Don’t Parent from a Place of “What If”

“What if I nurse her back to sleep in the middle of the night? Am I creating negative sleep associations?”

“What if I don’t put her in her crib? She might never leave our bed.”

“What if I don’t follow through? She will think she can walk all over me"

“What if I pick her up every time she cries? She’ll never learn to self soothe.”

“What if she doesn’t learn to take a bottle? I’ll never get time to myself.”

Sitting in the fear of the decisions we make as parents is tough. But I’ve come to realize that I’m never the best parent I can be when I parent from fear. I’m not at my best when I am wondering “what if.” I’m not at my best when I’m parenting for what might happen in the future. I’m not at my best when I’m parenting who my child might or might not become.

But here’s what I do know. Meeting the needs of my child now will never be the wrong decision for us. So that’s what I will choose to do. I will continue to reframe my fears, center connection, and do what I need to meet my child where she is at now and respond to her with respect.