Before becoming a parent, I'd have put more emphasis on the yuckiness of the job; pooey diapers, messy eating, general chaos. That's really the easiest sort of stuff, just non-issues. I don't really spare much thought to any of that-- I just deal with it as needed. It's easy to be competent in making sure Ellie's clean and fed, that she's got clothes to wear; all the basic room and board sort of things.

I have much more anxiety about other things-- to what degree should I show my moods, or show disapproval even, at this stage. Am I doing enough structured play with her, versus just watching that she doesn't hurt herself in her own, self-directed explorations? Am I forgetting to stimulate some area of her life-- have we been drawing enough recently? Has she spent too much time in the pram when I've been shopping, or on walks. Do I spend too much time cleaning up and not enough time playing with her? Is it good to let her throw her books on the floor and choose another one after only a few pages? Am I talking/signing to her enough? In the right way? How come I haven't gotten around to reading the baby books I've been intending to read-- am I missing something important?

The hard stuff is the same as with any job-- how do I use what time I've got to make sure I'm working on the most important things. How do I get better at working this out?