I really thought parenting was what I saw on Facebook. I mean, it sounds really embarrassing

for me to say that.

Like many expectant parents, journalist Michaeline Dukeleff had some rather idealized notions

of motherhood. Like I saw the pictures of the babies and heard about moms snuggling

and having this, you know, incredibly romantic version of what a mom is doing. And so that

was what I envisioned.

Michaeline wanted to be the perfect mom, making sure she gave her kids all the opportunities

she didn't have growing up.

This was my opportunity to like create the person that I wish I had been. I could have

gone to Harvard or Yale and, you know, I'm going to create this child that could do that.

I also thought that like I just instinctually would know how to parent.

But when Michaeline and her husband finally had their baby Rosie, the reality wasn't quite

what she had envisioned.

Oh my gosh, the fantasy crumbled very quickly.

So Rosie's a very intelligent kid. I don't want to like throw it under the bus. She is smart

and funny and really strong, but she's also super like strong willed.

Rosie also cried a lot, which terrified her parents. They just couldn't figure out what they

were doing wrong.

My husband said to the pediatrician, you know, if she's not eating or sleeping, she's

crying. And the pediatrician kind of laughed and was like, well, that's a baby.

Somehow Michaeline and her husband powered through Rosie's early years. By the time she

was to all that emotion turned into tantrums and she was having just lots of tantrums, like

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