The following is a blog post from Jessica Wolstenholm, former marketing executive turned stay-at-home mom and co-author of The Baby Companion. Jessica is also a co-founder of GraceforMoms.com and can be followed on Twitter at @graceformoms. As always, free copies of The Baby Companion are available to book bloggers interested in a review.

As we look towards the ‘birth’ of our newest addition, The Baby Companion: A Faith-Filled Guide for Your Journey Through Baby’s First Year, I’ve thought long and hard about what it means to be “faith-filled” during such a major life transition. Whether you are welcoming your first child or your fifth, having a baby truly does change everything. Schedules, finances, and dynamics are all influenced by the tiny life that takes over your heart from his very first breath.

In a culture driven by information and perfecting methods, new moms have been caught in a whirlwind of pressure and performance standards for the past 10+ years. When I welcomed my daughter into our lives after struggling with infertility and loss I wanted so badly to savor every moment of her miracle life. Instead, I was plagued by guilt and the feeling that I had to do it “right” or else I would fail as her mother.