Let me tell you...

Having a baby is such a huge thing that it's only natural to want to give advice... because it feels like such a major accomplishment, and with the first one, because there are things you wish you had done differently, so you desire to help the new parents-to-be to avoid those pitfalls. Who can blame you?

But the new parent to be hears it from so many people... many are well-meaning, but some are just bitter about their own situation (like the lady at Toys 'R Us) and some are just plain mean, like Lori's brothers, who each have two kids and have done their best to make raising kids sound as scary as possible. Eventually the parents-to-be eventually become scared, or worn down, or jaded and it becomes hard to discern between the three.

Fortunately, we took it all with a grain of salt, ready to be knocked flat, but also determined to jump right back up and enjoy the experience as best we could.

Lori will take with her forever the woman she encountered at Souplantation about a month ago. We were there with friends of ours who have a 9 month old. Lori was in the bathroom and there was a short line. The woman in front of her, looked at her, smiled and said that Lori should go in front of her because she probably needed the bathroom more. And then later as we were sitting and eating, the woman walked by with her family and smiled at Lori and offered her good luck, promising that she was going to enjoy being a mom. It was just so wonderful that Lori pledged right then and there to try to do the same thing whenever she encountered other new parents to be. You need the cautionary advice, but you need the encouragement, too.