Mompetitors

http://www.parenting.com/blogs/parenting-post/erin-zammett-ruddy/ever-come-across-mompetitor-are-you-one?src=soc&dom=fb#.TnyrqeB43ms.facebook

I know a few competitive parents like the one shown in the above link.  But, I certainly hope no one considers me a mompetitor. 

Sure, I feed my son organic most of the time, but sometimes the non-organic stuff is just soooo much cheaper I can't bring myself to not get it!  Plus, there are fewer flavors in the organic brands.  But he also eats cheese puffs and other semi-junk food right now.  Inevitably, he will someday eat a McDonald's cheeseburger and that does not freak me out in the least.

Yes, he has been hitting some of his milestones early.  What should I do?  Pretend it isn't happening?  Post "Noah's crawling!" as my facebook status 2 months after the fact because it's a more normal age for crawling?  I'm proud of him regardless of when he achieves these developmental goals, as I should be.  To be honest, it makes me sad that he hits so many so early.  To me, my baby is growing up too fast.  We lose 2-3 months of "baby time."  But still, I am proud of my tough, strong little man and I don't think I should hold back that pride so I don't offend another mom.

We also still use Dreft for all of his laundry (I love the smell!) and use baby powder on a regular basis (again... that amazing smell!).  I made my own diaper bag and am sewing his Halloween costume.  This is out of boredom, not because I want my kid to look better than your kid while they go around getting candy they can't even eat yet.  I actually haven't started the costume, just bought the materials.  So we'll see if it actually happens.

Sure, Noah and I have our strong points.  But believe me, we've got our weaknesses. 

Nursing?  Not for us.  We gave it a try and it didn't work.  I finally thought to myself, "Can I tell which of my friends were nursed and which were bottle-fed?  No!  They're all (fairly) well-adjusted human beings."  I'm confident that my bottle-fed son will turn out just fine.

Pacifiers?  You bethca!  They're orthodontic, so we're pretty much just hoping that prevents any dental damage.  But if they help him now, we're gonna use them.  Unless you're planning on helping us pay for braces, keep your opinion to yourself.  My son won't graduate high school with a binky, so suck away kid!

Schedule?  What's that?  We're on Noah time around here.  It's a pain in the butt, but frankly I'm too damn lazy to try to enforce some sort of schedule.  Some days he eats 3 meals with bottles in between, other days it's only 2.  Some naps (taken in his pack-n-play in the living room) are 20min. others are 2-3 hours.  Sometimes bedtime is at 8, sometimes it's at 11.  I do not care.  We do what we do when we do it and it works for us.

Our diapers are disposable, we have an actual walker with wheels and all, sometimes his Bumbo is placed on the couch, and right now he's playing with a (closed) paint can. 

Am I a mompetitor?  No.  I'm just Noah's mom.

Are we perfect?  Not by a longshot.  But we are us, and that's alright with me.  Strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between. <3