Mommy Guilt: The Pacifier

This pacifier is going to be my ruin. I can’t, for the life of me figure out how to take it away from my son.

He’s only 1 1/2 but many would say that we should have already taken it away. While some give their kids until 3 or 4, possibly sending them off to preschool with a soothie.

I want to just throw them all in the trash. But they are addicting. Not just for Gabriel, but also for us. They are a quick fix. Any sign of fussing is easily defused by it. What can compete with that?! Nothing!

I tell myself every day that I am strong enough to just go cold turkey. Then I see his frantic searching for it. He knows where it is in his diaper bag. He’s a smart cookie.

Then I picture bedtime. It would be like sleep training all over again. Crying and soothing. Back and forth. But no pacifier to help. I picture an endless night of crying.

What’s a mama to do?

The Great Debate

It’s the question that everyone asks and the conversation my husband and I have on a near daily basis….

When to have baby #2.

For many the answer it cut and dry. Just start now. Why not? What are you waiting for?

For me, there are so many considerations. There is my health. My husband’s health. Our financial situation.  Our living situation. The fact that I am in school. The fact that I am in a more demanding job that I started fairly recently. And of course, as with any person making excuses, the list goes on.

Some say there will never be a right time. Part of me believes this and wants to just go for it. Then, my logic kicks and I start calculating and analyzing. Everything seems like sunshine and roses when the possibility is ahead of you. When I’m in the midst of my pregnancy, I might start wondering why I rushed into it. Who says that two years is the perfect spacing between children? I would dare to say that three to four years is just as good!

For now, I want to finish out 2013 with no more big surprises. We have had health scares, daycare drama, and good news to balance out the bad. But I truly believe I have had enough change to last me the rest of the year. I want to start 2014 fresh and ready for the blessings and challenges ahead. Will that mean another baby? Perhaps. I would like to think that it will be that easy. But as life has shown me over the past few years, just when you think things are just as they should be, life gets in the way.

This sweet boy we have is a blessing on his own. While another little one would only add to our joy and fill our hearts more, I will not for one moment think that we need more kids to be complete. We are complete as is. With the family we have now. If we are afforded the opportunity to add to that in the future, then so be it.

And the debate rages on….