Her wise, and kind advice is an indescribable blessing.

I am so thankful for the wise advice of my mother-in-law. I feel less anxious about taking care of our baby and raising our children-knowing that I have her support. She recently spoke with regret about the pre-formed expectations that we sometimes have for our children when they are born. She explained how she expected her oldest daughter to be just as sensitive as her mother and her son was thought to carry a similar disposition to his father. She related to them with these personality expectations but realizes now how her misconceptions caused her to be overly sensitive to her tougher, independent, daughter and less understanding of her sensitive, affectionate, son.

My mother-in-law encouraged me to set aside any expectations I might have and simply get to know my baby and instead of trying to anticipate my child's needs, to rather try to listen and empathize. She said that children want to know you understand them rather than to try to automatically be everything they need and to "fix" everything for them.

-Julia