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Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Best Mom


I wish you could have seen the mom I was before I had kids.  I had it all figured out.  I knew how my pregnancy and delivery would pan out and I effectively had all of the first year planned.

I knew our sleeping arrangements.  My child would definitely be sleeping in her own bed, through the night, and would likely be taking two naps a day.  In her crib.

I knew I would feed my child natural, nutritious food after we finished our breastfeeding run of one year.

My child would never be the one throwing a fit/imitating the distressed teradactyl in Target.

There would not be any television watching until my baby was at least two.

I'm telling you, I knew it all

I never understood the stories of kids falling off of the bed, splashing their hands in inappropriate places, or getting into definite no-nos.  Weren't there parents around to watch the every move of these kids?

But the truth?  The truth is that I don't have it all figured out and I never will have it all figured out.  I certainly did not have things figured out prior to bearing the title of momma, and I will never claim to.

However.

I have discovered what works best for our family and that it isn't a universal set of things to follow for all families.  I have a finicky eater, a co-sleeper, a milk-a-holic at 16 months, a child that whines, and a record of falls and hands found in the toilet.  I am not the perfect mom that I once envisioned.  I try my best, I make mistakes, and we learn new things ever day.  The most important thing to me is how much love there is in our little family.We have fallen into a daily routine, or daily chaos depending on the day, that works for us and I'm proud of that.

And boy was I ever slapped right across the face with reality the moment I became a mom.  Not only did I not know everything there ever was to know about being a perfect mom, but I also had no clue the love that I would have for my child.

1 comment:

Sonora said...

I love this post. I can totally relate. It is amazing how everything changes once you actually have your child. Not much goes as planned, but you still figure out what works best for you and your family.
My ideas of mothering got turned upside down again after the twins were born. Things I would have never done or thought, I did or thought about. It has forced me to change my mothering yet again, but in the end I think I am better for it.

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