Parenting Hot Topics

I am not one to get deeply involved (or involved at all) in the hot topic debates that accompany Motherhood.  You know those I’m talking about. . .

Natural birth vs. Epidural
Breast vs. Bottle
Stay at Home vs. Working Mom
Vaccinations vs. No vaccinations.

. . . to name a few.  It’s not that I don’t care about these topics. . . I’m just of the belief that each woman/family can make their own decisions and I truly respect that. 

I do not read a lot of parenting books, magazines, and other resources.  I have found that they tend to make me more anxious than make me a better parent.  After Charlie was born someone gave me a “First Year” book that told me what he was supposed to be doing each minute during his first year.  (Okay, maybe not each minute, but it seemed like it.)  If he wasn’t doing this or that I would worry that something must be wrong or I am parenting him wrong.  After awhile I had to chuck the book and trust my own God-given instincts when raising my little guy. And guess what?. . . His first year went perfectly fine and far more pleasant after the book went into the trash.

Note: I said “perfectly fine” not perfect.  I am not a parenting expert and I’m not above checking out resources for specific questions or ideas for parenting. . . For the most part, though, Chad and I decided to trust our guts.

I would bet that anyone who has a new baby at some point hears or makes the statement  “I wish they came with an instruction manual”.  I must say that I’m glad that they don’t or I would see only those things I am not doing right.  If I had to write a manual based on my own very limited knowledge, though, I think it would go something like this:

LOVE THEM TO PIECES. . . FROM THE BEGINNING UNTIL THE END. . .

THE END.

Okay, so maybe it’s not that simple. . . but maybe it is?  Love means so many things and can be expressed in so many ways and while I know I am FAR from the perfect parent, I absolutely adore these kiddos.  I  hope that whatever trials they face in their lives and wherever they might go they always know we love them and try to show it in so many ways. . .

By snuggling with them. . . taking moments to sit and just be with them. 

By playing with them. . .

They both beat the pants off of me playing these games this afternoon.

By exploring the world in books. . .

and in nature. . .

They worked long and hard to catch a grasshopper that was quite feisty in his numerous escapes.

By telling them how proud of them we are. . .

And how much we believe in them. . .

And of course, by setting boundaries. . .