Advice I have for others - hmm...there are so many different directions to go with this one, but since my world revolves around babies and parenting - I'm going to go that way today. You may or may not have heard of the book Babywise. It's one of those things that you either love and swear by or you hear "do anything but Babywise!!"
Anyway, this is not a review of the book/program to promote or reject it - but two of the best pieces of advice I've heard for my parenting came from this book! The first, "begin as you intend to go" - it is soo much easier to stick with a plan, whatever it is, than it is to unlearn habits and retrain yourself or your child in a new direction - it's hard to feel confident and stick with a plan, but it is worth it. The second is to trust your parenting intuition. It isn't about a clock or a rule or one parenting philosophy or another - pick and choose your philosophy - follow your heart and your child's leading - what works for others may or may not work for you and your child and it isn't about them anyway! God gave this child to you - he created him or her expressly to be your child and He will make sure you know what to do (and that is true in the hard and easy times) and it's important to always remember that God never gives us any more than we can handle and we can do all things through Christ! He will be your guide and your strength - trust in Him - and yourself!
