5 Things I Learned: New Mom Revelations

Guilt and Feelings of Inadequacy: I had boat-loads of it as a new mom. Take comfort ladies, if you can. These were some of my hard-learned realizations and lessons:

1) Your experience will be unique - and you're justified in however "easy" or "hard" you feel being a mom is.

I had a "hard" first baby - preterm, couldn't latch on, trouble staying awake to eat at all, reflux, very colicky, etc. - and I desperately felt it must have been me "doing things wrong". "Everyone else" seemed to have no trouble at all!

Our Family's 5 Favorite Toys: Infant to 3 years

I have made it a point to not buy our kids tons of toys throughout the year; so far, we make Christmas season and birthdays (both winter) our main targets, and something small during the summer.  I always buy a mixture of things they're able to use right now, and in the months ahead, and this does mean that some Christmas gifts will not get used right away.  However we have a small home, and I want to see each purchase go the distance: they teach something, have durability, will work for boys/girls alike, and most importantly, are fun!
Here are our biggest hits so far: