[Resi]

When it comes to being a mother what are you great at?

What are you not so great at?

[Bre*n*Will=Reid]

Good:
-Staying level headed and not raising my voice
-Reasoning
-I treat him with respect and take the time to explain things to him and why things are done a certain way
-Instinctual. I almost always feel confident in what I am doing, parenting wise.
-I'm very loving and affectionate

Weak:
-Giving myself 100% to him. I definitely need alone/adult time....probably too much. Sometimes it makes me feel selfish.
-Jumping up and babying him when he's throwing a trantrum or gets a boo boo. I need to work on that.
-I feel like it's my way or the highway. When DH and I disagree on parenting I get really upset.
-I let Reid get away with too much.

[ShannonMVT]

Good:

-I'm a very loving mom, he gets tons of hugs, kisses and I love yous.
-Almost always (even to my own detriment) I automatically put him first and do what's best for him. Even when it's hard, like when I gave up dairy for months rather than give up Bfing.

Bad:

-I'm not as patient as I should be
-I get bored playing with him sometimes and would rather be on the computer or doing my own thing (makes me feel guilty)

Bre, I also HATE when Dh and I disagree on parenting stuff. I swear those are the worst fights.

[LisanAndy]

Good
- I'm a good disciplinarian, not that I like to be
- I'm good at getting babies to sleep through the night and getting them on a routine but it's a flexible one. Makes my life a TON easier!
- I ALWAYS put my kids first
- I'm understanding
- Good listener
- I do EVERYTHING in my power not to make the same mistakes that "others" have made that hurt me so badly growing up. I'm VERY aware of this because I want to actually have a relationship with my daughters and son their whole lives, not just when she becomes a mom and he becomes a dad.

Weak
- I stress easily
- Low patience level
- I get bored playing with my kids sometimes too... I seriously feel like I have ADD sometimes

[ANGWife]

When it comes to being a mother what are you great at?
*Sticking to a schedule and the rules we set.
*Patience
*Messes, I think it's awesome when he gets messy (I think he's learning more that way)
*Providing healthy foods
*Calm in emergency/first aid situation (I've had alot of training/experience)


What are you not so great at?
*Letting others take care of him (I worry alot when he's with a babysitter)
*Keeping his interest
*Cuddling (luckily, my kid doesn't really want to either haha)
*Giving him enough outside playtime
*And lately, I suck because he's watching more tv since I feel so sick

[Resi]

Good:

- Nuturing, Loving, Affectionate
- Taking him out for fun activites when we get out of the house
- Putting him first always (maybe too much at times which can be a weak thing too)
- Feel confident when making parenting decisions


Weak:

- I need to be more patient
- I need to take mre time for myself in order to be more patient
- I get bored easily playing with him and I'm not good at it which makes me feel bad

[ANGWife]

Originally Posted by ShannonMVT

Even when it's hard, like when I gave up dairy for months rather than give up Bfing.

I still think you're awesome for doing this! And I hope you rub it in his face when he is going thru his unappreciative teenage years

[Mars]

Good

- Patience - I was never really a patient person but surprisingly, I do it so well with my neices and nephews and I seem to have so much patience with Amara.

- Loving - I'm really great with the kisses, hugs, sweet words, etc

- Encouragement and Praise - I'm good with encouraging her to keep trying at things until she figure them out and praising her for great accomplishments.

- Not say words like "bad" - If she's being naughty or doing something that she shouldn't, I will let her know that it's naughty and that she shouldn't do it or that what she may have done is not nice but I never tell her that she's being bad or anything like that.

- Putting her first and making sure her needs are met

- I am confident in my parenting style and so far it has been working well.

- Playing with her.

Bad
- TV - I was so sure that I could stick to a strick schedule but she has certain shows like Barney, Hi 5, Yo Gabba Gabba and Sid that she adores watching and we have some DVDs. If she's watching a DVD ana session ends, sometimes she wants to watch another and I let her instead of limiting the sessions.

- Perhaps comforting her too much her when she gets a boo boo or is upset

- Sometimes DH thinks I'm too soft with her as in the second point but for me.

- Time for myself. To me it seems like a non-issue but I know that I should really make time for me.

[soImarriedAnerd]

Bad:
I get bored with playing with him also! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one

I'm not as good as I would like to be about saying "no".... I'm actively working on it, and I'm WAY better than my HS friends LOL

I don't think i "teach" him enough... words/colors/counting/etc.

The rest is probably yet to be determined LOL I'm sure stuff I'm doing now that I think is good/right will bite me in the butt later and then I will look back thinking it was bad

not enough saying "i love you"

letting troy do his thing his way

Good:
I'm very proud of myself for making it to 1yr BFing.... It wasn't till I meet fellow JMers that I even KNEW a woman who made it to 3 months!

