This week I am really appreciating other bloggers who are honest about their parenting woes and who also can approach parenting with a sense of humor.

In Fine Form

Because Sometimes the Tantrums Need to be Captured, Too

Several weeks ago, my friend Erin (hey Erin!) shared with me a post from her pastor called To the Parents of small children: let me be the one who says it out loud. I looked this post up again on Wednesday after an incredibly trying day with my son who is teething (molars! Ugh) and recovering from a bad cold. Are they related? I don’t know… it doesn’t really matter at this point. He was not feeling well, demanding, hungry (he woouldn’t eat), tired (he wouldn’t sleep), and just plain nasty. If you feel like a bad parent (I did on Wednesday) and feel like you just can’t or don’t want to do it anymore (me!), read this post. You are not alone. And “you’re not a terrible parent.”

If you’re at a loss over what to do with your baby who just won’t sleep and confused about all of the “experts” out there who conflict, you might relate to this mom. My favorite piece of advice: Don’t let your baby sleep too long, except when they’ve been napping too much, then you should wake them. Never wake a sleeping baby. Any baby problem can be solved by putting them to bed earlier, even if they are waking up too early. If your baby wakes up too early, put them to bed later or cut out a nap. Don’t let them nap after 5 pm. Sleep begets sleep, so try to get your child to sleep as much as possible. Put the baby to bed awake but drowsy. Don’t wake the baby if it fell asleep while nursing.

Or, if you just want some ingenious ideas on how to care for your children and keep your sanity, check out these 36 Little Hacks. (Thanks for sharing, Kimberly!) I’m especially excited about the vapor rub solution (#16) and pushing the swing from afar (#34) (kidding!).

Hopefully my blog has been a stop that has refreshed you, too. I like being here. 😉