15 Parenting Confessions

There’s this undeniable stigma about being the “perfect parent,” but let’s face it, it’s a lie.

I’m sorry I’m not sorry if that’s a little harsh, but it’s a fact that no one is perfect. Let alone a perfect parent. I make no claims to be, and I am not an expert by any means. I’ve been peed on, pooped on, and spit up on countless times. Just this morning, I got baby bottom balm in my eyes.

Here are some of my parenting confessions, mistakes I’ve made, and things I’ve done that are just plain crazy.

1. Three months of life, and I still haven’t sent out birth announcements.

2. We haven’t baby-proofed our apartment either. Because our kid is basically immobile, it seems unpractical.

3. I’ve put my son’s diapers on backwards. It’s completely by accident, but it happens.

4. I stopped breastfeeding because it was easier for me. Auden was having such a hard time latching, that we started pumping exclusively and eventually turned to formula feeding (because pumping is hard work!).

5. My son is naked a lot. We keep him in diapers only, but whether it’s because we prefer less laundry or because we’re just lazy is uncertain. And he just looks sooo cute in his cloth diapers!

6. I don’t trim his nails enough. It’s such a battle that I usually let them grow out, and in the process, Auden scratches himself (as babies do).

7. We don’t take baths daily, or even every other day. Wipes are much more practical.

8. Instead of actually feeding my son, we prop his bottle up with a magical stuffed rabbit. It has saved us hours upon hours of sanity. Thank you, Jellycat.

9. I have been guilty of trying to put Auden to sleep when he’s not tired, just to give myself an hour of rest.

10. I actually drew eyebrows on my son. Once.

11. I’ve let my son cry for periods that are longer than I’d care to admit. I might be showering or sleeping or something of the like, and I just let him cry until I’ve finished what I have to.

12. On that note, I no longer wake up in the middle of the night when he cries. I sleep through it, and my husband has to wake me.

13. I always forget to pack something in the diaper bag. It’s usually either a change of clothes or a burp cloth.

14. Once when I was about to give Auden a bath, I turned the shower on instead. My son was less than pleased when he got sprayed with cold water.

15. My son still doesn’t sleep in his crib. He spends every night in a bassinet in his nursery, but we just can’t make the transition to the crib yet. He just cries, and the last thing we want is an unhappy baby at night.

Auden’s not perfect either. He had the strangest hairline for the first few months of his life, and he’s always had dry skin and finger jam. Sometimes he screams for no reason at all. But that doesn’t make him an unhappy baby. And it doesn’t make me a bad parent. I’m not perfect, but I like to think that I’m doing a good job.

What are your parenting confessions?

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