Tuesday, July 26, 2011

trusting your gut.

I think this might be my final post on the intangibles that get you through having a baby. I know you're saddened. Tremendously.

The thing you've got to do is trust your gut. You have to have confidence in what you're doing. Babies are like dogs. They smell fear. I'm not saying that you have to know everything about everything when it comes to babies because you can't, I'm saying that you just need to believe in yourself. Really, I think that's true of life. Period. I truly believe that if I make a choice and have to hem and haw over it, it's not the right decision. A good decision is a good decision, and 99% of the time, you'll know it in your bones. If you'll just listen to your bones.

You need that with kids. There are so many people who will tell you so many things, and lots of those things are good and helpful. But so many of those things might not work for you or your family, and you have to be able to realize that and go with it. Frankly, there are very few things in life that you can't do over, so it's okay to be wrong. Just be willing and able to keep moving forward.

It's like our sleep insanity right now. When I posted on Facebook that I needed opinions on Babywise and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, I think I got more comments than I did about T's birth. Everyone who has kids has an opinion, and they all want to help. I ended up picking up a copy of Babywise, and all it did was confirm what I already knew...that I am going to have to let my baby cry. I'm okay with needing that book to give me a nudge, but I've generally found that all parenting resources are like that. Reading them doesn't tell you how to be a parent, reading them shows you that you already know how.

Here's to trusting your gut.

2 comments:

Sarah Berry said...

Love this post - perfect in every way.

Melissa said...

I could not agree more. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, but as it pertains to EVERYTHING in life. I read this line in a book the other day...."get to know your gut, and then listen to it". I can think of no better advice to follow. Thanks for confirming it again!!!