My Biggest Piece of New Parenting Advice

I'm going to pretend for a second that I know what I'm talking about with this whole parenting thing, and that I have years and years of experience in this very prestigious field. We'll all just ignore the fact that I've really only been a parent for six months, still don't know what the heck I'm doing half the time, but have somehow managed to keep this little human being alive with lots of love, patience, sucking boogers out, and cleaning lots of spit up formula. Good with y'all?
Some days are just plain hard. Babies can be terrifying, confusing, and lets face it, disgusting. We're at the stage in Harper's baby life, where we feel like - for the most part - we got this parenting thing down. Some days, I feel inadequate, like I can't do anything right. But after a night of sleep and a fresh perspective, the next day we're back on track.
We survived the newborn stage - probably the hardest weeks of my entire life - we've fought colds, sleep regressions, nap boycotts, bottle refusal, a milk allergy, and more. We made it through restaurant meltdowns, and realized a "vacation" with a baby isn't really a vacation at all. We have more on our plates to come the older she gets, but there's one thing that I learned that always helps me keep a positive outlook and to cherish and appreciate each stage she enters.

EVERYTHING IS A PHASE.
They won't be a newborn forever. They won't always not sleep through the night. They will at some point in their life let you sit through a meal at a restaurant without crying. One day they will take a nap longer than 20 minutes. You won't always need to pack an arsenal of baby products to leave the house for an hour. Everything is a phase, and it too shall pass.
This little token of wisdom has gotten me through tough times more times than I can count. Harper being a newborn seems like such a distant memory, but at the time I never thought I'd make it. Now, we're battling all sorts of new "inconveniences", but understanding how sweet and precious this stage of her life is puts everything into a more appreciate and patient perspective.
...And just for the sake of me being a mushy mom who wants to pretend like she knows what she's talking about, let me just melt into these newborn hospital pictures of my once 6 lb little baby for old times sake (and by old times, I mean six months ago). :) 



Oh, my achin' mama heart...