When we found out that we were becoming parents, my husband and I discussed several issues and came up with these lofty goals: Our child would not watch TV before the age of 2, and even then, it would only be educational programming. Our child would not sleep in the bed with us. Our child would not have bottles of formula. Our child would not use a pacifier. Our child would not be allowed to have candy, soft drinks, or fast food... You can see where I'm going with this. I think most people come up with a list like this when they are contemplating parenthood. It makes you feel like you're a great parent - maybe the best ever. No one could ever live up to your standards, and you're okay with that. Bless their hearts, they just don't know better. And then, the baby arrives. You do your best - everything the books say you should do - and NOTHING works. Your confidence begins to fade. You start (begrudgingly) taking advice from your parents, family, friends, you even start listening to the random advice thrown at you from complete strangers in the line at the grocery store. And still, nothing works. You're exhausted, your baby hasn't stopped crying in days, and you only briefly remember what it feels like to brush your hair or change out of your pajamas while it's still light outside. Every bit of your confidence has completely been flushed down the toilet. You begin to wonder, would it really be that bad if the baby took a pacifier, or slept in our bed, or... You mention this to your well rested husband who begins to suggest that you stick to your original idea, but then he starts to come around to your thinking when he sees the look on your face. Desperate times, my friend, desperate times. JA ended up sleeping in the bed with us until he was five months old. He (and I) finally got more than thirty minutes of sleep at a time, and it was wonderful!!! It doesn't appear to have caused any permanent damage - he made the transition to his crib very easily. We caved in on the pacifier as well, but he never took it - he's a thumb sucker, and I think that's adorable! He has watched TV. All three of us watch Jeopardy every night. I have recently let him watch a few things on Sprout (he loves Thomas!), and we have started collecting VeggieTales DVDs. He doesn't get to see alot of TV, but he has been exposed, and that's okay. I backed down on another of our 'lofty goals' today. JA had a couple of McNuggets. I know, I know - shame, shame! He hasn't been eating well the last couple of weeks. He only wants bread and fruit. I've tried everything I could think of, and he still makes a face and spits it out. So, I thought, he needs to eat something, let's try the drive-thru. He ate one and a half nuggets along with some whole wheat bread, strawberries, and a teeny, tiny bit of carrots. I was so excited that he finally ate some meat that I didn't feel too horrible about giving him (gasp!) fast food.
It really goes back to being able to do things in moderation. A little TV isn't terribly bad, but allowing a child to watch TV for eight hours a day can't be helping their physical or mental development. Occasionally eating something from the drive-thru isn't the healthiest choice, but it's much better than having fast food two or three times a day. I guess it's just important to remember that we aren't perfect and neither is he, but we are doing the best we can, and that's really all you can do.
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