Those emotional "mother" moments and challenges.

Over the last two weeks there have been numerous 'mom challenges' that I feel that I've had to overcome. Would I say I've handled everything right or made the right choices? No. Not at all. But today as I watched Tayla sleep I thought about these moments.

At Tayla's two month well check her pediatrician told me I could start giving her cereal and told me how to mix it. I listened intently and on my way home I thought about what he said. Everything I had read told me to wait till 4 months before starting solids. Her pediatrician was my pediatrician growing up and is one of my co workers that I work with everyday. So the dilemma- Do I follow what is in print EVERYWHERE in books and online or what he told me to do because I do fully trust him? I decided at that moment that clearly he had suggested I feed her the cereal for a reason. I spent two almost three weeks trying to get Tayla to take cereal once a day everyday. It was such a challenge. The stress of that meal was just nuts. I went back to my research. Is my little on skinnier then most babies- yes. But she isn't sickly looking. She still fits well into the curve of normal for weight (24percentile) and is extra long (92percentile) so why does she need the cereal already? I pondered this for a couple of days and then told my husband I was stopping the cereal and we would try again in a month or so. And the best part. I feel good about my choice. I'm not second guessing it every day. She'll eat it when she's ready.

Two weeks ago my husbands grandpa passed away exactly one week after being diagnosed with a terminal cancer. Emotionally we were a mess. The mom challenge that came into play was whether or not to take Tayla to the wake and/or funeral. It was his only great grandchild but she was only 11 weeks old. Is this a place for a baby? What would people say if we brought her? But at the same time its her great grandfather, he is her family, she deserves to be there. So we took her. Did she bust out into HUGE smiles and start cooing and laughing as we approached the casket. Was I embarressed that my daughter was laughing and smiling while everyone was crying. Yeah a little bit. But I know that Jerry would have been laughing right there with her if he had been there. And everyone that saw her smile busted out into one of their own, so yeah, I think it was the right choice.

Last week I noticed that Tayla had a swollen lymph node on her neck. I pointed it out to my husband and he FREAKED out. I explained everything I knew about it and told him she was probably just fine and fighting a bug. Over the weekend she started to show signs of early teething and was sooooooo cranky. My husband kept begging me to take her to the doctors. I kept insisting that she would survive and that they wouldn't do anything about it anyways so he needed to calm down. Yesterday and today she seems a little bit happier. Am I happy with my approach that I took- yes.

Do I think I'll handle every 'mom challenge' the Right way. No. Abosolutely not. But I'm starting to feel more confident in my Mom Choices. I hope I can continue to feel that confidence that what I am doing for my daughter is the best thing I can do.

Each day is about learning and growing. I hope to continue to grow with her...