My ABCs

I recently saw an 'ABC's of Advice' on another blog and decided to do one myself.

Here's my ABC's of Advice for the first year of parenthood!

Accept help. Dishes, baby-minding, washing... Do yourself a favour and just say yes.

Be kind to yourself. It's a tough gig!

Crying will become a daily event.

Dry shampoo. You're welcome.

Every child is different, don't compare too much.

Farts. Baby farts are LOUD! You'll wonder exactly HOW your little angel made that sound.

Giggles. You will spend so much of your time trying to make baby laugh. The best part of my day is making E laugh.

Hard. It's definitely trying at times. You'll second guess yourself, you'll cry. You'll wonder if you can even do it. You can - it gets easier. Promise.

Instincts. Trust them. 

Joy. Find joy in the little things.

Kisses. Baby kisses are glorious and slobbery and delightful. I think I cried the first time E kissed me back.

Love. You will feel more love than you ever even thought possible. Sometimes it's immediate, sometimes it can take months, it will come and it will knock your socks off.

Make time for yourself.

No one has the 'right answer' or knows the 'right way' to do it.

Overreact. Try not to. Those first bumps on the head, fat lips, scraped knees. Try and be calm and composed, your little one will look to you to see if things are OK. This is a hard one but I've found it so helpful. Now when E falls he just kind of checks himself to make sure he's not hurting and goes back to playing.

Play. It's so important in baby's first year. 

Quiet time is rare, savour it.

Routine. Do your best to get one, life is SO much easier with a routine. Your routine might be completely different to the next person, and that's ok. Just work something out that suits your life.

Sex. What's that? (Be prepared for your love life to wane at least a little but probably a lot).

This too shall pass - it's been my mantra. It gets me through the hard days and makes me appreciate

the good ones.

Understanding. Do your best to be understanding of your partner, they're going through it too. No matter who gives birth, it's a massive journey for everyone.

Valuim... Just kidding ;)

Wrinkles! They're coming for you ;)

Xylophones are great, but they'll just chew on the stick for most of their first year.

Your life will be an amazing roller coaster. 

Zzzzzz... Sleep will reach a whole new level of importance! Get as much as you can.