Personally I think that since my son recently turned 13 months old I must be doing something right for him to still be alive and thriving. I did however, make numerous mistakes in his first year of life. Of those, 10 stand out to me as things I would have done differently or approached in a different way if I had only had a crystal ball those 13 months ago.
1. Forgot to restock diaper bag with diapers- At my son's 4 month appointment with his pediatrician I discovered I only had one extra diaper with me. When the nurse came in to weigh him they had me strip him down. At this time I noticed he had soiled his diaper. I put a fresh diaper on him while we waited for the doctor to enter the room. In this 10 minute time span my son decided he had not finished his morning bowel movement and proceeded to destroy the only other diaper I had with us. I pretended not to notice and when his doctor did the '10 point inspection' of my son he pointed out the dirty diaper to me. I casually responded with an 'Oh, I'll change him when I am getting him re-dressed'. Thankfully the doctor finished his exam and gave us the 'see ya next time' wave. I dressed my son, leaving the nasty diaper on him and rushed home to change him. The only other time this happened to me was when I was visiting my in laws and I had to rush out to the drug store for a pack of diapers. Needless to say: I now carry diapers in the trunk of the car with a pack of wipes.
2. Dropped him- Yes. I Admit to having dropped my son. He has also fallen off my bed and tumbled down the stairs. These things happen. Now that he is a running, climbing, rambunctious toddler these things, and things similar to these, happen daily.
3. Let him sleep with me- Now this one is both an 'oops' and a deliberate choice. It was a great option when I could use the co-sleeper I had next to my bed, but since he out grew that about 6 months ago I've dealt with being kicked, pushed off the bed and left with no blankets on a nightly basis. I can successfully get him to sleep in his own crib for maybe 2 hours a night. Those are the best 2 hours of sleep EVER.
4. Clipped his finger with the nail clippers- A confession I think most mothers can relate to. Before having my son my friends had told me that they just bite their babies nails so they don't have to worry about accidentally clipping their babies fingers or toes- this grossed me out. Incidentally I also found it disgusting to think of sharing a drink or a spoon with my child, and these two things are not only the 'norm' with my son and I, but are probably some of the least disgusting things I now do as a mother. Case and point: I now have no reservations about shoving my sons stinky toes in my mouth to bite off an over grown toenail.
5. My son eats the dog's food- I feel like most kids that grow up with pets in the house try their food. I get it- my son feeds the dogs his food, so he assumes it's only fair they share theirs. The first time my son got a hold of some kibbles I freaked: I shoved my fingers in my sons mouth in order to scoop them out while simultaneously lecturing my infant son as to why he shouldn't eat that. Fast forward 7 months and my son is still fascinated with eating the dog's food. Admittedly he probably eats at least 2 kibbles a day before I am able to round up all the dog bowls in the kitchen every morning, not to mention my son has located where the food is kept and it's not exactly in a location I can feasibly keep him out of. It's not like I'm feeding it to him, but I know it also won't kill him...
6. Didn't do enough research on circumcision after care before he was born- Time for a serious moment here. I've written about the lack of information I had on the after care of my sons circumcision and the issues he has had with adhesions. Because of these issues I wish I had done more researched and asked more questions in order to benefit my son.
7. Let him destroy my cell phone- $200 later my son has 2 new pearly white teeth and I have a new phone to show for him using my cell phone as a teether. Incidentally I bought an Otterbox for my new phone... Chew on little man!
8. Boob to make everything better- As a newborn my son was dependent on my breasts for nourishment. When he was about 6 months old and began to navigate on his own he would sometimes get a boo-boo. I knew giving him some milk would comfort him and make the crying stop. Big Mistake. My son now wants to latch on when he falls, when he bumps his head, when he stumbles, when he hiccups, whenever... He knows where they're located and he WILL get them when he decides he needs comforting. He's a year old, he's unstable on his feet, he falls down a lot, thus my house has essentially turned into a 24/7 shoot for National Geographic.
9. Pawned my son off on my husband more often- It is still rare for me to be able to even bathe without my son in the room with me. I can occasionally convince my husband to entertain my son for 45 minutes while I soak in the tub, but the majority of that time my son is fussy or crying for me. My son LOVES his father, and I'm convinced it's not even ME that my son is so attached to- it's the boobs (see number 8), but all I want is an hour of 'Me Time'. If I could go back, I would have pawned my son off on my husband more often in the beginning while I disappeared for a bit so he could 'get the idea'.
10. Thought I knew it all and had it all planned out- I used to daydream about how wonderful being a mother would be- I would have a quiet, well behaved child and I would do arts and crafts all day with them, my house would be wonderfully clean and my meals all planned out and well executed. I would also silently criticize the parents of obnoxious kids in public and offer parenting tips to friends that I assumed needed advice... Man, was I delusional.
I love my son to death, and regret nothing. Sure I've made mistakes, but nothing so damaging that I feel the need to start saving for my sons inevitable therapy sessions... But hey, I have the rest of his life, and the lives of any of his potential future siblings, to screw up a few more times. I know it's just all part of learning to parent; my son is happy and I'm doing the best I can!
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