It’s Okay To Panic And Other Things I Learned About Being A Parent Last Year

I never know if I’m doing anything right when it comes to parenting; there’s so much advice out there. I’ve managed to keep two children alive – one for three years and counting and the other for seven months today. Obviously, I’m a stellar parent. I’m looking at them both right now and they are breathing. Success!Occasionally I am a less-than-confident parent, and because of that, It’s been a bumpy road. Here are some lessons I’ve learned from doubting myself in 2013. Maybe they’ll help you if you hit a similar bump in the road.1. Feed them whatever they’ll eat.If I could count all the times I prepared full meals only to throw them out and prepare another – I would probably cry. This year, I ran into the trap of believing my newly finicky toddler would eat, if only I prepared him the right thing. Ha.If you can get a toddler to chew and swallow something, it’s a success. Don’t drive yourself crazy trying to get them to shove balanced meals down their gullet three times a day – it’s probably not going to happen.2. They’ll need to go to the bathroom. Facilitate that without driving yourself crazy.My toddler is finally potty trained. He’s also a nudist. Whenever he realizes he needs to use the potty, he removes his pants and underwear, leaves them where he stands, and finds a bathroom. Potty training is sometimes an ongoing lesson.I let myself fall into the trap of thinking I was failing because he wasn’t trained in three days. He’s getting there. I’m okay with that.3. It’s okay to panic.I thought by kid number two I would be a Zen-like parenting guru. Not so much. I still panic every time something weird and inexplicable happens. I took my 6-month-old to the doctor convinced that she was having trouble breathing. She was making the weirdest sounds, almost like she was gasping for air. It turns out – those are the sounds she makes when she’s straining to take a poop. I had just introduced formula.Okay, so she could breath. It was a useless trip. So what? Go to the doctor whenever you need to. It’s your kid. It’s okay to panic.Read the rest on Mommyish.