by Jamie Reed posted in Parenting

Before pregnancy was even on my radar, I overheard a conversation among a group of women about a new, first-time mom. They remembered the days when everything was new. When everything seemed so scary. Yet still, they gently laughed at her fear of taking her baby out in public too soon. She was worried he'd catch a cold, or worse. She was worried about people putting their hands all over him. Babies are tougher than you think, they said. This new mom was certainly silly for worrying so much! Poor, poor mom. She had so much to learn!
Note to self, I thought, don?t be that mom.
I decided if I ever had children I?d be the laid-back, nothing-phases-me mom. The mom you?d meet and assume she had at least five children based on her degree of relaxation. The mom who started her family in her mid-thirties, and now possesses the wisdom and confidence these younger 20-something first-time moms just couldn?t have attained. I?d have my baby out in the world within a few weeks (maybe even days!), ready to tackle the world together, throwing caution to the wind! The thing is, I?m not a laid-back, nothing-phases-me kind of person, let alone mom. I?m an anxious, worried-about-everything-under-the-sun type of person. The kind of person who stays up hours at night worrying about things they can?t control. The kind of person who Googles their symptoms to find out what kind of rare, incurable disease they might have. Yes, that type of person. Why I thought mot...