To my babies: this year…
Posted on Jan 12, 2010 in Featured, Parenting | 14 comments
Welcome to the January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting resolutions!
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month we’re writing about how we want to parent differently — or the same — in the New Year. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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Dear Rain and Noa
This year, 2010, your fifth year and your second year with us, I resolve to:
- Let you help more and backseat drive less while you do
- Go for more walks
- Do my best to find the right place for you, Rain, to go to Kindergarten and
- Relax and give the school a chance once we make a decision
- Breastfeed you, Noa, until next New Year’s or as long as you’d like
- Shout less
- Spend less time on the computer during your waking hours
- Hold you in my arms and in my heart every day
- Wait and think before I react when you do something that upsets me
- Be patient about sleep and
- Continue to share the family bed with you
- Listen to you
- Never wish you were older but stay present with you right now today
- Take care of myself so I can be the Mama you deserve, so I can become the person you see in me
- Laugh more, play more, read more
- Teach by example and
- Follow your lead
May 2010 be another year filled with togetherness. I look forward to learning more about you both every day.
Much love,
Mama
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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
(All the links should be active by noon on Jan. 12. Go to Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama for the most recently updated list.)
• To Yell or Not to Yell — The Adventures of Lactating Girl
• It Is All About Empathy: Nurturing a Toddler’s Compassion Potential — Baby Dust Diaries
• To my babies: this year… — BluebirdMama
• Mindfully Loving My Children — Breastfeeding Moms Unite!
• January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Resolutions — Code Name: Mama
• Imperfect Mother — Consider Eden
• Resolutions — Craphead (aka Mommy)
• FC Mom’s Parenting Resolutions 2010 — FC Mom
• What’s in a Resolution? — Happy Mothering
• January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting resolutions — Hobo Mama
• Natural Parenting Resolutions — Little Green Blog
• This year, I will mostly… — Look Left of the Pleiades
• Parenting Resolutions — The Mahogany Way
• I Resolve to Breastfeed In Public More Often — mama2mama tips
• Moving to Two Kids — Megna the Destroyer
• Use Love — Momopoly
• My parenting resolutions — Musings of a Milk Maker
• Talkin’ ’bout My Resolutions — Navelgazing
• Parenting Resolutions — One Starry Night
• Invitations, not resolutions — Raising My Boychick
• No more multitasking during kid time — The Recovering Procrastinator
• I need to slow down, smell those roses AND the poopy diapers — Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma
• Resolutely Parenting in 2010 — This Is Worthwhile
14 Comments
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- Mindfully Loving My Children | Breastfeeding Moms Unite - [...] a Toddler’s Compassion Potential — Baby Dust Diaries • To my babies: this year… — BluebirdMama • Mindfully Loving My Children…
- Breastfeeding Resolution for 2010 | Mama 2 Mama Tips - [...] my babies: this year… — Alison at BluebirdMama has written a letter of resolutions to her [...]
- Talkin’ ’bout My Resolutions « Navelgazing - [...] Compassion Potential — Baby Dust Diaries• To my babies: this year… — BluebirdMama• Mindfully Loving My Children — Breastfeeding Moms Unite!• January…
- Nursing Bras Reviews – Post Pregnancy Body » Mindfully Loving My Children - [...] a Toddler’s Compassion Potential — Baby Dust Diaries • To my babies: this year… — BluebirdMama • Mindfully Loving My Children…
- Good Goog » I’m Late, I’m Late for a Very Important Date - [...] To my babies: this year… @ Bluebirdmama [...]
- No more multitasking during kid time « The Recovering Procrastinator - [...] a Toddler’s Compassion Potential — Baby Dust Diaries • To my babies: this year… — BluebirdMama • Mindfully Loving My Children…
- January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Parenting resolutions! « Tales of a Kitchen Witch Momma - [...] a Toddler’s Compassion Potential — Baby Dust Diaries • To my babies: this year… — BluebirdMama • Mindfully Loving My Children…
- It’s All About Empathy: Nurturing a Toddler’s Compassion Potential » The Road Less Traveled To Parenthood » Baby Dust Diaries - [...] a Toddler’s Compassion Potential — Baby Dust Diaries • To my babies: this year… — BluebirdMama • Mindfully Loving My Children…
- To Yell or Not to Yell « The Adventures of Lactating Girl - [...] a Toddler’s Compassion Potential — Baby Dust Diaries • To my babies: this year… — BluebirdMama • Mindfully Loving My Children…
- OneStarryNight.com: Parenting Resolutions - [...] BluebirdMamaTo my babies: this year [...]
