Freedom in this stage
We all know that comparison is a slippery slope. Especially when it comes to motherhood. I've struggled through phases of comparing Addilyn's sleep, temperament, habits, or how I discipline. I've constantly reminded myself that God picked me to be Addilyn's mom and my job is to do the best I can, and that may look different for someone else.
There is something I am loving about the newborn stage. Isaac's needs are so simple. Eat, sleep, cuddle. That's about it and I'm meeting them. He's no all star sleeper, most nights doing one three hour stretch and then who knows what, but it's a whole lot of awake time for me lately. But you know what? I have no control over that. There's no decision making of if I should let him cry or if I'm feeding him enough or not enough. He cries and I feed him or rock him or do whatever makes him happy. There's so spoiling him or holding him too much.
As Addilyn got older, the more I questioned how I was handling things with her. I'd read or listen to how other babies were sleeping and question if I was doing the "right" thing for her. As she gets older it's easy for me to start questioning if I'm disciplining her the "right" way, if I'm choosing my battles wisely and if certain issues like our current bedtime struggles are a result of something I am or am not doing.
So I'm taking advantage of the freedom that is in this stage. And as exhausting as it is, enjoying that there isn't much questioning in this stage and feeling confident I am doing it just right!
5 comments:
Oh my goodness, I love this post. I wish I had followed this advice with our second. I remember trying to soak it all in but also being so stressed about all the little things. And now that our baby boy is turning ONE this week I know how quickly the first year of the second baby goes. Like lightening! Soak up that newborn-ness for sure! :)
Perfectly said! And don't stress too much about how you're raising Addilyn, you love her, and you're doing the best you can, and that's enough (I need to remind myself of this a lot)
Love this! Definitely something I know I'll need to remind myself of constantly once our little guy gets here :)
Hi Katie! Found you through Instagram recs and so enjoyed reading through some of your posts! Our boys are just a few days apart I think (mine actually DID come on leap day! Ha), and we also have a daughter- she's about to turn 2. So many of your posts recently have felt like my very own thoughts! (And you reminded me that I'd never shared my newborn pics either!!) I love following along with people on a similar journey and look forward to following along! Isaac is precious- congrats on #2!
I agree, I find myself second guessing if I'm feeding too often, is she self soothing herself, getting too much sleep, etc. I feel bad about having no patience for a typical toddler. It's a hard balance, but at the end of the day we all survived and for the most part are happy!!
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