A
while back I went to a baby shower, and the host had everyone write
down their best advice on parenting for the expectant couple in an
album. When it was my turn to come up with some pearls, I paused. The
truth was that the very best pieces of advice were rarely about whether
or not to co-sleep or use a pacifier (um, for the baby, yo) or wait an
extra year for kindergarten, though those are topics of much anxiety
for parents. And the top words of wisdom I got almost never came from
books or the doctor or even my closest people. Parenting is funny that
way. You depend on the kindness of strangers for very general and
life-saving stuff.
Now one of my closest friends is about to
have a baby any day now (on her own, too---she got tired of waiting for
a suitable life partner and knew she wanted kids) and I thought I'd
again ask people I don't know for something helpful. Here's...
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