What a beautiful letter to your children! I’m going to steal “Take care of myself so I can be the Mama you deserve, so I can become the person you see in me” from you. I love that. Your kids are lucky to have you as their mama.
Blessings!
Ah, yes: spending less time on the computer. I agree, mama. It’s so hard to find a balance here – my online community gives me much needed adult interaction, but I can’t let it take away from the quality time I enjoy with my son.
I’ve tried setting a schedule for myself, but I fell away from it. I think I’m going to try again – thank you for reminding me 🙂
.-= Dionna @ Code Name: Mama´s last blog ..January Carnival of Natural Parenting: Resolutions =-.
Twitter: CodeNameMama
That was so touching; I love that you addressed this to your children; how lovely, thoughtful and respectful. I’m wishing you all a wonderful year as a family and am right with you on the ‘less computer’ goal!
.-= Mrs Green @ littlegreenblog.com´s last blog ..Natural parenting resolutions =-.
Twitter: myzerowaste
What a difficult but lovely list. I wish you the best in fulfilling it.
Beautiful letter, mama. Had to fight back tears, to be honest. All great reminders to me as well!
A sweet, simple, to the point list. I love it! All things we can aspire to!
Having gone through the Kindergarten process last year, I know how stressful it can be to find the “perfect” place for your child. It will all work out!
Great list. I could do a few of those too. I’m already letting them do more when they want to be helpful and so far it’s working great. When I can let go and let them help they are actually more open to my needing to take over at some point. I still need to work on waiting and thinking before reacting though.
.-= Melodie´s last blog ..Mindfully Loving My Children =-.
That was simple and beautiful. Thank you for sharing that.
What a sweet letter! I have some of the same goals for this year. I am so guilty of spending too much time on the computer. I suppose it would be nice if I found other ways of adult interaction that also involved the kiddos.I could arrange more playgroups with the AP group here.
.-= Darcel´s last blog ..Parenting Resolutions. =-.
Such a beautiful letter ;o) I want to do alot of the things on your list as well. I know what you mean about sleep! Our daughter comes into our bed if she wakes up in the middle of the night (which I mostly love) but sometimes getting her to sleep can be a challenge. The other night, I was sitting in her room trying to get her to sleep. In all honesty, I was thinking about how bored I was. But I was stroking her hair and making shh-ing noises. She put her finger up to her lips and said ‘shh’ back to me and then took put her hands on my face and pulled me towards her for a goodnight kiss. Snapped me right back to enjoying the moment.
.-= Zoey @ Good Goog´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – The Bucket =-.
Twitter: zoeyspeak
I love how you wrote this, as a commitment to your children rather than a list of things for you to do. It’s the same thing, but a totally different perspective.
I can agree with almost all of this list, too, especially the shouting and the computer time (so I say as I sit here on the computer while one watches TV and the other plays by herself…). Finding balance seems to be the hardest part for mothers (and some fathers, too, but mostly for mothers it seems).
This is so cute! I need to go on more walks too.
That is so beautiful. It’s a poem.
I love how respectful you’re being toward your kids. You’re inspiring me with your general attitude, as well as the specifics. My 2-year-old has taken to manually turning my head to face him when I’m on the computer when he wants attention. Oops! I like the idea of limiting it during waking hours.
Yes, it’s a waking hour right now…but he’s off playing with his aunt! 🙂
.-= Lauren @ Hobo Mama´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: Drunken photo meme =-.
Twitter: Hobo_Mama
This is really beautiful. And I really mean that. I can second just about every one of those whole heartedly (with the exception of the schooling stuff since my little guy is only 2). It’s crucial to take care of ourselves, to slow down, be present, and to really feel the moments of our life. This is just a really terrific reminder to do that.
Thank you!
.-= Jessica – This is Worthwhile´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – Exhausted aunt on baby-duty =-.