by BabyCenter Guest Blogger posted in Parenting

By: Chelsea Day
When I was pregnant the first time, I was so high-strung. You know how they say everybody's a great parent until they actually have a kid" Yeah.
I was going to breastfeed until my little boy was in...like...middle school. I planned to buy chic versions of every baby item I needed at boutique handmade vegan fair trade woman-owned thrift shops. My child was going to speak three languages by the time he was 5 years old and every item of clothing that graced his skin would only be the highest-quality organic cotton spun on looms made from old Canadian barn wood.
And then he was actually born. He had colic and I had postpartum depression and suddenly, survival was the only thing that mattered. I found myself doing stuff I swore I'd never do, like eating a frozen lasagna. I let go of the little things that were stressing me out and I learned to simply meet my child?s needs in the best way I could. For us, "best" now meant I had to change plans and quit my job for awhile. I had to be okay with things not being the way I'd envisioned. The high-end minimalist aesthetic that I had imagined simply wasn't practical.
We bounced back, and here I am, four kids later, ready to give you the serious, important advice that I wish I'd listened to the first time around.
1. Don?t waste time sifting through second-hand clothes. My sister-in-law is the one who gave me this recommendation, and I'll admit that I fough...