Let's Be Real

I am so proud to see more and more women not falling victim to the "mommy wars." I love that I have real mommy friends in my life. Since becoming a mommy, I have grown closer with my sister because I have this new level of respect for her and everything she works toward raising my two nephews, who are awesome by the way. She will be one of the first to tell you, it doesn't matter if you do things exactly the same...they don't turn out the same. My youngest nephew is a spit fire and you honestly never know what might come out of that mouth, but that is what makes it fun. They are both their own individuals and they are deeply loved. It truly saddens me that there are mothers out there that aim to make others look or feel bad for not making one choice over another. I love that I have positive mommy's in my life. The positivity in my life helps me refuse to feel guilty about other things.

I refuse to feel guilty that for the first month of my son's life, he didn't want to sleep anywhere but in my arms. I stressed so much about this at the beginning, but to be honest- however he would sleep was fine...because that is how I got to sleep. It clearly did not do any lasting damage to his sleep needs because for the past two mornings he has taken a nap just like this. He also now goes down at night awake and falls asleep with very little fuss before 9:00 p.m. and is up by 6:00 a.m. But if he still needed me to cuddle him...I would not feel guilty!

I refuse to feel guilty that breast feeding didn't work out the way I wanted it to. I was able to breast feed my sweet boy for a short month before I was not able to give him what he needed. It was not my original plan to do formula but a lot of things aren't planned and end up just fine! I agree that breast is best, but I am so thankful for formula and being able to keep this boy healthy! 

I refuse to feel guilty that I have not lost my pregnancy weight. Do I want to? Yes, duh! I went running with this angel for the first time the other night. Honestly, I had this vision of being able to exercise often after Ian came along. Haha! How funny! Being a single mom does not leave much room for that kind of stuff and I simply refuse to lose more time with my son that I already do. So him tagging along is the only option right now and frankly, there is just not enough time for exercise some days. I refuse to feel guilty that my walk with God and my son are more important. I do feel guilty when I think about the television time I waste though! Oops!

I refuse to feel guilty that I can't stay at home with my baby boy. Of course, I would love to be at home with him whenever I can. When sick days or weekends roll around...I absolutely love it!! But if I am ever going to be able to get back on my feet and support myself one day...I have to be working and I know that one day my son will admire me for that!

Lastly, I refuse to feel guilty about taking me time, especially when me time involves watching the Dawgs beat LSU in an awesome game!!! My little boy is the light of my life and I would never trade being a mommy to him for anything, but I still have to be just me sometimes. Plus, I know he will share my passion for the red and black when he gets older because he makes one super cute Georgia fan!!