Caring for an infant is no easy task. They are helpless, delicate, sometimes cranky creatures who depend on you for everything. As tiny pre-verbal bundles of need, they can’t just speak up to tell you what their issue is. Which makes caring for a baby especially tricky.

At times everything will run quite smoothly, and you’ll think to yourself, “this parenting thing is such a breeze.” And then there are times you’ll look at your baby, their face all scrunched up and sprouting tears like a decorative fountain, and you’ll think to yourself, ‘This one’s broken.’ You’ll search for your receipt and then realize infants don’t come with a refund or exchange policy, at which point you’ll banish yourself to a quiet corner so you can have a good cry, looking eerily similar to your unhappy infant.

Lucky for us, the joy that babies bring make the heartaches and hassles worth the effort. May the wisdom herein help you realize more of the joys of caring for your baby with far fewer sorrows.