Competitive Parenting - This Weeks Experience

Who cares if?

You formula feed – I breast feed

You started solids at 4 months – I waited until 6 months

Your baby is heavier than mine

You let you baby cry (scream & vomit) themselves to sleep as ‘self-settling’ is important – I rock, feed, cuddle and hold my baby to sleep

You follow whatever the latest book says is right – I follow my baby’s cues

You don’t use crib bumpers – I do

Your baby goes to bed at 7 – my baby goes to bed at 9

Your baby has 8 teeth – Mine has 2

Your baby has brand new cloths – And my baby rocks the pre-loved threads

Your baby is forward facing at 6 months – My baby is still rear facing at 9 months

Your baby doesn’t watch TV EVER – My baby likes to dance with Ellen

Your baby can say the alphabet – My baby can do that AND in 3 languages

Your baby can surf the web – My baby built it

Your baby can drive a car – my baby can fly

When is parenting YOUR baby how YOUR baby needs you to going to be acceptable to other people without them trying to tell you how to do it RIGHT (aka their way)?

Does it really affect you if I sit on my couch at 9pm with my lump of love in my arms and rock her to sleep? Does it really affect you if I take her into my bed at 2am because I would rather get SOME sleep than have her scream for 3 hrs before finally giving up and fall asleep feeling forgotten and abandon?

Its exhausting trying to defend your parenting style every time you meet up with other parents.  What is important is that you are confident in yourself, your baby, your partner and the decisions you make when you are a parent.  If your baby is not in danger from your choices and is relaxed, happy and content with life – If your style works for you than why change?

This has been our lesson this week.  I will no longer question if i and parenting the “right” way anymore. I will not feel inadequate as a mother. I will not feel like I am ‘Creating a monster’. I will not let my baby ‘Cry it out’. I will sit with her in my arms, snuggle in close, smell her hair, kiss her chubby cheeks and rock her to sleep. I will soak up every last drop of baby goodness every minute I am blessed with. Live if far too short and unpredictable for me to shut my poor baby in a dark room by herself and wait for her to cry herself to sleep – all so I can make her “independent” – I want her to depend on me just like she has from the minute she was created – why change that now?

I am off to rock my non weened, rear facing, crib bumpered, breastfeeding, 2 teeth, full of love, cuddly, chubby, joyful, chatty baby girl to sleep!