Happy Parents

My brother and his wife welcomed their baby boy just a day before Hans turned 6! A first for them as well as a first for my boys who were eagerly awaiting a cousin on their Momley's side of the family. There has been much joy at this arrival. There have also been moments of self-doubt as with all new parents.

My sister-in-law, the lovely new mom, has been most affected! She constantly worries that she is probably not being a good parent. She wonders when her son cries for a few minutes if she is not comforting him enough!‎ She asks me how I dealt with my own 2 boys. She believes I must have been quite good.

Actually, I was as much in self-doubt as she is now for the first few weeks‎ of ASid's life. I constantly questioned my competency. Perhaps all new parents feel that way; it is a learning phase. First time parenting becomes almost like a trial and error "experiment"; eventually, there are successful outcomes! Some parents get there sooner than others and it's OK; this is not a race!

I have personally witnessed a few new mom meltdowns. I know of new moms who have gone crazy staying home with a baby. They all felt guilty. Is it OK to be happy at the thought of going back to work once the maternity leave is up? Yes, absolutely! I believe that all of us parents need to do what makes us happy. At the end of a day, a happy parent is a good parent (regardless of all the errors we invariably make). But, then again, there is no such thing as a "happy parent"! We all do what we need to do and there are certainly unhappy moments.

When an adult can look back and say s/he had a happy childhood, ‎then his/her parents did a good job! I'd like to believe that they had happy parents :)

So, all new parents out there..."Don't worry; Be happy"...what a nice little song to hum through parenthood.