Happy mommy = Happy baby

"Happy mommy = Happy baby" - this statement is often overheard and I've absolutely no qualms about that.

I love looking at photos where babies are laughing, playing, smiling or even making funny faces. They absolutely lighten up my day, and I remember how I was having a bad night, and seeing the pictures of one of my friend's gal simply made all my anger go away!

Yet, sometimes with so much to do, and so little sleep to deal with, it's really hard for mommies to be happy all the time or to stay happy always. Though, I wouldn't say that I had always greet my little gal with a great big smile, I must say that I'm a lot happier these days and these reflect much joy in my little Ariel too.

How to stay happy? Well, after being a mom for 15 months, I've come to realise that sometimes, we don't have to be perfect parents. When Ariel was younger, I remember how I was felt pressured to be a good mom. In fact, I felt like I was walking on thin ice all the time, partly due to the fact that my MIL was staying with us. I felt like I need to be the perfect mom, whose kid never cry, never fall sick, never dirty, never misbehave, etc. Though nobody expected that out of me, but it is the kind of pressure I gave myself.

How then can I be happy given the state of mind I was in? No doubt, my little girl suffered with me too.

But now, as I come to realise that there's really no big deal in a baby crying, a baby being overstimulated, or getting sick for the first time and that all these are but temporal, I've become a happier mom. With that, Ariel who now has lots of tricks up her sleeve never fails to crack me up too.

"Happy mom = Happy baby = Happy mom" - I must say, the equation all works out by itself.