The Rookie Mama

You rock her. Sway and shush, but to no avail. You wear a track into your living room carpet, and jog up and down the stairs with her but no...the shrieking, the wailing continues. So you strap her into her carseat, hop in the Nissan, and go for a late night spin around town. The cries turn to whimpers turn to sighs turn to silence. Ahhhh... Then you walk in the front door, set her down as gently as possible, and your husband sneezes. WAAAHHH! There are rough times. And the instances of unrelenting crying make up a large portion of those times. As we've gotten into more of a routine, and I feel more competent and relaxed with day-to-day baby care, it's these moments of gut-wrenching, ear-splitting crying that continue to grind my gears. That, like nothing else, will shorten my temper and bring me to the brink of my own frustrated tears. Rookie mamas like me, please know: there will be times when your beautiful little babe cries for minutes or hours on end and there is

You grab the little radar gun and go running amok through Babies R Us, zapping anything and everything to add to your registry. You pore over customer reviews to pick the BEST *insert baby item here*, weighing the pros and cons, pitting similar items against each other, creating lists or God-help-us Excel sheets for comparison. We North Americans are in a materialistic society. And makers of all things baby have preyed on the desperate vulnerability of new parents. Thus, we are inundated with stuff - the doodads and whatsits that we are told will make parenting easier and more effective. Just spend hundreds of retail dollars and you will raise a Mozart-playing LeBron Einstein that walks at 6 months and recites poetry coming out of the womb. Helpful and time-saving equipment does exist out there, and has indeed made some aspects of parenting easier. But rookie mamas like me, please know: it is not things that make you a good mom. The best, top-of-the-line bouncer/car seat/crib/etc.

The purpose of this blog is twofold: first, to show other new parents that they are not alone. Above all, my goal is to share real experiences as a rookie mama with other newbie moms and dads, so they know what they're going through is both normal and temporary. Second, I want to be truthful. I want to express my joy at the bright and beautiful parts of new parenthood, and I want to share the difficult and trying times as well. Taking on the mommy role is far from easy, and although creating this little girl with someone I love has been the best thing I've ever done, there are times I want to cry or scream or run away. And I refuse to gloss over those times.  When someone asks us how we're doing, most of us automatically respond in the positive. But when we're a brand new parent, and someone is genuinely wanting to know how it's going, why is it that so many of us reach again for that automatic answer? Yes, sometimes it is great - she's feeding wonderfully and