A reminder for those parents questioning their parenting choices

Came across something today that I wrote after my second kid was born. It was a good reminder and hopefully someone else finds it helpful.When I had my first child a few years ago, he wasn't a super difficult baby, but I remember always stressing whether I was doing things right. He wasn't fussy all the time, but hated being in one place for more than 15 minutes, so we always had to be moving with him. One the hardest things was that he woke up to eat every 2-4 hours through the night for most of the first year. We tried every "sleep through the night" tip out there, baths before bed, lavender lotion, sound machines, vibrating mattress, lights off for feedings, dream feeds before bed, cry it out...you name it, nothing worked. I felt like I was in a fog most of his first year and remember thinking there was no way I could ever have another kid, that this newborn/infant phase was SO hard.Fast forward to now, and my second child sleeps through the night most nights (on a "bad" night she'll wake up at about 4:00am to eat and then goes right back to sleep). I have done nothing different with her compared to my son, and haven't even had to attempt any tricks as she was a great sleeper from the very first week. Both were exclusively breastfed, both in 90th percentile for weight/height, both sleep in the same pack and play next to our bed, I went back to work at the same time...nothing has changed, and yet she is a completely different baby than he was.My point is...sometimes it's NOT you. It's not always matter of what you as a parent are or are not doing right. You are not failing if you have a fussy baby or one who doesn't sleep through the night or a super sensitive toddler or a bossy preschooler. It's so important to remember that these little beings we are responsible for are actually people too, with their own little personalities and likes and dislikes. To this day, my oldest can't sit still for more that 2 minutes and he still hates sleeping. You don't always have to put pressure on yourself to "fix" whatever the issue with your kid may be, because it's very possible that it's not your issue to fix, sometimes your kid just is who they are. And if you are in a especially challenging time with your kid...the phase always passes, it will get easier. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2GVU9Ks