Things I said I Would Do/Not Do.

As mamas, or actually, before we become first time mamas, we set our expectations way too high in my opinion. Our kids will be the best of the bunch and they will learn to read and write at the age of eighteen months, will only eat organic foods, wear environmentally friendly clothes, and find the cure for cancer by the age of two. ;)

Okay, maybe not that high or ridiculous but you get the idea. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. We only want what's best for them, but are we setting ourselves up for something we know is highly improbable unless you have an unlimited budget or you're a celebrity with the freedom to do just that?

Whatever it is, I know my standards were set so high as a first time mama that over time, you learn that most of it is kind of BS and you throw in the towel and just try your best. I learned that. Here are some things I swore I would do or not do for that matter and how after a couple of months of being in mamahood, all of that changed.

Everything organic. Look at all those pesticides and artificial stuff they put in food nowadays! <--- that was me when I was pregnant and Elliot's first couple of months. Pshh, all that shit is so expensive! I went from a couple of organic veggies to make baby food to regular produce. Forget all of the shampoos and soaps and towels and clothes. Target is my best friend when it comes to those things. I did get the organic food pouches because yes, I'm still afraid of all that stuff, plus these were great on the go and perfectly safe. And yes, I still wash the veggies really well before using but they are okay! My kid will survive! :)

Eating junk food. We have always been healthy eaters, almost always, and of course that was and has been our number one thing. We hardly ever eat junk food and consider it a treat for ourselves. By no means do we consider ourselves better than anyone else, it's the fact that we are weight gainers! Me so more than Jack and we have to really watch what we eat. We also want to be healthy of course so this was a must for Elliot as well. He eats really good (thank God!) and I swore that he would never eat junk food.

That completely changed and now we treat him to a couple of fries, an occasional hot dog, mac & cheese, pizza, etc. He's a fan of Classic Lays as well. :) We decided that yes, while he needs to eat healthy, going solely on that route would create a picky eater. We didn't want that. He needed to know what other food is like not just what we give him. And boy does he love it ;)

Pacifier after being a year old. Yeah, that didn't work out so great. You can read about that here. I finally gave up and after my mama friends comments, I felt better about it and let it go. If I get to three years old and Elliot is still attached to his paci then I will worry.

Co-sleeping. This always terrified me. I pictured Elliot being smothered by one of us by accident and us not having a clue until the next morning. Uhm no thanks. Also, we need our sleep. Functioning on a couple of hours of sleep as a parent is possible, we all do it and get through it but it's not ideal! Not for us. Ha. The wars began in the middle of the night as to who should get up to get Elliot when he woke up crying, we had only gotten one to two hours of sleep and Elliot was ready to party. Get up, argue with your hubs because you got up last time, put Elliot back to sleep, get back in bed, get one more hour of sleep, repeat. Then as he got a little older and would wake up at night, we decided that if the first time he woke up and we put him back to sleep and he woke up a second time, he would go in bed with us. Solution! He slept through the night. Although he sleeps soundly a lot more in his crib now, we still put him in bed with us more times than I'll admit. Besides, the snuggle time we get is priceless.

Not going to the doctor for every single thing. I thought, shoot, I know what I'm doing, I'm not going to be one of those mamas to freak out about everything. Yes, yes I am. To this day I am. I've gotten better, A LOT better but I still take him to the doctor even if it is to tell me to give him Motrin. I don't know if that will change. I'm sure I'll go less with our second child but I will still go. I need to know that my kid is okay. Sorry not sorry.

Being judgmental of other kids throwing tantrums in public. I would tell Jack, those parents need to get control of that situation, our son will never behave like that. Oh how little did I know, how naive I was! Now I look at the parents and understand one hundred percent. Two hundred percent.

Take a million pictures of firsts and everything he does. I found it kind of ridiculous until I had Elliot! Now I'm THAT mama and I don't care!

Elliot will be clean and know to put things away when he's done playing. Bahaha still laughing about that one!

These are just a couple of things, what are yours?

Here's to learning a lot more as parents with Elliot and even more when we decide on baby #2! Cheers to the weekend and spending time with Jack & this little one aka The Tornado! ;)