I'm confident in my parenting styles and SO FAR DH has been right there with me... but I know once discipline starts we will butt heads.

I don't jump at injuries (unless I see blood LOL) and stay very calm with that stuff. (But my lack of of this could be a bad thing..wasn't sure what category to put it in). i'm actually kind of pro-boo-boo's (not "real" injuries of course) but I let him fall and stuff when I could stop it so that he learns (nothing serious I promise! LOL).

I'm also pro-messes!

Tons of hugs and kisses.

I VERY SURPRISINGLY have been wonderful with his food! He had his first fries this week, but otherwise no fried food, rarely processed foods, no candy or artificial sugar stuff, the boy eats better than I have every in my life. Only BM and water when out for meals (sips).... and its making me slowly change my ways *types this while eating a kit kat though LOL*

TV-he has very very little knowledge of what the thing even is! LOL

[bittersweet]

Good: I am also really proud of BFing her up until now (I plan to continue until at least a year). When she was born, I had zero help from family and she was super fussy more often than not. Family members kept telling me to just give her formula plus it was difficult to pump every 4 hrs at work....but I stuck with it.

I am good with keeping her on a schedule and providing a consistent day. She is much happier and attentive when she naps and sleeps well.

I try to read a lot and be as informed as I can about parenting issues I care about (vaccines, baby signs, feeding)

I take time to make all her foods so she has the most nutritious things possible.

Bad:

I feel like I may not be teaching her as much as I should be. I am always thinking maybe I should be reading more to her or playing number/letter games etc.

I really look forward to nap time...and feel guilty about that.

I don't like messes...so mealtime is hard for me right now

[Trannyfromtheuk]

Good...
I am confident when it comes to using disapline.

I am a firm beliver in making her use her manners.

I am good at sticking to a shedual - we've had the same kind of shedual since she was 6wks old.

I love getting her messy with paints and things

I am very loving, we have lots of kisses hugs and i love you's

I feel I have it right when it comes to what we feed her, she eats well but we let her have the occasinal happy meal. IMO its all about educating her to make wise choices.

Bad...

I let her watch too much TV

She still has her paci. (Its going to santa at christmas though, shes giving it to santa to give to another kiddy who needs it more then her and inreturn she gets a speical present!)

I need to be a bit more paitent with her.

[ShannonMVT]

Originally Posted by ANGWife

I still think you're awesome for doing this! And I hope you rub it in his face when he is going thru his unappreciative teenage years

I just hope he eventually gets over his dairy issues. He needs to be able to eat cheese in order to fully appreciate my sacrifice.

[Frozendesire]

I've been waiting for a good moment to write this. I've been so hormonal lately, I'm just thinking of the bad parts in my parenting. UGH. I'm usually very confident in my parenting choices but right now my bad list would REALLY out weigh my good list. I guess I'll come back!

Although I must be doing something right, my boys are such awesome little guys! I'm very blessed!

[Resi]

After reading what everyone else typed out I can relate to some more good and bad things for myself that I didn't think to include.

[*kyle*]

I can relate to a lot of this too. Then again, I see some areas where others are strong and I'm weak, or vice versa.

My strengths as a mommy:
- Patience, calmness, gentleness. My number one thing is making sure his environment is calm, serene, nurturing and stress-free. I really don't get mad or even frustrated at Dominic. He doesn't hear raised voices.
- Understanding. I understand his need to fuss and cry to communicate, his developmental level that says throw the pacifier on the ground 30 times in a row, and all the messes he makes, which I think are cute not to mention necessary for learning.
- Attachment parenting style. I try to answer his needs ASAP, use lots of affection, touch, and togetherness, such as cosleeping. He hears "I love you" more than any other words I think.
- Sharing him with others who are important in his life (father, nanny, grandparents). It is hard to give up any time with him, but I see allowing him multiple close bonds as a positive, and encouraging to his eventual independence
- I'm good at thinking up new games, finding new toys, and taking him to lots of places and activities. We don't watch much TV at all. I try to maximize my time with him so it's enriching, fun and interesting for us both.

