I've always been a firm believer that you should learn from your past mistakes, whether it's parenting, relationships, or that awful style trend you wore 15 years ago that's now back on the racks.

But there's also something to hearing advice from someone else, a person who's been there and done that and, in sharing their own self-reflection, might have a few helpful lessons that could make your life easier, better, or less embarrassing. 

And that's exactly what you'll find here in my weekly column. First up: my thoughts on the dreaded, guilt-inducing, much-debatable baby book. And why you should do it differently than I did.

The decision over where your newborn is going to sleep after you bring him home from the hospital can be a difficult one to make for moms, even ones who live in a palace. She and Prince William are getting their nursery all ready for their royal heir's arrival, but supposedly Kate Middleton's baby will sleep in her room for at least the first few weeks or so after birth.

No, no -- it doesn't sound like she's planning on co-sleeping. It's more likely that her little one will be sleeping in a (very fancy) bassinet right near mum and dad until he's ready to move to his own room.

Baby milestones are all the rage the first year of your child's life. By the time your little one's first birthday rolls around, you likely have a list -- both mental and physical -- of all the momentous things he or she has done. Eating solids? Check! Sitting up? Check! Crawling? Check! Walking? Eh, maybe.

But milestones aren't just for babies. Moms hit milestones, too. Mama milestones. You just weren't keeping track because you were too busy taking pictures of your baby.

It may not be on your typical list of baby milestones -- you know, walking, talking, eating from a spoon -- but at some point, just about every kid gets a hold of somebody's glasses. And then everyone just has to crowd around to get a picture, because really, is there anything sillier than a baby in glasses?

No, really, is there anything that makes you smile quite as wide?

I may be the biggest goober on the planet for admitting this, but I laugh every time I see an itty bitty baby with a big ol' pair of glasses on their face.

And if you're just like me, we've got good news!

I'm not one for banning books, but there are a few I refuse to look at. Two, actually. My husband's baby book and my own. I could go back and track how we made it through each childhood development milestone and when, but I've learned the hard way that I'm better off not knowing. When I did, I made myself crazy.

The problem? I was constantly running a tally in my head of the milestones my baby had met before her parents and those she hadn't tackled yet. If she wasn't tracking ahead of either my husband or me (or both), I'd instantly go into panic mode.

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If there's one thing new parents really get competitive about, it's baby's first word. Mom wants the little person she carried for all those months to say "Mama" first. Dad, of course, is working every angle to get kiddo to say "Dada."

I've seen parents sit their baby down and spend a half hour (or more!) trying to coax their name out of the poor kid. I hate to break it to the parents who do that, but you're just making yourself crazy. Your baby is going to drop that first big word -- usually sometime after their first birthday -- and what they say is going to be totally up to them.

Heck, a quick poll of parents showed kids come up with some pretty goofy stuff. So don't fret if your kid said your partner's name first. You could have gotten one of these:

I don't know what it feels like to have a child and not have the dark cloud of cancer hanging over my head. I was diagnosed with Stage 3C widespread gynecologic cancer when my daughter was just five days old. So, despite my best efforts to live each day in the moment, there's almost always this niggling little voice in the back of my head reminding me, "you might not be here when that happens."