Do you ever feel like the rigors of early parenting leave you overwhelmed, depleted and feeling like you are somehow missing something? Much of this has to do with the way we “do” parenting in our culture which is isolating and causes a cascade affect of needing to get things under control in order to function. 

We can throw everything at our babies to get them to feed how we want them too, sleep how we want them to, behave how we want them to and they either do it or they don’t. When they don’t, we are often left in a place of suffering because we believe it is supposed to be different than it is. 

A huge piece of healing that part of our heart is normalizing that this phase of life can feel really hard, despite the amazing love and rewards of being a parent-both things can and do co-exist. My business namesake was created out of this exact bittersweet spot, “Middle Road”-the place between intense love and devastation, between things working and utter failure. If we can build and flex the muscle of sitting in the middle when the tough times roll in, we do get stronger and the expectations for how this time is supposed to feel does expand. There is aloooooot of grey in parenting. I tend to stay away from black and white as it’s often too narrow a scope to fit in all of the complexities for each family make-up. Sometimes, when we’ve tried everything or tried everything that feels comfortable for us, the next step is a mindset shift. 

What if everything that’s happening is ok? What if despite things not looking how we want them to, we are still doing an amazing job of showing up and loving our families? What if we are actually rocking it when we get through a day that includes getting dressed, brushing our teeth, feeding our family and giving our child 100 kisses? Could that be enough right now? If you are needing to know that the way you feel is normal and that what you are doing is enough, this is your friendly reminder. 

Aaannd, if you need support figuring out what this means for YOU, I’m here. You can book a lactation or sleep consult, join my membership group or sign up for Middle Road Musings to get a monthly note delivered to your inbox ❤️.

Until Next Time,

Jen