Lessons in Trust

Just a quick thought today.  Parenting is a lesson in trusting God on a daily basis.

Mommy Guilt

Currently, I have been wracked with a ton of Mommy guilt!  Since I am on lifting restrictions, I cannot pick up anything heavier than Ladybug.  Six weeks of recovery is a very long time and a very hard adjustment for Sweetpea.  To make matters worse, she came down with a stomach virus and wanted her Mommy to hold her and cuddle.  Sweetpea could sit next to me and rock but I could not put her to bed or hold her on my lap.  Even as my rational side argued, I was assuaged with guilt, tons and tons of Mommy guilt, for what I cannot do.
As the guilt threatens to overtake me and bring me way down, I am reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9.  "And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”"  This verse was one I would cling to the last few weeks of pregnancy when I felt like I could not go on any longer.  His Grace was sufficient to keep me humble when I would lose my patience with Buddy and Sweetpea.  And His Grace will be sufficient to allow me to work through this hard time in parenting and adjustment in our household. 
The weakness that I feel right now allows me to lean on His strength and trust that God has given me Buddy, Sweetpea, and Ladybug.  He knew that I would be parenting them and that I would be feeling this guilt.  His strength is given when mistakes are made, when tempers are lost, and when guilt threatens to drown out all reason.  There is grace in knowing that Sweetpea will not remember this time and grace in knowing that she will still love me as Mommy anyway.  Guilt cannot keep its hold on me when I repeat 2 Corinthians 12:9 to myself several times a day.  "My grace is sufficient for you."

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

Now that Ladybug is here, I have been re-reading one of my favorite books about babies. Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg with Melinda Blau was one of the two books that primarily shaped the way I established our routine with Buddy and Sweetpea.  And now that Ladybug is over a week old, I'll begin working on her routine as well.
One of my favorite sayings from this book is "Start as you mean to go on" which means to begin life with your child as you see life in the future.  Right now Ladybug is sleeping on top of us at night instead of in her bed but I know when she is older, I do not want to have her on my chest at night.  So our goal with her right now is to begin to work on her sleeping in her bed. 
Using acronyms like E.A.S.Y (Eat, Activity, Sleep, You) and S.L.O.W (Stop, Listen, Observe, What's Up), Tracy Hogg's principles are a breeze to follow and easy to understand even while lacking sleep!  The biggest thing that I appreciate is the development of a routine, not a schedule, but a routine of what to expect.  This not only helps the baby adjust to their new life but helps the parents know how to plan their days.  I, by nature, am a planner and so having Buddy, Sweetpea, and Ladybug on a flexible routine gives me more peace of mind.  The key word in parenting is flexibility and so if adjustments need to be made during the day, they can be easily made to our routine. 
If you are a new parent or expecting a child, check this book out!  As with every parenting book though, take the advice with a grain of salt and do what fits your lifestyle best.  Happy Parenting!