This is a small section of a list of notes I keep in my phone to remind me how I want to parent my daughter. With complete grace and understanding. I may not always get it right, but I always come from love.

Always.

Feed her to sleep if that's what she wants. This is a new, big, scary world for her and if being close to you makes her feel safe, enjoy that.

Solve an owie with cuddles, love & affection. Not food. Save ice creams for the hot summer days at the beach and cake for birthdays.

Let yourself get unnecessarily mad sometimes but ALWAYS apologise to her if you overreact. Little people learn through your emotions and vulnerability is beautiful and honesty is real.

Smell her stinky baby breath in the morning, ignore the schedule and lay in bed touching her face and let her touch yours, this is bonding at its most magical.

Treat her daddy like a king and let her see you being love and adored by him. Giver her standards on how well to treat and be treated.

Say yes more often than no and always give understandable reasons for taking things off her.

Yell only when real danger is involved, the rest of it can be explained gently so emotions don't take hold and it gets absorbed fully.

Hold her hand everyday and notice the space between hers and yours grow over the years… Take it all in.

Enjoy the ride, every precious and stinky moment of it.