Weaknesses:
- Sometimes I forget to document important things like milestones or take pictures of him at different events, like for instance I never got a baby book going, which makes me feel guilty.
- I don't put him on a schedule, I tend to wait until he's like falling asleep on the floor, or super crabby before I realize "hmmm, he probably needs a nap." It goes along with my attachment style (reading his needs instead of conforming to a clock) but then it can backfire too.
- Saying no. I don't think it's really appropriate before 1 year or older to be really restrictive with kids, it's more my (dad's/nanny's when they are with him) responsibility to follow him around and keep constant supervision. But I wonder when he's old enough to truly understand, if I will have a hard time being a disciplinarian.
- I don't like change, nor do I like the feeling of forcing the "next thing" on him (evident when I had to be convinced over and over that feeding him meat wasn't going to kill him). In some ways I feel I'm protecting him by not pressuring him or measuring his milestones or judging him against other children. Then again, I don't want to resist change just because I am sad to see him leave that developmental stage, or because I'm not sure how to introduce the next level to him (and to myself)... if that makes sense...

[Resi]

Originally Posted by *kyle*

I can relate to a lot of this too. Then again, I see some areas where others are strong and I'm weak, or vice versa.

My strengths as a mommy:
- Patience, calmness, gentleness. My number one thing is making sure his environment is calm, serene, nurturing and stress-free. I really don't get mad or even frustrated at Dominic. He doesn't hear raised voices.
- Understanding. I understand his need to fuss and cry to communicate, his developmental level that says throw the pacifier on the ground 30 times in a row, and all the messes he makes, which I think are cute not to mention necessary for learning.
- Attachment parenting style. I try to answer his needs ASAP, use lots of affection, touch, and togetherness, such as cosleeping. He hears "I love you" more than any other words I think.
- Sharing him with others who are important in his life (father, nanny, grandparents). It is hard to give up any time with him, but I see allowing him multiple close bonds as a positive, and encouraging to his eventual independence
- I'm good at thinking up new games, finding new toys, and taking him to lots of places and activities. We don't watch much TV at all. I try to maximize my time with him so it's enriching, fun and interesting for us both.

Weaknesses:
- Sometimes I forget to document important things like milestones or take pictures of him at different events, like for instance I never got a baby book going, which makes me feel guilty.
- I don't put him on a schedule, I tend to wait until he's like falling asleep on the floor, or super crabby before I realize "hmmm, he probably needs a nap." It goes along with my attachment style (reading his needs instead of conforming to a clock) but then it can backfire too.
- Saying no. I don't think it's really appropriate before 1 year or older to be really restrictive with kids, it's more my (dad's/nanny's when they are with him) responsibility to follow him around and keep constant supervision. But I wonder when he's old enough to truly understand, if I will have a hard time being a disciplinarian.
- I don't like change, nor do I like the feeling of forcing the "next thing" on him (evident when I had to be convinced over and over that feeding him meat wasn't going to kill him). In some ways I feel I'm protecting him by not pressuring him or measuring his milestones or judging him against other children. Then again, I don't want to resist change just because I am sad to see him leave that developmental stage, or because I'm not sure how to introduce the next level to him (and to myself)... if that makes sense...

I was so patient and calm until he turned into a toddler. Then my patience level changed. I'm guessing this is some what normal??

[*krista*]

Good:

- Calming/comforting her
- Very loving
- Reading her moods and cries
- Mommy instincts
- Sticking with a sleep routine

Bad:

- DH told me I'm an overbearing mommy sometimes
- Sharing her
- Trying to put on my smile now that I'm back at work
- I still haven't started her baby book

[Angelaosaurus-rex]

I'll start with my not so greatness

Bad
- I am a push over... like bad.
- I have very little patients at times.
- Its my way or the highway as well here.... I don't see it as a problem but I'm sure Chris does LOL!
- I do not stick with a routine.
- He probably needs to get out of the house more.
- I fed him Count Chocula for breakfast

My bad butt mommy skills
Good

-He knows he is loved! he gets lots of hugs and kisses and is told how loved he is daily.
- I always put him first no matter what.
- He gets lots of mommy play time!
- I have not really enjoyed nursing for a few months now but I stick with it because I know he is not ready to give it up.
- I'm very encouragement and always give him praise.

[ShannonMVT]

Originally Posted by Angelaosaurus-rex

- I fed him Count Chocula for breakfast

That's good stuff though.

[.Brandi.]

Good

-My children come first, NO matter what!
-I'm very loving and affectionate
-I'm a good disciplinarian, not that I like to be
-I treat them like little adults, not children. I don't talk baby talk to them! I have gotten many great compliments on how "well spoken" my children are for their young ages.
-I cater to their every need at the moment of the need.
-I don't stick too much to a routine.
-I'm very helpful and understanding.
-I believe my parenting choices have been the absolute best for my children.
-I go with my guts, even when I hear other people telling me I'm wrong.

Bad
-I question myself too much because of what others say.
-Since having Preston, I struggle with my patience level.
-I'm sometimes unsure of what I'm doing.
-I often feel like I'm doing everything wrong!