Putting Your Toddler in a Tiara

So, let's just say you have a baby. You work hard making this baby. It gestates and grows inside you for months. You nourish it, you feed it, you take ginourmous prenatal vitamins to try to make sure it ends up with ten fingers and ten toes.
Your doctor tells you to take more vitamin D. You do it.
Your mom tells you not to lift anything heavy. You listen.
Your husband begs you to stop going to the gym. You bid adieu to the elliptical.
You do everything in your power to make your baby perfect. And then it's born.
All of the sudden your baby is out in the world and people are judging it. Your friends and family RAVE that your baby is beautiful. They claim it's the best baby they've EVER laid eyes on. You want to believe them.
You look at your baby and try to be objective, but it's really hard. After all it's your baby. You wonder if it's really ugly and maybe you don't realize it. You wonder if everyone hates your baby but they're just too scared to tell you.
Realistically you know that not everyone is going to like your baby. In fact, there are people out there who are going to say your baby is whiny or boring. But knowing that and experiencing that are two very different things because like it or not, this baby is a part of you.
All of the sudden you turn into one of those crazy mothers on Toddlers and Tiaras. You wonder if you should have put her in the pink dress instead of the purple. You briefly consider getting her those scary fake teeth things so her smile isn't quite so gummy. You obsess over the judges' every facial twitch as they look at your baby and you wonder if there was something you could have done differently. Something you could have done better. You cry. A lot.
And then you remember at the end of the day it's your baby. People will love her and people will hate her, but no matter what anyone says about her, you are proud of what you've created. Because she's all yours.