So let's be honest. It wasn't always this way. When I first became a mom 6 years ago, I obsessed about doing everything the "right" way. EVERYTHING.

Google became my best friend. I googled the most ridiculous things and obsessed about little things like whether or not my baby's wake time was perfect.

As I breastfed, I worried about getting my baby to sleep without nursing, and how to get her to fall asleep without any sleep props.

Finally, one day, I just stopped. I realized that I was stressing myself out SO MUCH that I was missing out on the joy that is the newborn stage. I realized that I was listening to everyone and everything else. The Internet, my grandmother, the stranger in the grocery store. But do you know who I wasn't listening to? MYSELF.

Once I stopped listening to everyone else and started doing what I wanted to do, I became SO much happier. I was able to enjoy my daughter more.

I said goodbye to my people-pleasing ways and worried about pleasing me. When my grandmother tisked at the fact that I was rocking my baby to sleep for what seemed like hours before bed, I simply smiled and moved on. When the complete stranger told me that I needed to swat my just turned 2 year old for disobeying, I turned and walked the other way. When my sister was appalled that I was practicing extended breastfeeding and STILL nursing my 2 year old, I took a deep breath and bit my tongue.

I stopped questioning whether or not I was doing what was right, and started doing what I knew was right IN MY HEART. As long as what we are doing is benefiting our child, then who is to say that it's wrong?