You know this ain't your first time at the rodeo when…

your toothless, barely eating solid foods infant is mysteriously covered in a messy brown substance, and when you finally discover what it is you are more relieved that it is not poop than you are upset that she just gummed down as much as she could of a chocolate covered protein bar.

Now, the first-time parent version of me would have been ill knowing that, one, she had just had sugar, and, two, that it wasn’t organic, and, three, wondering how she didn’t choke, if she still might choke, and what horrible consequences there might be to her physical and mental well-being.

There will be no calls to poison control or frantic searches on the internet this time. Baby appears to be fine. End of story.

I don’t think parenting gets any easier with more time and more kids, but I do think that it gets more enjoyable when you let yourself relax into the job.

Not chocolate, but a typical meal…