've adjusted.

  At roughly 8.5 months, I really feel like I am finally relaxing about it, really enjoying it.

It's about time, you say.

I've finally quit worrying about every little thing.

  Yes, I still worry here and there but have learned to let a lot go.

This is more like it...

 It took me a while to realize that things with babies change so quickly.

She won't take a good nap.

She won't eat.

She whines and doesn't want to play.

Nothing makes her happy.

So what.

It will change.

Let me out of here.

 The flip side.

Wow, what good naps she takes.

What a great dinner she ate.

She is in such a great mood today.

She played with her toys for hours!

And tomorrow that will change too.

Helping mom cook desserts for Sunday family dinner

 And that is life and that is how humans are.

This is common sense, I realize.

But if you are like me (and just happen to be a struggling mom right now) and you read books and articles, sometimes you evaluate everything that happens and try to make sense of it and you blame yourself for doing something wrong.  "If I could only figure out the perfect time to put her down for a nap she would be the happiest baby ever.  If I fed her the right things at the right time, she would sleep through the night."

I thought we might want to add some sausage to the menu.

 We all want happy babies.

But they are human like us.

They have bad days too. (Tomorrow is a new day!)

And they have extra good days too. (Enjoy those!)

Our new doggie is adjusting well.  We named her Dandy tonight.  Dandy is short for Dandelion since we have a thing for flower names.

 Sometimes babies wake up in the middle of the night like us and want a snack.

Lily's father probably wakes up 3 out of the 7 days of the week to have a bowl of cereal at 3:00 am, so how would I not expect her to do the same?!

She is a growing girl and comes from two hungry parents.

And I don't want to let her cry it out to fall back asleep as some books suggest.

So I feed her.

Bath time at Grandma's house

 I used to read about how different cries mean different things-like hunger, sleepy, cold/hot.

I felt like a failure because I had no idea what any of Lily's cries meant.

But I finally kind of know what she wants some of the time.

Not all of the time, but do I even know what I want all of the time?

Playing after Sunday family dinner

 And when I don't know what is wrong, I just love and hold her and try to comfort her.

I no longer worry about how holding her too much might spoil her or about how she likes to be rocked to fall asleep.  I now cherish those moments as I cuddle and rub my face against her fuzzy head...without even a tad of guilt anymore.

That is really refreshing.

No guilt about the things I FEEL like I am supposed to do.

If God did not want us to hold our babies, he would not have made them so small, right?

Lily eats toys while John has a brownie.

 I don't think I've ever heard another parent regret holding their babies too much.

They really are only little once so why not enjoy the things that come along with being little.

Kissing cousins

 When you read something, the authors make it sound so easy.

Like if you do this, this and this, everything will be so much better.

I know it is mostly me being crazy.

I couldn't keep all the info from driving me nuts.
Even though I was no longer caught up in trying to figure out a schedule and realized that each book was just one opinion of many out there, I still let certain phrases and concepts hang over my head.
Those are finally gone!
And that is how I know I am cured.

Hanging out on the front porch

 Every baby is different.

And if it does not feel right as a parent, don't feel bad about doing it your own way.
(Heck, there is probably even a book out there that tells you to do it that way.)

"Oh, you want a picture of my new tooth...we'll see about that."

 I used to.

It was even to the point to where it made things hard between Lily's daddy and me.
He wanted to do what I felt like doing but tried not to since the books said not to...

Yes, we are a little messy during mealtime.  Lily almost refuses to wear a bib as she rips it off and then tries to rip her shirt off after the bib is gone so we usually skip that step and stain treat all garments.  Thank goodness for the stain treatment trick my cousin taught me.  Lily's eating manners take after her father.

 I am probably the only one that gets caught up so much in what the books/Dr's. etc. tell me to do.

Still not showing you my tooth.

 Reading is ok.  I think it does help.

I had no idea of what to do with a baby so reading needed to happen so I'd have a clue of where to start, ideas and methods to try.

You just can't be crazy like me and take it so serious.

Realize that even though the book made it sound so easy, raising a baby is anything but easy.

Clapping for the dogs

 I just wanted something to tell me what to do.

I was clueless.

Dandy is getting a little more meat on her bones.

 I am not far from clueless now, but am truly enjoying learning my baby and going with the flow.

I have fun hanging out with her.

More puppies=more smiles

 We are learning and growing together.

"Daddy, do you think I should let mom get the picture she wants?"

 My patience has become greater.

"First, I'll test it out on your finger."

 My creativity has grown.

Well, there is it.

 I am proud of the person my daughter is making me.

But that is more of what I had in mind!  I will miss those gums.  So cute.  But little teeth are pretty darn cute too.

And believe I am fully cured of my "taking parenting books too seriously" addiction.