Do you remember a time before you became a mom? A time when you’d see moms giving their children a tablet to watch cartoons while having lunch? Or changing their babies’ diapers right in the booth where they were eating? And you thought, “I will never do that when I have a kid.”
But then, you find yourself with a shrieking human being in your arms that depends on you for everything, and you find yourself slowly letting go of all those expectations and doing all of those same things you said you’d never do.
Well, it turns out that you’re not alone.
I asked other moms this question: What is something you said you’d never do as a parent, but ended up doing?
I started off the #momconfessions, “I said I’d never put a leash on my child. I bought one when she turned two.”
Below are the #momconfessions that some honest, kickass Instagram moms shared:
Let Me Count the Ways
“Haha… Everything. I said I’d never let them eat lots of sugar too but that hasn’t always happened. Lol.” —teach.workout.love
“Oh my gosh! So many things… it’s easy to say when you’re not actually taking care of a tiny human 24/7.” —mymomtasticlife
“Co-sleeping; I did it for a year both times. TV; it’s now my life saver. Yelling; sometimes I can’t stand it anymore. Being a stay at home mom; I’ve been doing it for 3 years now! Play dates; they are now my life savior when my husband is out of town. Sleepovers; again a savior when my husband is out of town. Ugh the list is so long. I’ve got two boys ages 4 and almost 2.”
—avodkakindofmom, 2 boys aged 4 and 2.
Bedtime Babes
“Bed Sharing!! I didn’t do it with my first three and it was something I was ‘proud of.’ I thought it was great that the children had their own sleeping space and that our bed was for the adults only! When I had Pharaoh, that changed. Now it’s more like – what bed? Pharaoh took over ours, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It is wonderful to share the bed with our sweet baby especially since I’m breastfeeding and David plays with him and sings to him every night before he falls asleep.”
—myeklektikmama, 4 children.
“Definitely co-sleeping. I thought I had a sure-fire plan of transitioning my Ellie into her crib and all would be right in our world- 18 months later… But she has always (since like 2 months old) slept through the night so it’s not really a big deal. She’s a good bed buddy.
—grassstainsandglitter
“My kids would sleep in their own beds. They’re 4 and 8 and still wake up with me. They’re little only once, who cares. Oh and believe me it hasn’t affected their independence one bit, they don’t even say bye when I drop them off at school!”—lifelovenancy
“I said I wouldn’t have my child use a binky. I even wrote in my hospital birth plan that when my baby is born I do not want a pacifier to be used. Before we even left the hospital my daughter had a binky in her mouth. She just turned one and she still has her binky!”
“The first thing that comes to mind is using a paci. I always said I just would never introduce it but I ended up giving my son one!” —mymomtasticlife
Time to Eat
“I always thought I’d feed them only healthy food…until I had our two daughters (7 and 5). Now it’s Kraft Dinner to the rescue when we’ve run out of groceries.”
–Stacey from brightmamas
Picture Perfect Problems
“I said I’d always have my son in clean clothes and with a clean face when we left the house. Yeah– he’s basically filthy 80% of the time. What can I say? Kid loves sandboxes.”
—dalzellwilliamson
“I said my kids would always have brand new clothes, and would never wear hand-me-downs like I had too! lol I also thought I’d never nag. I’d be the cool Mom that said yes more often.” —whw_jessica, 5 kids, aged 12,9,7,5 and 9 months.
“I said I would never let my kids have snotty noses. If it’s a snotty nose or a full-on tantrum then the snotty nose wins.” —thebravelittlemama
Short and Sweet
“Lose my shit.” —mommamessie
Tender Love and Child Care
“I said I’d never put my child in daycare, having both grandmothers available to look after him, but circumstances change! Plus I’d like him to have the opportunity to make a varied group of friends!” —Romina from minimummiblogger“I said I’d never keep a full-time nanny for my child but rather be a full-time mom myself.” –Alina from thediaryofamom, 1 child.
“Screen time…I always thought that I would be a stickler about screen time especially as they got older, but nope! LOL.” —the_mommy_on_the_move
“I said I’d NEVER have the television on during waking hours…. But hey, Mommy needs her sanity and a bit of a break for 30 minutes!” —Jessica from jess.laska
“I said I’d never use disposable diapers that ended when she was like 8 months. Lol.”
—tiffanycheriesimmonds
Did you find yourself in here? Which category do you qualify for? Do you qualify for more than one? Do you qualify for all of them?
Leave me a comment with your categories so we can share in the bond that comes with being a member of the Sisterhood of Unrealistic, Unfulfilled Expectations That We Had Before We Became Moms (SUUETWHBWBM; I might have to shorten that name).
I’d like to give a great big thank you to all of the moms who contributed their #momconfessions. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by such strong supportive women, and I can only hope to provide that same support in return.
Love yourselves and each other, mommas!
xoxo
