Friday, December 7, 2012

Decisions I've had to Make Since Becoming a Mother


  • Cloth vs. Disposable - well, I put this here since it is a tough decision for some folks, but let's be honest: for me, it wasn't a decision at all.  I have never felt the urge to use cloth.  I give a big thumbs up to those who do, but that's about all I do for it.
  • Formula vs. Breastfeeding - I am very pro-breastfeeding but with Abby she had formula as well, so I don't really care what others do.  I like the breast because it is free!  Well, yes it is time, and time is money, but if you had to give them a bottle it is still time so it is money on top of money.  I'm thankful that I've been able to breastfeed my girls.  
  • Diaper bag vs diaper bag - There are so many out there!  I had my first diaper bag given as a gift, so there was no decision there, but then when Leigh was born, my first one was falling apart so I bought another one.  Which I promptly lost, maybe a few months into it's use.  I haven't boughten another one since.  Oh wait, I did buy a cheap $1 one at the secondhand store, but I think that I got rid of it because 1) I don't need it yet and 2) I don't LOVE it and I have decided that I want to LOVE my next diaper bag since I use it all the time.
  • Colour coordinated vs sloppy rainbow - For the first 1-3 (ish) years of their lives, I got to dress my children.  I see pictures of cute children wearing cute, nicely coordinated clothing, and go, "Meh."  I am not a big fashion-type person.  My kids usually ended up wearing whatever came closest to hand and was cleanest.  Now I just let them pick whatever they want to wear and half the time we look a bit like hobos.  (Ok, well dressed hobos.)
  • Independent 3 year old vs emotionally sensitive 5 year old - This is today's dilemma.  We made some mailboxes in school the other day and Abby loves, or maybe is obsessed with is the better term, sending and receiving mail.  But she figures that we all need to sit down at the same time and make cards for each other.  We can't wait for them to be deposited in our mailboxes randomly throughout the day.  But Leigh plays by her own rules and just wants to make a card for herself to put in her own mailbox.  This breaks Abby's heart.  It's like a preschool/kindergarten soap opera.
  • Clothing vs skin - Not so much a battle anymore, but they both went through phases where they didn't want to wear clothes.  We would start the day nicely dressed and end it buck naked.  I finally just gave up figuring that we were home all day anyways, why not let them run free.  Thankfully they reamain clothed most of the time now, though Abby did tell me the other night that she wanted to "sleep in her skin."
These are just a few of the many decisions a mother has to make.  It's a tough life.  Now I've got to go make some cards to mail to some hopefully-clothed children.

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