Baby Expert!

Little AJ is FOUR months old! They days are zipping by!

There is something about becoming a mom that makes some mommies truly believe they are an expert in parenting... and then out come the judgments.

Stay at home mom's crucify full-time working moms for not spending enough time with their littles... Working mom's belittle the job of a stay at home mom as not a real job... 

I have seen so many women berate new moms for so many different issues: "over" feeding their babies, breast feeders vs non breast feeders, pro- vaccine mommies vs anti vaccine, cloth diapering vs regular old pampers, feeding organic diets vs the chef boyardee diet.... But really there is not a right or wrong way- There is the way you feel is the best for your family and your child.

Moms of the breast feeding world would faint if they knew how I fed my four month old...I am a full-time working mom so I pump and during the day he gets expressed breast milk in a bottle... 4 oz. every three hours. Tonight we began the journey with cereal in the bottle.... I fed my first (who is now four) good old fashioned Gerber rice cereal in his bottle at around 2.5-3 months. He was colic and I was exhausted. I wanted sleep and he needed more to eat. For this round I was firm on exclusively breast feeding and holding off solids until six months. I made this decision after reading tons on the virgin gut and all the "expert opinions" on breast feeding. The mantra for breast is best mommas is "food before one is fun." While that might work great for many of them, it is not working for my chunky baby! He is HUNGRY. While he is only four months, he is about the size of a six month old. So rice cereal in the bottle it is. I did however, choose his rice cereal differently. I went with a USDA Certified Organic whole grain rice cereal from Earth's Best, as opposed to the overly processed single grain cereals that Gerber produces. I feel better about this choice, as the single grain is stripped of most it's nutrients and the whole grain has more vitamins and minerals and easier for baby to digest. It is also Non- GMO, which really makes me feel better. I had to make a 45 minute drive to Dallas to go to Sprouts and buy this rice cereal, but it's worth it and will continue to make that drive however often I need to!!

The truth is we are all in this together! Every single one of us are just trying to be the best mommy we can to our littles... and while you may be an expert on your baby- that does NOT make you an expert on every other baby in the world. 

Momma's with more than one little know... ALL babies are different. What works for one, will not always work for the other. The temperament of your first baby will not always be the same for the next. (Thank the Lord for that!) My first was colic and I think I might be in a loony bin if my four month old would have fallen along that path! 

This video is such a GREAT example of all the stereotypes we have all set in place of different moms and how they raise their kids. 

Bottom line: Being a mom is a tough job, and it's the most important one we, as women, will ever hold. Support other moms- don't judge and berate them just because their beliefs vary from yours.