Oh the woes of a first-time parent. You read the many insightful books on pregnancy and childbirth, then transition to new parent books. But in reality, these new parent books do not exist. They are a collective group of fictitious stories on what to do with your new baby. Nothing in the books is real; at least that is what I have found out lately.

In one book it says if your baby has not had a stool in 24 hours, call your pediatrician. I have been panicked because our little Baby K didn’t have a stool in 24 hours so I called the pediatrician’s office. They politely informed me that our baby is normal. Some babies stool at every feeding while some stool once a day or once every two days. Each baby is different. BTW, I LOVE our pediatrician’s office. They are so helpful and really put you at ease, especially if you are a first-time, paranoid parent.

I guess our fears can all be summed up in a statement from our pediatrician. I asked “Why aren’t there instruction books that come with babies?” He said “If there were instruction books, there would be no babies. Everyone would give up.”

My instruction book is out the window. Everyone can give you advice on how they handled things, but I am finding out it may be different for our baby. I just have to take it in stride and not panic. I wonder if Baby K picks up on the panic in my voice.

One additional comment. My prayer life has changed. Every morning I would pray with a friend over our day. That has become sporadic at best. Today was a good day where Baby K was sleeping so I could call her and we prayed together. It does make a difference. The other change has been my praying at night. I used to pray for so many things. My church, various ministries, family, friends, those that were sick, special prayer requests. NOW, it is all about Baby K. God, heal him of his jaundice. God, give him a bowel movement. God, help him sleep (for more than an hour or two). God, help us to be good parents.