Am I the Only Parent Who Sometimes Dreads Her Kids’ Activities?

I believe, as parents-to-be we all had dreams of attending baseball games, piano recitals, and orchestra concerts. Of cheering from the sidelines as our kid ran from one end of the field to another. Of smiling with pride as our child seemed to miraculously work his way through “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on the flute.

And I’m guessing that, during those fantasies of perfect parenting, very few of us pictured setting the alarm for five in the morning so that we could get said kid to said field in 40 degree weather or sitting in the parking lot for a half an hour, trying to exit whatever performance we had attended for our pride and joy.

Mama Drama: Top 10 Parenting Tips (plus 1) for New Moms and Dads

Dear Mama Drama:

My husband and I are the proud parents of a newborn baby boy. We are so excited that he is finally here, but have a lot of uncertainty about how we’ll handle all the day-to-day challenges of parenting.

We would love any tips you have for new parents.

~New Mama

(photo credit)

Dear New Mama:

Congratulations on your new baby! The journey of parenthood is full of questions (many of us are still searching for that owner’s manual we are certain we misplaced at the hospital!) and the answers are often different depending on the child.

My top 10 parenting tips for new moms and dads:

Don’t fight the fine print; jump in and have fun

Saturday morning found me in an awkward position—tackling downward dog on a gymnastics mat in a community center with three other adults and three toddlers. It was not the morning I had planned.

I signed my two-year-old daughter up for toddler gymnastics as a birthday gift. I was so excited to enroll her because she’s my little jumping bean. I counted down the days to the first day of class.

Keira and I got to the center 15 minutes early. “I bounce,” she repeated on the way up to the doors. Inside, I settled