Things I never thought I'd do

Today I'm linking up with Melissa at Growing Up Geeky for her Toddle Along Tuesday blog hop! The topic for today is "Things I never thought I'd do." As a first time mom, I have definitely broken some of my own rules. When you're expecting your sweet, perfect bundle of joy, it's so easy to say things like, "My baby will be exclusively breastfed and a drop of formula shall not pass his baby lips," or, "He will never become dependent on the pacifier," or, "We will limit the amount of television he watches."


Yeah.


Newsflash: Breastfeeding is HARD. (If you're one of those women who never had trouble ever, I don't wanna know.) I firmly believe that a mother should do what's best for her child, and that she should do what she needs to do. Whether you feed your baby breastmilk or formula, he will be just fine. Colin was, after I threw in the towel at four weeks and started feeding formula exclusively. Guess what? He never did grow a second head or a third eye. He continued to thrive. I still experience some guilt over my short-lived breastfeeding journey, but I try not to beat myself up over it.

Oh, and by the way, pacifiers aren't the devil. Colin doesn't have them all the time; he mostly just uses them to fall asleep for naps and bed, and if he's sick or teething or especially cranky. We're not completely sure yet when we'll wean him from the paci, but I don't regret letting him have one. Plus, let's be honest. It's really stinking cute when he says "guggles" for bubbles with a paci in.

 

And, last but not least, the ever popular television debate. Meh, I'm not going to debate anything with you. I'm just going to say that for us, the Disney Jr. channel has been a lifesaver. Special Agent Oso makes Colin giggle and dance, and Jake and the Neverland Pirates helps him wind down for bed as he sits in one of our laps with his milk and watches. The kid loves TV. We don't let him watch all the time, of course, and there isn't a television at daycare, so it's not like he's addicted to the tube. We did break down, though, and buy a DVD player for the car, and his favorite show to watch as we drive around is Go, Diego, Go! He's even started singing along. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.


The moral of the story, ladies... and I've said this before... is this: You do what works for you and your family, and I'll do what works for mine. You may agree with my methods, and you may not. Either way, it doesn't matter. Every child is different, and needs to be parented in a way that is tailored to his needs. Breastmilk or formula, paci or no paci, tv or no tv; our kids already have what they need most, and that is our love.