Mistakes I've Made In Parenting

I laughed out loud when I filled in the post title on this one, and nearly added a "thus far..." to the title. Because Henry is only ten months, and I've just begun to make mistakes.

I've got nearly a year of experience in this whole role called mommy, and looking back, I've made some dumb choices. Some things I just didn't think (lack of sleep perhaps?) and some things I just didn't know.

For example, I could have breastfed a whole lot longer had I known that I could have mixed formula into the breast milk at night so that Henry would have stayed full for longer. The constant nighttime feedings are what killed breastfeeding for me. Nothing was worth being that tired, even to this hippie-holisitic-health parent who is well aware that breast milk nutrition trumps formula.

Enforcing nap time has been a recent learning experience. I'm not sure what I was thinking - like, was Henry going to turn to me and say, "Mommy, I'm tired now. I'd like to nap?" No! He sure wasn't. Has any child (especially one who can only talk baby babble) said that to his/her mom?! Nope! Not in the history of children.

So why I was letting him dictate his nap schedule (after the newborn period, when these little monsters dictate everything) is beyond me. He was cranky and I was cranky because I couldn't get anything done all day. I now put him down for morning and afternoon naps. He sleeps for longer at night AND I get stuff done during the day. I won't be making that mistake ever again!

At Henry's nine month appointment, his pedi asked how much formula and solids he was eating. I told her, and she stopped dead in her tracks. "No baby should be eating 40+ oz of formula!" I responded that he demanded a full bottle, even after two jars of baby food. She told me to start to water his formula down so it didn't taste as good to him. After just a few weeks of that, Henry transitioned to eating normal people food, and beat his "bottle addiction."

Who knew these little babies could form addictions that needed to be kicked, right? Babies are sneaky little creatures!

I haven't messed up everything with my parenting, but I have learned some valuable lessons in my short tenure as a mother. I think that's why they say your first is your experimental baby... You learn all your lessons and become a pro for the next one that comes around!

Have you ever made any mistakes that became painfully obvious to you later in life?