Yesterday I visited a good friend that just had a first baby about a week ago. I brought my typical three pieces of parental advice:
- Sleep when the baby sleeps
- Whatever it is that the baby is going through, remember that it is only a stage
- Don’t listen to anyone’s advice on parenting, including mine
I realize the first one is basically impossible to follow – kind of like suggesting that eating less and exercise are the way to lose weight – easy to say but difficult to implement. The second one we learned with our second child – by this point we knew that teething would pass eventually, she would stop puking at some stage and even diapers would not be necessary. Puts things into perspective. The last one is really just “go with your instincts”. While there are many valuable lessons to be learned from others, nothing like first hand experience with your child can compare. I think that my friend really took this last one to heart, given his response to my advice.