An online baby shower for Carl and Rebecca's baby girl!
It's an Online Baby Shower!
Rebecca and Carl have moved far from family and friends, but we still want to shower them with love, support, and gifts for their new baby girl who will be arriving soon. We're throwing an online baby shower for the parents-to-be and their bundle of joy. Saturday September 12th will be the big day of the shower! Join us that day for games, fun, and prizes. The games and activities will be posted all day long, so it doesn't matter what time zone you're in, just come have fun! We willl also set up opportunities for guests to video chat with Rebecca and Carl that day.
First-time parents are starting off from scratch, so we'd like to help Rebecca and Carl out by showering them with baby items and gifts. To view the online baby registry click here. We'd like to have all gifts arrive on or before the day of the shower, so please remember to allow shipping time for items you send. Gifts can be mailed to:
Rebecca and Carl Smith
315-A Woodland Hills Dr.
Conroe TX 77303
Thank you for helping us show love and support for the Smith family and their new addition!
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Words of Wisdom and Encouragement
This is the place to give Rebecca and Carl your best baby tips and advice, offer up parental wisdom, or just show encouragement and support. Feel free to leave a comment!
So, I don't know if I have any great advice or anything that won't sound cliched, but I will try anyway haha. I know you guys will be great parents and I'm so glad your little girl will be here soon. Very excited for you. Being parents will be the hardest thing you will ever do. It will test you and pull you and stretch you in ways that are hard to quantify. But of course it will also be the most amazing thing you can do and the rewards and joy far surpass the sacrifice required. There are a ton of books and websites telling you the "right" way to do x, y, and z as a parent, and I used to spend a lot of time reading them. Ultimately I found that they are only helpful to a point and then you have to learn to trust yourself and your strengths. You are exactly the right parents for your little girl, and you have everything you need already. You are incredible people and she is very lucky to have you as her mom and dad. Can't wait to meet her and see her personality unfold. Love you guys!
Amen to Sarah 100%. I also spent a lot of time trying to figure out the "right" way to parent. I have to remind myself all the time that I am an imperfect person raising imperfect people. So, we will all make mistakes. All we can do is our best. And our best may look very different from day to day (like when we're sleep deprived!). So I guess my advice is to trust yourself (like Sarah said) to care for your baby in the way she needs. And when you make a mistake, forgive yourself and figure out the next right thing to do. We love you guy and wish you the best as you begin this new, crazy, wonderful adventure!
My advice is don't sweat it when things get hard. They WILL get hard, and you will probably have moments when you doubt yourself as a parent. But remember this, Heavenly Father sent your daughter to YOU for a reason. She wasn't meant to go to anyone else. You won't be the perfect parents, but you will be the best parents for her. Heavenly Father has a lot of faith in your ability to be a great mother and father, so hang on to that during the rough patches. Also, once they are old enough to understand, I've found it's helpful to apologize to my kids for the times when I do yell or have a crummy parenting moment. It helps them see that everyone makes mistakes, and the important this is saying sorry and trying to do better next time.
You will get advice from everyone about EVERYTHING. How to feed your kid, or get her to sleep, or how to discipline her, how to teach her, just everything. If one single strategy worked for every child, then there WOULD be a manual for this parenting business. The fact of the matter is, every child is different and every parent is different. Just ignore the bad advice, maybe try out any advice that seems like it would work, and let everything else roll off your back. Only you will be able to figure out what works best for your baby and for your family. And half the time, once you figure it out, things change and you are left scrambling for a new tactic. If your child doesn't eat from every food group at each meal, or won't walk until she is 15 months, or doesn't sleep through the night until she is 2, or won't potty train until 4 it is NOT a reflection on your abilities as a parent (TRUE STORY). Don't worry so much about comparing your daughter to any other children. Life is not a contest, and when we are all grown up nobody will care who potty trained the soonest or took their first steps at 6 months. Just do your best to enjoy the ride.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSo, I don't know if I have any great advice or anything that won't sound cliched, but I will try anyway haha. I know you guys will be great parents and I'm so glad your little girl will be here soon. Very excited for you. Being parents will be the hardest thing you will ever do. It will test you and pull you and stretch you in ways that are hard to quantify. But of course it will also be the most amazing thing you can do and the rewards and joy far surpass the sacrifice required. There are a ton of books and websites telling you the "right" way to do x, y, and z as a parent, and I used to spend a lot of time reading them. Ultimately I found that they are only helpful to a point and then you have to learn to trust yourself and your strengths. You are exactly the right parents for your little girl, and you have everything you need already. You are incredible people and she is very lucky to have you as her mom and dad. Can't wait to meet her and see her personality unfold. Love you guys!
ReplyDeleteAmen to Sarah 100%. I also spent a lot of time trying to figure out the "right" way to parent. I have to remind myself all the time that I am an imperfect person raising imperfect people. So, we will all make mistakes. All we can do is our best. And our best may look very different from day to day (like when we're sleep deprived!). So I guess my advice is to trust yourself (like Sarah said) to care for your baby in the way she needs. And when you make a mistake, forgive yourself and figure out the next right thing to do. We love you guy and wish you the best as you begin this new, crazy, wonderful adventure!
ReplyDeleteMy advice is don't sweat it when things get hard. They WILL get hard, and you will probably have moments when you doubt yourself as a parent. But remember this, Heavenly Father sent your daughter to YOU for a reason. She wasn't meant to go to anyone else. You won't be the perfect parents, but you will be the best parents for her. Heavenly Father has a lot of faith in your ability to be a great mother and father, so hang on to that during the rough patches. Also, once they are old enough to understand, I've found it's helpful to apologize to my kids for the times when I do yell or have a crummy parenting moment. It helps them see that everyone makes mistakes, and the important this is saying sorry and trying to do better next time.
ReplyDeleteYou will get advice from everyone about EVERYTHING. How to feed your kid, or get her to sleep, or how to discipline her, how to teach her, just everything. If one single strategy worked for every child, then there WOULD be a manual for this parenting business. The fact of the matter is, every child is different and every parent is different. Just ignore the bad advice, maybe try out any advice that seems like it would work, and let everything else roll off your back. Only you will be able to figure out what works best for your baby and for your family. And half the time, once you figure it out, things change and you are left scrambling for a new tactic. If your child doesn't eat from every food group at each meal, or won't walk until she is 15 months, or doesn't sleep through the night until she is 2, or won't potty train until 4 it is NOT a reflection on your abilities as a parent (TRUE STORY). Don't worry so much about comparing your daughter to any other children. Life is not a contest, and when we are all grown up nobody will care who potty trained the soonest or took their first steps at 6 months. Just do your best to enjoy the ride.
Also,