January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting resolutions!
January 12th, 2010Stay up to date with the Kitchen Witch via twitter, rss feed, and facebook fan page!
Slowing down to smell the roses and the poopy diapers
I have four children, ranging in age from a twelve year old girl to 6 month old baby boy. It makes it hard to divide my attention up evenly. I recently came to the realization that I have stopped mothering in each moment and instead I’m just trying to get through the day. There is always so much to be done, and I feel like I’m letting my family down if I don’t finish everything on my list. My goal is to get through to the next chore, the next duty, the next lesson, the next load of laundry.
The other day I noticed that when I’m nursing the baby I tend to read, watch dvr’d episodes of ‘Doctor Who’ or twitter on my phone. I consider it my time to relax and take a minute for some quality “me” time. But it is not- not really. It’s supposed to be the baby’s time to learn who his momma is. He snuggles up to my breast, pats my cheek with his little starfish hand, avidly watching my every expression and there I am glued to the TV and tweeting away.
Why am I not looking at his little face? I should be staring into his beautiful hazel eyes. I should be tracing the shape of his eyelashes, the whorl of his tiny ears, his perfectly made rosebud lips. This time is special. I should be enjoying it. Savoring each moment I get to spend with these remarkable littles, before they grow up and start their own lives.
My New Year’s resolution is to live within each moment with my children. I want to enjoy my time with them. I want to savor every hug, every cuddle. Every “momma will you read to me?” is an opportunity to make a memory. I will no longer (inwardly) sigh when they pull out the story book that is twice as thick as the one I was planning on. I won’t rush through the bedtime ritual of songs and kisses and hugs. This time belongs to them, and it is so important that I do not cheat them of it.
I have tried so hard to be a good momma. I practice co-sleeping, babywearing, and breastfeeding on demand. These are things I do to enrich their lives and help them to be happy and secure in their parent’s love. I need to remember that it isn’t going to matter to them if I spend the evening folding laundry and doing the dishes. What they will remember is that I stopped what I was doing to give a hug, listen to a song, watch a dance, or read a book together on the couch.
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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
(All the links should be active by noon on Jan. 12. Go to Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama for the most recently updated list.)
• To Yell or Not to Yell — The Adventures of Lactating Girl
• It Is All About Empathy: Nurturing a Toddler’s Compassion Potential — Baby Dust Diaries
• To my babies: this year… — BluebirdMama
• Mindfully Loving My Children — Breastfeeding Moms Unite!
• January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Resolutions — Code Name: Mama
• Imperfect Mother — Consider Eden
• Resolutions — Craphead (aka Mommy)
• FC Mom’s Parenting Resolutions 2010 — FC Mom
• What’s in a Resolution? — Happy Mothering
• January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting resolutions — Hobo Mama
• Natural Parenting Resolutions — Little Green Blog
• This year, I will mostly… — Look Left of the Pleiades
• Parenting Resolutions — The Mahogany Way
• I Resolve to Breastfeed In Public More Often — mama2mama tips
• Moving to Two Kids — Megna the Destroyer
• Use Love — Momopoly
• My parenting resolutions — Musings of a Milk Maker
• Talkin’ ’bout My Resolutions — Navelgazing
• Parenting Resolutions — One Starry Night
• Invitations, not resolutions — Raising My Boychick
• No more multitasking during kid time — The Recovering Procrastinator
• I need to slow down, smell those roses AND the poopy diapers — Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma
• Resolutely Parenting in 2010 — This Is Worthwhile
Sorry!
