The Prepared Parent Trap

It's no secret. Parenthood comes with an alarmingly large amount of guilt. It comes from the parents themselves or from the people around a family. People can't help, but judge other people. The truth is that no matter how much a parent-to-be thinks they are prepared to provide and protect their little person, they simply aren't.
In a resent blog from madameniore.com  a writer gives fifteen ill-informed and all-assuming reasons that are meant to prove that a woman is inept for parenthood. Some of these reasons are getting up late, enjoying nights out and a tendency to buy expensive merchandise. The "proof" given by this writer is shallow and untrue.
There are a lot of dynamic shifting going on when it comes to parenting. As mothers and fathers, seasoned or brand new parents, there is only so much that can be done to prepare for a child. There is so much of child rearing that is unforeseen. It is impossible for anymore to be 100% prepared.
There are plenty of parents who like to party, buy coach and gucci and like to sleep in. That does not make them bad parents. That does not make them unsuited or somehow ill qualified to care for the little person that they brought into the world.
The awful truth is, once the little person has arrived life is dictated by that child (or children). Even those parents who liked to stumble home after a night of drinking only to roll out of bed at 1 pm will rapidly find that those sorts of nights fall away to another kind of sleepless night. It is replaced by a crying, puking, pooping, ever-hungry, adorable little person who desperately needs their parent no matter what time of day (or night) it is.

Even the uber planner family cannot be fully prepared for their coming joy. There are families that have the nursery completely done by the time mom is five months pregnant. The room is jam packed with a crib, change table, organic diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, and stuffed animals that the child can't even see for the first few months of life. Not even careful planning, Pinterest and Google combined can fully prepare a parent for their child.
Being "fully prepared" is a myth.
There is no such thing.
There is a misconception about what parenthood is. Largely, this misconception is kept alive by judgmental, non-parents. It is widely believed that parenthood is a magical state of being that a person needs to reach before they should even allow the word "baby" into their minds.
That is simply false.
Parenthood is not a state of being. It is a process. Parenthood is a grueling, frightening, tiring, frustrating, enraging, surprising, fulfilling, terrifying struggle. There is no wrong or rights. Parenthood does not fit in a box. It comes in all shapes and sizes. Parenthood is an oblong shaped box that pops out one surprise after another. Some of these things that come along or good, but some are bad too. And that's okay.
There are no perfect parents. Only perfect children.