Getting Real with Brittany Tiedemann
Being a Mom is one of the biggest excitements of my life. Watching my baby girl grow and learn new things is a wonderful blessing. Now that my baby is almost 6 months old I have had time to look back at all the thing I thought I had to do but in reality, yup – nope, I didn’t have to.
I don’t have to send out announcements
One thing I thought I had to do was send out those cute fancy baby announcement cards. Over the past few years have received some extremely cute and detailed birth announcements. I had planned what I was going to do, with all the cute and decorative bells and whistles. Well, after having a baby, I have no clue how people get those out. Even if you can do it at Walmart and just add pictures, I would rather just catch up on sleep than do that. Then, by the time you do have time to do them, the baby is already 3 months old. What’s the point then? So yes, I never did that, and I have no regrets. My sanity and sleep those first few months were way more important than getting out cards to people who got pictures from my phone the day she was born.
I don’t have to cut my hair
The Mom Haircut. Oh, this one just makes me laugh so much. I LOVE my long hair. I have cut my hair short twice before, and it just isn’t me. When I was pregnant, everyone would always tease me when I said I wouldn’t cut my hair. “Oh just wait till she can grab it and pull it out!” “You think spit up is bad now, just wait till it gets in your hair.” Well people, let me give you some facts. Yes my child has pulled on it; yes she has pulled out chunks out; spit up has been in my hair more times than I can count. After all that, I still refuse to cut it. I rock a mean ponytail most days. On days that I want to look elegant, I love letting my hair down. Just because I am a mom now doesn’t mean that I have to follow what society thinks I should look like.
I don’t have to pay for professional photos
I really thought that I needed to get newborn photos done professionally. I searched for hours and days to find someone to take them at a reasonable price. Ha! What a joke that was! Most people out here were asking for $200 or more for just one hour. Who knows how many pictures would actually turn out that great in a hour? Plus, how am I suppose to find someone that I LOVE in a place I just moved to a year ago? For a long time, I was upset I never had those cute pictures to post everywhere. After a few months I could not have cared less. I have TONS and TONS of pictures of my newborn baby on my phone. I posed her for some, and others were candid shots that no one other than my husband and I would be able to get. These photos have more meaning to me, as they show a milestone, a memory, and laughable moments. So there is nothing to be upset with saving some money and not having professional photos done. Every photo that you do take will be meaningful.
I don’t have to take advice about what, when, or how to feed my child
Fast forward…my precious baby turned 4 months. At this month, I found out that EVERY human being on earth who saw me had an opinion about food. My husband, doctor, and I decided as a team what was best for my child – and that was waiting until she was 6 months old to start any type of food was best for her. We have our reasons, and we don’t have to explain them to anyone. I know many people who started food with their kids at 4 months, and if that works for them awesome! My child is not going to be missing much. She is still gaining weight, and learning new things. But the minute someone found out our decision to wait until she was 6 months old, they would jump down our throats with how we NEED to feed her real food. So to all you Parents out there, just know that you don’t have to start at 4 months.
I don’t have to be a supermom
After months of struggling with this , I also realized I don’t have to be a Super Mom 24/7. I can break down at times. This time of life things are hard; I am still learning. I can put the baby down for a while to play a video game when I just need a few to collect myself. I have a husband; we are a team! I can easily let him have her for a few hours so I can go out with my friends or just go to the store child free. I don’t have to dress my kid to the nines everyday. There are mornings were I can say,“Well at least we made it in one piece” … even if that means she went to daycare in a onesie from the night before or she is wearing a shirt she spit up on, at least we made it there! Don’t get me wrong; I do try my hardest to do my very, very best. There are just some days were the morning just starts off with a screaming tired baby, and I have to remind myself I don’t have to be Super Mom at the moment.
Learning that there are things I don’t have to do has been awesome. I am an AMAZING MOM, and I will continue to crush this Mom Life and raise a wonderful child.
