A couple of days ago, a new father walked into the baby store where I work in my non-doula, non-mommy hours. He immediately apologized for being in a zombie like state and I laughed and said, "you must have just joined the club." His baby was five days old. His wife was at home napping and he was on a mission to improve sleep.

Many dads come in to our store frantically looking for a solution to the "sleep" issue. Here's the thing: Sleep changes when babies come. There are those people who have the miraculous children that sleep through the night from birth but they are few and far between. In fact, I bet they have pretty hungry babies. Newborns have tiny stomachs and their systems wake up them up for a reason. Trust the process.

This is an important lesson that extends beyond sleep. There is no quick and easy solution in life or in parenting. Remain calm. Everything is fluid. The morning after even the hardest night of tears and feedings and diaper explosions, those babies seem to be the cutest they have ever been. It is important to remember that each phase is just that-a phase. Ever passing.

Trust the entire process from those few zombie-like weeks to the joys and challenges that follow.

As a parent, your job is to guide, educate, nurture and love. You cannot force. You will learn this in the toddler years but it is important to note it in the wee hours of infant life.

You will be tired. You will be anxious. You will be more in love than ever before.

You will get through this phase...and the next.