I may be a young mom, but I am NOT a stupid mom..

Well here we go again with another venting blog post.  It seems like I am doing more and more of these lately so sorry if I seem to be an ornery, pissed off beast all the time haha.. it is just the pregnancy hormones (hopefully).  And blogging is such a perfect therapy for me right now :)

I will just cut to the chase and start by saying I am so over hearing people questioning my motherly skills.  I know most people are just trying to help out and give me some advise but the advise I am getting lately makes me think they think I am stupid or something!  I  have never once put Kinsey in danger physically, mentally, or in any other way.  I am her mom and it is MY duty to protect her, BUT she is a toddler and growing and learning everyday so of course I cant prevent those little bruises she gets because she was spinning in the living room and fell and bumped her head, or the scrape on her knee she got from running down the sidewalk!  I let Kinsey learn and explore in anyway she can.  Sometimes that means she gets a little taste of dirt, or gets so messy with frosting while trying to decorate cookies that we have to take a second bath, or she is attempting to ride a scooter and falls and scrapes her knee.  These are all normal things that kids SHOULD experience.  And I feel that as long as I am there to watch her and make sure she is not in extreme danger (playing in the street for example) and is not putting her health in danger, and guiding her in the right direction when she NEEDS the direction, then everything is just fine!  I am def not the mother that is keeping her child spot free, and wrapped up in bubble wrap to play outside or explore.  Some people think I am crazy when Kinsey falls and I dont run over to her to dust off her bum and see if she is ok.  I let her learn what pain is on her own and if she does cry or say "ow!" I am right there to check her out and comfort her, but if she gets gets a little scratch and gets back  up and plays, what is the point of making a big deal of something so little.  She is a tough little girl and the first scratch she got on her knee she didnt even cry, and it was bleeding from her knee to her foot!! She cried when I made her come inside for a minute so I could wash it up and make sure it didnt get infected.  Then when we went back out she was right back doing what she was doing before, BEING A KID!!!  We didnt have a huge cry session with her milking it for all she could because obviously it didnt hurt her that bad.  Then there was the time she touched the lawn mower after her dad had told her several times not to, and she got burnt.  We knew she was hurt because she kept telling us "ow!!!" so thats when we were right there to comfort her and meet all the needs she needed, and give her that EXTRA attention. 

Other things we get those little annoying comments about is potty training.  Yes she is only 19 months and we are working on potty training.  Kinsey is so smart and is always letting us know when she is pooping or has a wet diaper so why not try potty training right?  So what if she doesnt go everyday.. practice make perfect and if we can have her potty trained by the time her sister comes that will be a HUGE plus!! and if she is still practicing, then no big deal!  It is a work in progress and she never gets in trouble, or feels bad for going in her diaper, but she gets a huge treat for going in her big girl potty.  I just dont see the harm in what we are doing!!!!! Another thing is YES she is not yet 20 months and we have moved her to a toddler bed.  Most kids start sleeping in a toddler bed when she start crawling out of their crib, and Kinsey is now to that point where she could crawl into it, but not out.  So to prevent her from falling out of the crib onto the floor we did the change now.  She LOVES her new bed and is so proud of herself when she can climb in and out all by herself.  I am TOTALLY aware she can now climb out and get into things, so I have rearranged her room to prevent her from climbing on anything and now all she can really do is play with her toys.

I love my daughter more then anything and hate seeing her get hurt and never want to see her in pain.  But there is a HUGE line between sheltering and not letting them do anything, and letting them learn and explore.  Toddlers learn by example and thats just what Kinsey is doing.  It is constant "monkey see monkey do" around here so Brandon and I make sure our actions are safe for her.  Kinsey knows how to have fun and get dirty, and she also knows how to be a girlie girl.  I try to be a perfect mom every day and if their is one thing that I can say I am perfect at, it is being a MOM!  I give Kinsey all the love she needs plus some, I provide a safe environment for her, I direct her to what is correct and what is not ok, I feed her very healthy foods for her growing body, and I cater to all her needs and even most of her wants!!  So when I get those little comments or advise that makes me feel stupid, it just get angry!  I am aware of what is good and bad, safe and not safe.  I have a lot more common sense then most... 

Well enough of that venting.. I dont know if that all makes sense or not, but I dont care because I feel so much better now haha!!