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Every baby is different, every toddler is different and every older kid is different.
Our first baby made us look like rock stars...it gave me a false sense of "see, parenting is easy some of you are just whiners"...she was easy going, didn't cry unless she needed something and was good at melting strangers with her big blue eyes and easy smile. The next kid.....I'd hate to know how many hours I stood beside a crib with my hand on her back so she would sleep, and as soon as I tried to take it off and leave she'd wake up and scream. The last one was in between.
I'll say this though....the first week was pretty easy and then there is some transition that upsets them.
My dad "Pro tips"....if you've got a bawling baby you can't console...try white noise. I learned this at 3am when I was about to lose it and threw a load of barfed on baby clothes into the washing machine....as soon as I turned it on, she stopped crying for the first time in hours. I sat on the floor and slept holding a quiet baby...and when it shut off, she woke up until I turned on the dryer. It worked with all of my kids.
The second is to immediately go buy some gas drops, Mylicon....that shit is magic.
It's not easy....I've laid in a hospital bed with a 3 year old in a burn unit, I've taken kids with broken arms to the ER, but the great things make those things worth it. I've taken kids to practice and games and watched them work and have success and deal with failure. When you think you have it all figured out, there is something new to challenge you as a parent.
Sunday, I knelt off to the side of a wrestling mat with my 8 year old on my knee...he was sweaty, and bruised and scraped and was learning how to deal with the emotions of coming close to a goal...and losing a match that knocked him out of a state invite. Figuring out how to make them good humans who learn from that crap isn't easy and it's gut wrenching to watch them deal with that.....and the social shit at school they have to learn to deal with.
.....and then when you're having the feels about all of their hard work and bruised head.....you get a call from his teacher the next morning letting you know she found a note he gave another kid telling him to "suck a dick".
.....the real challenge in parenting might be not laughing when you're supposed to be angry....and chewing a boys ass because you can't say that shit.....when the truth is "hey son, there are going to be a thousand times in your life that this is an appropriate response.....just not in 3rd grade"
Good luck man.
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