In Defense of Motherhood

My friend Katie over at Tutus and Tantrums wrote an awesome blog post called The Guiltless Bottle.

It's such a great read.  Whether you formula feed or breastfeed... it doesn't matter.  We moms are each just trying to find our way through these murky waters, doing what we are able and what we think is best for our children and ourselves.  So for every mother who has:

• become pregnant unexpectedly
• become pregnant on purpose
• become pregnant with medical assistance
• given birth with an epi
• given birth without pain meds
• given birth via cesarean section
• become a mother through adoption
• become a mother through a surrogate
• formula fed
• breastfed
• co-slept
• put their baby in a crib on night #1
• let baby sleep in a carseat/swing/bassinet so that she could get a few precious hours of rest
• made their own baby food
• bought non-organic baby food at the store
• worn their baby
• used a stroller
• worked outside the home
• worked at home
• quit their job to be home with their children
• taken her baby to music/art/dance/gymnastics/swim class
• not signed her baby up for a single organized activity
• got her baby's ears pierced
• set a rule that no ears would be pierced until the teen years
• devoted herself to one child
• devoted herself to a gaggle of children
• sent their kids to daycare
• hired a nanny to care for her kids
• sent her kids to public school
• sent her kids to private school
• homeschooled her kids
• let her kids walk to school
• sent her kids on a schoolbus
• made her kids share a room
• gave each kid their own room
• raised a child in a family with mom & dad together
• raised a child in a family with mom & dad apart
• raised a child by herself
• raised a child with two moms
• feeds her kids only organic farm-fresh food
• feeds her kids food she cooks
• feeds her kids food she buys prepared
• got stretch marks from her babies
• got grey hairs from her kids
• got worry lines and laugh lines from her teens
• carried an extra 20lbs from her pregnancy
• suffered from lack of sleep
• told her children she loved them (knowing they would never understand how much)

...I give you my respect and admiration.

You are a rockstar!  Motherhood is a crazy journey and we all need to be kind to each other through the process.

Well, that's a stumper

Allison's inquisitiveness is growing by the day.  Lately I am asked to spell at least a dozen words for her every day.  And dinner time has become a time for her to ask how things are made.

Pretzels?  no problem
Bananas?  easy

But tonight was a bit more tough.  First she asked how you make water.  Hmmm... do I go with the scientifically correct 2 Hydrogens + 1 Oxygen?  Or the simpler, it comes from rain?  I went with rain, collected in a reservoir and piped to our faucet.

And then the really tough one.

Mommy, how to you make people?

{{insert long pause}}

Well, people grow in the tummys of their mommies and then the doctors help them come out.  That seemed to appease her enough for now.  Oh boy do we have a long road ahead.

You know you're a mom when

your biggest hope for the day is no more bodily fluids.

The morning started out okay. The kids even seemed to sleep in a bit. But when it was time to get them up we discovered that Peter had spit up and his sheet and back here wet. And Allison had thrown up in her bed. When I opened her door the stench was awful! I thought she had a bad dirty diaper until I saw the bed.

Of course, they were both in great moods and seemed fine. Neither of them had made any noise to indicate that they were having a rough time. We managed to get both of them bathed, clothed, sheets stripped and started washing, fed and out the door. But it was a bit hectic.

Just hoping the rest of the day will be free of fluids.