Sometimes I Let Addyson Eat Croutons for Breakfast & Other Things I Never Thought I'd Do As A Mom

I was totally an expert mom before I was actually a mother. You know the one who had taken all the classes and studied child development. I worked with kids so naturally I was an expert. Let me tell ya...I didn't know what I didn't know.

I'm still no expert as I have only been a mama for three years. But I can say that I am an expert mom to Addyson, my miracle baby. My hubby and I are the experts when it comes to her, but sometimes in the heat of the parenting moment I have to remind myself that neither one of us know better than the other. We both have the same amount of parenting experience.

There are things I have done in my three year mommy career that I never thought I'd do...and now to share a few.


A couple days before we moved to to Nashville our Pediatrician in Florida shared concerns about Addyson's growth. He advised we get her into a doc within two weeks after our move. To make a long story short (no pun intended) the term "failure to thrive" entered our world. With it came a grieving process and weight gain goals. We pumped our little one full of avocados, sour cream, butter, pediasure and followed the weight gain plan. I wrote down everything she ate every day for months. She began growing and is meeting all developmental milestones. As a result I found myself letting her eat things I never thought I'd do. So sometimes she eats croutons for breakfast...with a banana of course.

In a recent post I shared the tales from the toilet and other lessons learned from potty training. I am happy to say we survived and are all about the big girl undies! Through that journey I experienced way too many moments with poop. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be on all fours looking for the little poop pellets my precious daughter flung our of her undies in attempts to get on the potty. This OCD Mama has had more encounters with poop than I'd like to admit.

When I was pregnant I was convinced Addyson wouldn't watch TV till the age of two in fear her brain and language wouldn't develop. I had done all my research and was sure we would shield our babe from the screen. Needless to say her favorite show is Curious George and some mornings that the only way I make it out of the house with a shower.

The biggest thing I never thought I'd do as a mom is let my child have a pacifier this long. This is a judge free zone right? Well, we are down to the last paci in the house and being that she is 3 years old and a week I'm more than ready for the paci to get permanently lost. At this point is stays in bed and is only for night time but all through the day I find her chewing on things. As I type she is chewing on a toy hot dog from her play kitchen. She chews on her shirts, fingers and anything else.  We are trying to provide more sensory input with pretzels, crackers, apple slices and anything else that crunches. In reality it's not hurting anyone and I'm fully prepared to start saving for braces now.

Being a mom is the greatest title I will ever hold. It is a blessing. I never thought I was capable of loving anything or anymore more than my husband. The love I have as a mom for my daughter is a different kind of love. I never thought i could love more but as each day passes and I see her grow and change I want to hold on to her tighter. My mind races to the first day of kindergarten, her first date, college and her wedding day. After facing days early on when she wasn't growing I remind myself that this is all part of the journey. Learning to let go is a struggle for this OCD Mama. Yet the challenge to remain fully present in the moment forces me back to reality. Living fully present in the moment helps me be a better mom.