Totally Worth It

I have a confession: I have been fantasizing...about sourdough bread. For the past 16+ months!

Let me explain. When my little guy was born, he was a pretty fussy kid. I know some babies are just more prone to fussiness than others, but he also had a chronic diaper rash that I couldn't get to permanently resolve no what I tried. These symptoms seemed to pop up at the most random times. Took me a few months to realize that it correlated with when I ate wheat. As I was exclusively breastfeeding at the time, I've been pretty much wheat free since he was around 4 months old.

It wasn't an easy thing to do, and I wish I could say I was completely unselfish all the time. There were a few times I would take a bite of something and live to regret it when my poor little guy would get all red, and even got blisters! I'm certainly no saint. It was quite a challenge for me.

But mamas, it was so worth it!

My sweet little angel, so grown up. Weaned, potty trained, sleeping in his own bed, it all happens so fast!

My son is now 20 1/2 months old. As soon as he turned 20 months I decided to potty train him, even though the method I use recommends waiting until 22 months. He's a pretty good communicator, and with the new baby coming in the fall, I just wanted to get as much time out of diapers in for him before baby came along. It was a lot of work, but we are now three weeks into it and he is doing fantastic! 

Totally worth the hard work. I now have a little guy who tells me when he has to go potty and is also weaned (milk dried up because of pregnancy and I decided to stop, he was only nursing a few times a day anyway). So I can have sourdough bread again!

Some stages of parenting are tough. Caring for a demanding newborn. Trying to get a toddler to adjust to sleeping in his own bed (at a decent hour). Making a five-year-old understand that they don't actually know everything, and, that you actually DO know a thing or two. Trying to be patient when raging hormones have taken over your child. 

But you can do this, mama! Sure, you will make mistakes. Sure, you can't handle everything (anything?) perfectly. But YOU CAN DO THIS!

And the storm will settle eventually. Babies don't fuss forever. You will sleep again. Your persistence and patience will pay off and you will have a good relationship with your difficult child. 

And remember, Christ thinks you are totally worth it. He thinks you are good enough. He thinks you are to die for.

Love you, mamas!

Lee