confidence.

I'll be the first to admit that when Jack came home from the hospital, I didn't exactly know what I was doing, but figured I could probably pick it up. At his mother/baby visit at the hospital, just 2 days after we went home, I was feeling very confident. In fact, I remember saying to John, "I feel like we're really doing well at all this baby stuff." Seconds later, I realized I had forgotten the diaper bag. Fail.

As the days turned to weeks, my confidence level really started to fall.

I had read The Baby Whisperer and tried my best to instill the Eat, Activity, Sleep schedule. Little did I know, I was trying to do that too soon, and not allowing Jack to enjoy the sleepy newborn phase. Anyway, like I said, as time went on, my confidence got lower and lower. I couldn't make a decision to save my life. I couldn't get through a day without crying. It was rough. Thankfully, John was really supportive and my mom was around to help out, too.

When Jack finally started to sleep through the night (thanks MomsOnCall!) and we had a set schedule, things really started to fall into place. We had a great routine, and Jack was continuing to sleep so well at night. Naps were another issue, but nighttime sleep was more important, so we were happy.

Around the time Jack turned 3 months old, it became evident that he didn't really need to eat every 3 hours anymore. So, I made the executive decision to move him to a 3.5 hour schedule. I realized we needed change. I decided what that change would be. And I implemented it. Sure, we had a couple of transition days, but we've settled into our new schedule quite nicely.

All of this is to say that confidence as a mom doesn't just come with the baby. It takes believing in yourself and realizing that you really do know what will be and work best for your baby.

I still worry about what we're going to do when we move to a 4 hour schedule and drop Jack's 9 p.m. bottle. Or what we'll do when we implement rice cereal. But, I know that whatever decision I make will be the best decision for Jack and for us.

I can honestly say I now have a lot more mom confidence!