Everyone has ‘those days’ – the ones when everything that can go wrong seems to, and it doesn’t even stop long enough to catch your breath. You’re probably familiar with them from your life before Baby, but now that they're here, they somehow manage to feel even less manageable. When you’re having one of those days when everything feels like it’s falling apart, sometimes it can help to remember that those days always end, and now that Baby is a little bit older, they might even end in a decent night’s sleep. On the days when thoughts like that just won’t cut it, though, here are a few more parent-specific thoughts to keep in mind.
- Putting weird things in their mouth builds up Baby’s immune system
This is literally a ‘what doesn’t kill Baby makes them her stronger’ situation. The fact that you haven’t noticed that they have been gnawing on the toe of your shoe for the last 45 seconds only means that they have a better chance of beating the super-flu once kindergarten rolls around, right? - You never liked that mug anyway
Favorite-shmavorite. Sometimes things break and you’ve just got to sweep up the shards and focus on how you always thought the texture of the handle was a little weird, anyway. You don’t need it. That’ll show your less-than-one-year-old what’s what. - If you could understand what Baby was saying, you might have a massive disagreement
Sure, you think you’re going to raise your child to see eye-to-eye with you on the important things – politics, local sports rivalries, Coke or Pepsi – but Baby is already an individual with their own opinions, and you never know which ones are going to be different from yours. So yes, it’s difficult and frustrating when Baby is wailing and you have no idea what’s wrong, but just remember, it’s always possible that they are distraught over the fact that they saw someone walk out of the store with a Coke, when they think Pepsi is clearly the superior choice. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss. - There will be a time when the house will feel too quiet
It’s hard to believe, but a decade or so down the line, Baby will probably be out of the house as often as they're home, between school and friends and activities. A decade after that, they will have flown the coop entirely. It’s not that you can’t ever get a moment’s silence, it’s that it’s unfairly distributed, time-wise. - There are babies who survive actual natural disasters, yours can survive the fact that you forgot to pack a snack
Not having food on hand when your child wants or expects it can feel like the end of the world, and yes, you’re sorry, and no, you probably won’t do it again, but in the long run, Baby isn’t even going to remember this little interlude. It may make your drive home a little less fun, but it’s not going to scar either of you for life. - It really is going to be funny when you describe it later
And not even in a vague, distant, ‘someday we’re going to laugh about this’ kind of way, but soon – maybe in an hour or two when you’re telling your partner about it, or tomorrow night when you’re talking to your mom on the phone. It may not feel like it now, but the grossest mishaps and least likely strokes of bad luck are definitely the moments that make the best stories later. - In just a matter of hours baby will be asleep
If you and Baby have just started your day, it may be a lot of hours, but still, you can measure the time until you can sit down and put your feet up in hours, not days.
