missionmightymom

**Disclaimer**  I am NOT an expert. Below you will find only MY opinion based on MY experiences.

When asked about the one piece of advice I would offer to new parents, it would be this: Relax.

I am a firm believer that our babies feed off of our energy, meaning if we are stressed, they are stressed. If we are nervous, they are nervous. And by golly if we are happy, they are happy.

Pre-babies, I would have identified myself as neurotic. No joke! OCD? Check. I worried constantly…about everything. I even worried about the amount of worrying I did. I bet if you asked those closest to me and promised them that you wouldn’t spill the beans, they too would admit that they harbored some concern about how I would handle the stresses of Mothering.

With some conscious effort and God’s intervention, I can honestly say that Mothering suits me. Post-babies I am more mellow (Wow! Me? Mellow? My husband most definitely, but me- You betcha!) I’m not comparing myself to Eore, but giving credit where credit is due, my girls have magically opened my eyes to the things that really matter. Stuck in traffic? At least I’ve got my family. Running five minutes late? At least I’ve got my family. Can’t afford the new pair of boots I’ve been eying for the past three months? At least I’ve got my family. And I firmly believe that this new child-taught approach to life has not only made me a better person, a more compassionate wife, but a (maybe THE) happiest Momma in the world. And I think that happiness is contagious.

My Tips for Raising Happy Babies

• Laugh. Loudly. Alot.
• Be effectionate. With your children and your spouse. Its important that kids see that their parents love one another. Tell them that you love their Daddy.
  
• Save any discussions between you and your spouse that may get tense for after 8pm (bedtime).
• Make YOU a priority.
• Don’t be so rigid with scheduling. Set a naptime/bedtime, but if you are at dinner, and everyone is enjoying themselves, continue to do so. Going to bed late on occasion isn’t the end of the world. Creating flexible children who go-with-the-flow will make your life so much easier.
• Enough with the ‘Shhhhhh’s!” By silencing your home for baby, you are setting yourself up for failure. Babies are used to noise (the womb is a pretty noisy place). Life does go on when Baby is asleep. Coddle them with silence and you will be cursing the UPS man when he rings your doorbell and wakes the wee-little. Or when the dog barks. Or when your husband lets out a Whoohoo! when the Cowboys score.
• Stoop to their level. Make silly faces and sing silly songs. I would die if anyone could see some of the silly things I do with my girls when no one is around. But they love it!
• Refrain from using the words ‘Too busy’. Trust me, they will come back to haunt you. And then you will feel like scum.
• Pray together as a family. Let them hear you thanking God for them.
• Indulge them. So what if you have read Princess Petal a gazillion times. Read it a gazillion and one. Unless they are playing the ‘get out of going to bed’ game. Then put your foot down. Haha.
• Tell them how happy they make you. Daily.
• Allow them to get dirty. Clothes can be washed and babies bathed. Playing in the rain or finger painting are good sensory exercises. And if you choose to get dirty with them, even better.

Mothering brings with it new stresses. Baby colds. Financial responsibilities. Time commitments. But in order to raise happy babies, you must first be happy. Don’t sweat the small stuff…and smile!