Paranoid Parenting!!!

I think at one point or another every parent has a paranoid moment! For me it was fear that Lena was going to choke in her sleep if I wasn't right at her side. For Josh, it's recently been the fear of carbon monoxide (our alarm went off the other night, but the fire dept. detected nothing! Probably a technical error)

I'm not exactly sure how my generation and those that came before me are even alive. Today's "media" warns of harmful chemicals in your food, blindness if you sit to close to the t.v, germs that infest any and EVERYthing, a fear of hospitals, and of course to help you with all of these horrific things they convince to buy some other product to get you through it! I wonder if anyone else sees the coincidence here??

I like to call those that fall into this category paranoid parents!! I'm not judging, just as I mentioned earlier, I have fallen into this category once or twice myself. Just the other day I bought an organic rice cereal for Lena as opposed to the Gerber brand. My theory was that it had to be better for her, however I payed twice as much and when comparing the ingredients there was a minimal difference. Yep I was completely sucked in!

I'm trying to learn to go with my gut, and instinct as opposed to being sucked into this paranoia that Hollywood has ultimately created! Thank you Brangelina!! I have to remember that I was formula fed, ate McDonald's every week my entire childhood, drank as many cokes as I wanted, and ABSOLUTELY loved the television! I am not obese, don't have any uncurable ailments, I've always scored high on tests, have a degree, and a very successful life!!

I don't have a problem with the stir crazy paranoia until hurtful words get involved. I'm talking about the mothers that criticize other mothers for their way of parenting! I can't tell you how many articles, books, and blogs I've read that end up putting mother's down for not breastfeeding or using the tv to get something done!! Shouldn't we all be on the same team here? Aren't we all learning?

I believe that as mother's we should only support one another. I breastfed exclusively for two months, but due to personal circumstances had to begin supplementing with formula. To be honest with you, it was nice to get a bit of a break. I live EIGHT hours away from any of my family, so my support system in NC is little to none! I am on my own from 6-4 every single day. I don't have a mom or grandmother coming out every other day to clean my house, cook my meals, or just watch my child. I'm not complaining, but I'm also not saying that it's easy. Having to sit down every two hours to feed, and every other hour to pump, on top of the rest of a day to day schedule left me completely exhausted. Then with nighttime I was left to do every single feed. While loving the connection and bond I had with my little nugget, I also embraced being able to share the responsibilty with my husband when the formula was introduced. And I believe that he too found a bonding experience by being able to sit down quitely and just stare at his daughter while nururing her. So no, giving Lena formula has not made me a bad mother. It's also, in my opinion helped my marriage significantly!

While this might be a bit much information, I feel the need to share. As a breastfeeding mother you begin to view yourself and "the girls" as pure business. After having a baby stuck to them all day, the last thing you want or need that night is your other baby latched on (the hubs). Formula feeding gave me (and my husband) my body back. Let's be honest, you don't feel sexy in a breastfeeding bra covered in milk and spit up!! And being intimate is a part of marriage and love. :0) I won't mention any more, I think you get the jist of that!

I would have loved to have been able to breastfeed Lena for a longer period of time, and I still try to atleast twice a day!

Again, I'm not judging any mother on the way they choose to raise their children! I believe we all go on instinct and try to do the best we know how! But it's not easy, you know it, and I know it! So let's show some more compassion for one another! Let's look at the end result, as opposed to how we got there! With God and Love a household can never go wrong!!