The Swayings of the Mind...

Parenting is ... hard. Very hard. Constantly swaying back and forth between too hard, too easy, too strict, not strict enough. Where is the line? Is it normal for her to act this way? Is this because I don't discipline her enough? Is it because I am too strict?

I know most people say babies don't come with an instruction manual...however, I feel like ours did thanks to our amazing pediatrician's notes. Those notes are filled to the brim with insightful tips and suggestions of how to get your baby to sleep on their own, sleep through the night, not be a picky eater and so on. The only problem with these notes, is they stop being as thorough once the kid gets to be about two. So, I feel like for the past two years, we've been on our own.

Now that we've added Isaac into the mix, it's an entirely different set of battling questions and guilt going on. Is she acting this way because of Isaac? Am I paying him too much attention? And honestly...when can I just sit down???

All in all, I cannot complain...not for one second. I don't think I am, really. It's just a vent, trying to sort things out.

I guess the lesson is...there are no easy strides in parenting. Maybe I just thought once we got through the terrible THREES (the twos were easy for us!), and we had a handle on how to parent that stage, then there really wouldn't be that many surprises until the wonderful teenage years. (Oh how stupid that sounds now that I see it written down...)

One day at a time! For I know, before I blink again, these 'trying' days will be long gone. Still learning to live in the moment...