"MOM ENOUGH"

I have waited a while to talk about this, kind of waiting to gather my thoughts and feelings on the subject since being a new mom...

Honestly, I have ZERO problem with anyone who wants to breastfeed and for however long they want. They can breastfeed until their boobs fall off - it's a personal choice and no one else's business.

BUT, I would like to know who this writer at TIME Magazine is that thinks it's o.k. to ask                "Are You Mom Enough?"

Are you joking? If you carried a child 9-10 months, delivered that child and are keeping a happy and healthy child, you are already "Mom Enough". Who do they think they are criticizing someone's parenting techniques?

As a mom of Twins, I feel like I have been dealing with this scrutinization since day 1- with how Brad and I have decided to parent our children.

I'm sure that being a singleton mom has its difficulties, I'm not saying having 1 child is easy- at all! But, it seems like the singletons just don't seem to realize what I go through.

This new trend of 'attachment parenting' and being 'mom enough' to be an attachment parent is just crazy.  In my mind, it is way more difficult and shows that you are 'mom enough' to be the opposite of attached. - And it seems like I am constantly defending myself for being the complete opposite of attachment parenting.

With 2 babies;

* I am not able to pick up both babies at the same time to calm them down when crying.

* I am not able to change both diapers at the same time.

*I cannot play/entertain both babies simultaniously as much as a singleton mom

*I cannot allow my babies to take their naps in my arms or sleep in MY bed at night

*I cannot constantly hold my babies all day long for that snuggle time that every mom tells me they love

*I cannot allow my babies to 'feed on demand'

*I can't be o.k. with my babies waking up 2-3 times a night to feed

Not only am I constantly proving to strangers that I am a good mom, but also close family friends.  So, YES, I let my babies;

*Cry it out and am teaching them to self-soothe

*Learn that they have to have patience when mommy is with their brother

*Learn to entertain themselves, that they don't always need mommy or a grown up to have fun and learn.

*Learn to put themselves to sleep no matter if they are tired or not, because when we are in the crib, it's sleep time.

*Learn that there are special times for snuggle time

*know that mommy will always have food for them, but again patience is key

*know that sleep is the most imporant item while they are growing and mommy will always be there when they wake up in the morning- and a rested mommy is a better, happier mommy

Do these things and this way of parenting make me a bad mom? If anything, I think it makes me MORE 'mom enough'. 

Do you have any idea how hard it is to let your baby sit there and cry, because you know that if you pick one up, the other one sees you and starts crying too. Or how hard it is to know that they are hungry after only 2 hours, but in order to create a happier environment and sleep time, we need to wait longer before we eat.- Well, it's hard. And definitely not always fun.

But, I feel like because of this, I am making my children more strong, independent, they will not need others attention to make them happy, they will know how a happy family is and they will know what a healthy, happy marriage is- because Mommy and Daddy get their alone time in the evenings to keep their marriage alive and happy.

Ah, Well.  Enough ranting... I just hope that when people see this, they understand why I am such a stickler to my daily routines, and why when my babies wimper, I don't immediately run to pick them up... 

All we can do is hope we are doing what is best for our babies.

But I believe that every mother is "MOM ENOUGH".

**In lighter news, Eli rolled over in his crib for the first time last night!! At 16 weeks we have both boys rolling over :)

and

Blake has learned to roll both ways now! From tummy to back - back to tummy so when he flips in the middle of the night, he can now flip back to how he started !

It's so thrilling watching them grow and change everyday!!