the phrase that got me through my first year as a parent

I know a lot of moms really love having a newborn, so I'm probably in the minority on this one, but I'm gonna go ahead and say I don't think I'm cut out for the newborn phase. 

Maybe I'll feel differently if/when I have a second newborn....maybe it'll come to me a little easier...a little more naturally. But when I think back on life with Aven up to about 8 weeks old, I mostly feel happy to have made it through to the other side. Not that she was a particularly difficult baby....she just wasn't a particularly easy one either. 

There are certainly things I miss about a brand new baby...like her soft fuzzy head and countless little rolls. I miss her all curled up in a ball on my chest and the way she stretched with her whole body for a full 30 seconds every time she was awakened. But now that she's older, I feel like I'm actually enjoying motherhood rather than just trying to survive it. She's becoming super interactive, can actually communicate some, and is just plain hysterical. 

Being only a couple weeks out from her first birthday, it got me thinking about what words of advice were most helpful to me in navigating not only the newborn days, but my entire first year as a mom. There is one phrase that has been my go-to, my mantra, my life-saver, from day one to now.

TOMORROW IS A NEW DAY.

Simple, right?

Funny how it's not even specific to motherhood. It's pretty universal. But as a new mom, it spoke hope to me.

What it meant to me was that it didn't matter if she or I had cried multiple times the day before.

It didn't matter if I had to sleep cramped up in the crib with her because it was THE ONLY THING that made my sick baby feel better.

Ultimately, it didn't even matter if I had made all the right decisions in parenting her over the last 24 hours.

Because every.single.morning when I hear her stirring around in her crib I am sweetly greeted with the thought that I get to try again. We get to start fresh. Even though every day holds new challenges, it also holds new opportunities. What I didn't get right the day before can be tossed aside. And that new trick I learned for soothing my baby or making her laugh? ON REPEAT. At least until it doesn't work anymore. With every mistake and every victory, there is a lesson about who your child is, and who you are as a parent. 

Tomorrow is NEW.

This mindset has also helped me learn to start again in the middle of my day, if needed. A bad moment doesn't equal a bad mom, just like a bad moment doesn't equal a bad child.  One minute she can be completely losing her little baby mind over the tragedy of her Puffs being "gone gone," and the next she's playing patty cake with a big grin and a scrunched up nose. I could learn something from her in that sense. She doesn't get bogged down carrying the junk of the day with her. She knows how to shake it off (also one of her favorite songs, by the way.)  She's teaching me a lot, this girl. I hope I always take the time for the lesson.

The STEADFAST LOVE of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end. They are NEW EVERY MORNING; great is your faithfulness. 
Lamentations 3:22-23 

What about you? What words of encouragement have gotten you through the toughest days of being a mom?