When you have a newborn, everyone wants to give you advice. The cashier in the grocery store, the old lady who lives down the street, your mother, your friends, me. 

And the hardest parts of having a newborn are common to most babies.

Here are a few points:

We parents can never get a break. Studies just keep raining down on us that make every parenting choice we've ever made seem like a bad choice. Take the newest mark of bad parenting for example: swaddling.

We were told to swaddle our firstborn because it inhibits the startle reflex. My husband would literally get elated while wrapping our little newborn up as a burrito. It was so tidy and it calmed our little fussy one. I never really got the hang of it, and I always preferred skin-to-skin contact with my little ones. (Yes, it is about me.)

I know that some parents swear by swaddling and can't imagine calming a fussy, colicky baby without the wrapping technique. But swaddling has been getting a bad rap lately. Studies say it increased hip dysplasia and according to Slate magazine, centres in the U.S. have banned swaddling because of risks of SIDS and hip problems. The ripple effect of the ban has parenting staying away from the baby burrito.

I love Honest Toddler so much that sometimes I go to her Twitter page just to read over her tweets for the day. Her passive-aggressive outbursts make me laugh, and squirm with recognition that toddlers have feelings too. 

If Honest Toddler was in a movie, it would be Baby Geniuses where the two-year-olds know the meaning of life until they "cross over". They pity us grown-ups with our minutiae and focus on unimportant parts of our day, you know like limiting juice and wearing pants.

The voice behind the hilarious and popular Honest Toddler Twitter feed and blog has been a mystery...until now.

[Spoiler Alert!]

By now you must have heard the news that the Duchess of Cambridge has fulfilled the first part of her most important duty -- she is pregnant! Sound the trumpets! Royal Bump Watch Cometh! There is a royal heir coming (and it doesn't even matter if it is a girl or boy)!

Unfortunately for her though, she is very ill with "morning sickness." So ill that she has checked into the hospital for a few days and is receiving IV fluids to keep her hydrated.

Madonna has made a career of pushing boundaries, but just like most mothers she was caught unaware when her 15-year-old daughter did the same thing.

A photo of Lourdes casually smoking a cigarette was brought to Madonna's (and the world's) attention recently. Madonna was "not too happy" about her daughter smoking, she tells Harry Smith of the Today Show (check out the video below).

Gwenyth Paltrow. I find it possible to love her and hate her in the same minute. She is so annoyingly perfect and smug and yet has moments of realness.

But this post isn't really about her. It is about an issue that she brought up in a recent article in Harper's Bazaar in which she mentions bathtime in her house.

This wasn't the post I was planing to write tonight, but given the night I've had it is what I have come up with.

My 11-year-old son was in a funk and feeling cranky and down. He was lying on my bed when he did a funny, jerky head move and banged his head on the corner of my bedside table.

It obviously hurt and I went over to check out the situation and as I was soothing him, I noticed blood - never a good thing.

Sleep. It's the most elusive, fleeting, annoying, talked-about, and aggravating part of (early) parenthood.

With your first, no matter how much preparation you have had, there is absolutely no way that you are ready for the relentless attack on your sleep patterns. You will cry tears of exhaustion and bitterness. You will reach out to friends, strangers and professionals for answers.

But there are no answers on how to get your baby/toddler/preschooler to sleep. Nothing you will buy, read or pray to will prove to be the magic thing that does it. But looking back, there are a few things that helped me get through those sleepless nights and get my kids to sleep:

Everywhere I turn I keep hearing about Elf on a Shelf. Parents in the schoolyard are talking about what a wonder it is, there are news reports about it increasing the magic of Christmas, and it is all over the Internet. And now there is even an animated TV show about it. There are even funny but not suitable for little children photos.

What is this new "family tradition" of The Elf on a Shelf? It is a wooden elf that comes complete with storybook. The Elf, so the story goes, has magical qualities; he watches the kids during the day and then goes back to report to Santa each night. The Elf is a playful little guy so he re-appears each morning in a different place [note to parents: you have to remember to move it nightly], to scare... I mean... observe... no, I mean delight the children each day.

My friend Tracey Ruiz is the Sleep Doula. She goes and works one on one with families so everyone can sleep a little better. She will even sleep on the floor of the baby's room to help comfort a night-waker. I only wish I met her a few years ago, and maybe I wouldn't have lost so many brain cells to sleep deprivation. I asked her if she could do a guest post for me on some of the crazy toddler antics she has seen over the years. I found non-sleeping toddlers to be way more stressful than non-sleeping babies - babies are supposed to wake up all the time but toddlers are supposed to give mommy and daddy a break.

The Sleep Doula's Five Craziest Toddler Antics and How to Get Them to Sleep

I’ve been working in the trenches with parents of babies AND toddlers for years and I have seen it all. So often my clients feel ashamed or embarrassed when they first approach me to help with their non-sleeping toddler. They say it’s acceptable for babies not to sleep but not a two-year-old. The fact is, kids will be kids and they are much smarter then we ever give them credit for. To prove my point, here are my top five craziest toddler experiences AND tips on how to overcome troublesome, yet super adorable, little negotiators. Even in these extreme situations, you’ll be able to pick up a few tips to help you too!