fwordsaremyfavorite: Be the One You Want to Be

Welcome 2017!! We have arrived!

Life has been busy and chaotic and wonderful lately! We were able to visit family for the holidays and came back home on NYE, bringing my Mom along with us! So it's been a refreshing way to start the year.

So I had an entirely different post written up yesterday, but ended up tossing it because it just felt forced and rehearsed and I wasn't excited to share it.

But while I took a break from blogging, I was able to jot down some ideas for future topics and this one really stuck out because it just so happens that a good portion of my friends circle are excitedly and anxiously about to become Mommies! 😍👶 (F is for friends and family!)

Motherhood is incredible, but it is also terrifying. It's an all-in kind of deal. You're not living just for yourself anymore. From the second that baby arrives your life alters in a way you couldn't quite imagine. No take backs, no quitting, no giving up, no tapping out...

You've got a kid.

A kid who will need you, depend on you, cry for you, scream for you, follow you, watch you, learn from you. Make you laugh. A kid who will love you. This kid will change you. Your decision making. Your thought process. Your schedule. Your emotions. Your body.

An entirely new world is created when you enter into the life of Motherhood. It's like you come alive again. Life is written in a brand new color, seen through a brand new lens. It's incredible.

So for the Mommies-to-be, newbie-Mommies, Toddler-Mommas, and Teen-Moms... I wanted to share the how to's of becoming a good Mommy.

Step 1: BE THE MOM YOU WANT TO BE.

Step 2: Enjoy it. Cherish it.

It's that simple. But I'm actually kidding. Because it's not quite that simple....

While I was in KY visiting family I experienced my first critique of my personal parenting choices. (To my face at least) I've always heard of these things happening to people and I've considered myself pretty lucky to have only encountered that now (Adelyn is 2 1/2), but it didn't sit well with me and irritated me for days, and still does to a point.... can you tell?

Anyway, I had to refer to my helpful guide and remind myself that I'm being the Mom that I want to be. *Keyword there is I*.

Entering Motherhood means you are opening your life up to a whole new world of judgement, criticism, debate, and rules/standards.

Did you breastfeed? Formula feed? Are you co-sleeping? Cloth diapering? Don't hold them too much it spoils them! Laidback parenting is lazy parenting. Let them cry it out -- how awful! Helicopter parents... oh boy! Pacis at 2 mean they will have them forever. "My kid potty trained at 11 months." "My kid was walking at 6 months." Baby wearing? All organic diets. No TV time before 2 or you're a neglectful parent. Your kid throws tantrums? Mine doesn't. "My kid knows the alphabet backwards and the pythagorean theorem... he's 3."

You start to question your Mom worth. Your child's development. Your decisions... At some point in early Motherhood, I was even judging MYSELF. Be careful there Mommas... just like all children learn and develop at different paces, parenting styles can be altered in so many ways. Be the Mom you want to be.

Be the Mom your child needs. To them, you are super Mom. You are their favorite person. You are their world. If you can't be the Mom you want to be, then be the Mom your child needs.

Motherhood. You're not going to get it right every time. You will make mistakes. You will lose your temper. You'll forget a jacket. You will feel like you are going insane. You will feel defeated. You'll experience exhaustion, be pooped on, and sometimes find yourself arguing with someone who weighs merely 27-pounds! .....And that's only like the first 2 years of their life!

Be the Mom you want to be and enjoy every second and every season. Because for every challenge, mistake, or feeling of being terrified or overwhelmed there are 1,000 moments of indescribable happiness, love, joy, pride, and fun. Be the Mom you want to be because these seasons pass by so quickly.

Currently I'm enjoying the transition to a toddler bed. And being the Mom I want to be by sharing my bed with the sweetest little girl (and a rotten dog) on nights at 3am where her room and bed seem a little bit too lonely. Will giving in really get us 6 more years of co-sleeping? Doubtful. But it does give me a few more moments of soaking up her being little, where she needs and wants to be near me. Be the Mom YOU Want to be. Enjoy this new journey. Cherish it. And don't apologize.