You live and you learn.

We have only been in this parenting role for 9 weeks so there isn't much Kevin and I know for sure. But what we do know is that to be a successful parent, you need to learn to adapt. You can honestly believe in every theory out there and explain your reasoning for doing this or that until you are blue in the face but until you live in the reality of raising an unpredictable wee babe, you have no idea. When it comes to babies, nothing is black and white.

In the beginning, Kevin and I had so many ideas in our head about what we would or wouldn't do as parents. And we didn't come up with these theories and behaviors on our own. No, no, my friend. We put in the time. We did the research...and about 500 parenting magazines, conversations, blogs, videos and books later, the rules were set. Now, looking back, we can see that although the theory may have been perfect, it wasn't perfect for our baby:

NO BED SHARING: We had a rule that Claire would never sleep in our bed. We didn't feel comfortable with the idea that this little body would be floating between us in a huge king size bed. She would always, always sleep in the bassinet beside our bed. Period. Then our baby arrived (and we were exhausted). And one night Claire fell asleep in the crook of my arm after a midnight feed and she slept so much better than she did all alone in her bassinet. Needless to say, she stayed there in our bed for weeks to come. She has since made it back into her bassinet, but it was a long time coming.

NO PACIFIERS: We always said our baby wouldn't be given a pacifier. We didn't want to deal with potential problems they create like changes to her palate that are known to increase the need for braces. Not to mention, if you lose the suckers, it's as if all hell has broken loose. Then our baby arrived. Did she get a binky before we even left the hospital? Yep. Does she love it? Yep. Does it keep her happy and occupied? Yep. Does she look super darn cute with it bobbing in and out of her little mouth? Double yep! Are we still worried about the dental problems? Yep, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Right now, baby gets what baby wants...and baby wants her bink.

NO FORMULA OR BOTTLES BEFORE 6 WEEKS: We left our breastfeeding preparation class all googly-eyed over everything we had just learned. We felt prepared for what was ahead in the realm of nursing and keeping our baby happy and fed. We fell in love with all the good that breastfeeding had to offer and it was our goal to make it to recommended one-year mark. Then our baby arrived. And she lost more than the recommended 10% of her birth weight in the first 3 days. Since my milk took a few extra days to come in due to the c-section, it was suggested I was pressured by the nurses to supplement her diet with formula. At first we fed her with a feeding tube that attached to our finger, but naturally, the bottles came next. Thus, she took a sip of the nectar and it's been an on-again/off-again relationship ever since.

CAR SEAT ALWAYS GOES IN THE MIDDLE: The most safe place for a car seat is in the middle seat, not on the sides closest to the doors. Naturally, we want what is safest for our baby and vowed to only place her car seat in the middle. Then our baby arrived. We quickly realized that neither of our cars allow for middle placement of the seat. If we did place her in the middle, we can't utilize the passenger seat in either car and thus, never ride together as a family. So, Claire now rides snug in her seat behind the driver and we drive extra cautious. And, we're working on getting a safer car.

These are just a few examples of the ways our theories about raising our daughter has been shot to hell. And we're okay with it. This entire experience has taught us so much about ourselves, our daughter and what is really important when it comes to raising her. One of the main things we seemed to overlook (perhaps the biggest thing) was to take into account that our daughter is unique. What may have worked for one baby may not necessarily work for Claire. While theories are good, we have realized that rolling with the punches is better. You live and you learn.