Ten Top Tips

* Honour the fact that you're doing ok. No, not just ok. Honour the fact that you are doing the best you possibly can.

* Learn from your mistakes and try and remember for next time.

* Remember it how it really truly is right now. Time plays tricks on memories; exaggerating some things, minimising others. Now is the time you'll learn more than you've ever learnt, and grow more than you've ever grown. Savour that incoming wisdom!

* It's too hard sometimes and not hard enough other times. But it changes in some small way every single day. Pay attention to those small changes. They will make all the difference to your day.

* Balance Balance Balance. Balance becomes your career. Work at it on a daily basis - on an hourly basis in the first few months!

* Don't spread yourself too thin. If life gets too busy with a new baby, you start to miss out on all the fun. Slow down and keep things simple. Watch your baby trace dripping rain on the window with his finger. Watch his fascination.

* Live mindfully, and find inspiration in the everyday.

* Let your children be your guide. A babies life is challenging. - always so much to learn and everything learnt by practice (crawling, walking, talking for example). Watch the delight on his face when he achieves something he's been practising. Be inspired by your baby. Let him teach you to keep trying every day and know that all that practicing is eventually going to come together and make sense. And then, of course there'll be a new milestone to conquer!

* Get Outside. Take a walk. Breathe. Get some fresh air and exercise. It saves sanity and provides perspective, especially when you're sleep-deprived.

* Go with the flow and don't listen to too many experts. Things are always changing. Even the most fixed routine can be broken by a baby. Stop waiting for a pattern to emerge and stop stressing about chaos. It's an attitude thing. Just go with the flow. Remember, it's better to bend than break.