BEING a MOTHER is UNIQUE

Motherhood is a major learning curve. One minute you're pregnant and the next you're a feeding, swaddling, diapering, soothing machine, an instant expert in basic infant first aid and the art of latching a five-point harness. At the same time, you're way out of your depth, struggling to navigate a stormy sea of new emotions that are unique to moms — from exhilarating pride to nail-biting frustration. Mastering the bottle is one thing; it's much more complicated to finesse the emotional hurdles of motherhood, especially when they morph and mutate as your baby reaches each new milestone. "In my 20 years of practice as a psychiatrist, I've noticed that there are certain things that we as moms skin our knees over time and again," says Valerie Davis Raskin, M.D., author of The Making of a Mother: Overcoming the Nine Key Challenges — From Crib to Empty Nest . "The good news is that if you can identify those emotional trials and learn from them," says Raskin, "you can apply that wisdom when they come up again." That said, there's no one right way to cope with any of the five emotionally charged mom obstacles outlined here. You'll still break down in tears from time to time (we guarantee it), but Raskin's advice will get you started on developing coping strategies that make these tough passages on the journey of motherhood easier to manage