I’m a rule bender.

Or even quite possibly a rule breaker.

Before having children, there are a few things I swore I would never do. Who am I kidding, it was more like an infinite list. Some things, I have stuck to my guns…others, not so much.

My biggest “rule” breaker would be bed sharing. I am typing this blog post at 11pm. I am sitting in bed, with my laptop. My sweet boy is sleeping on his tummy, with his little butt in the air, right aside of me. I said I would NEVER bed share. That rule got thrown out the window the first week Jared was at the Police Academy. It was just me, and my 9 month old baby, alone in our house, all.week.long. Lincoln has always been a terrible sleeper….unless he’s sleeping with someone. With Jared away at the Academy for 6 months, I was basically a single Mom. So what does a single Mom do when she’s exhausted, and her baby wakes up multiple times each night? Well, it’s quite simple. She scoops him up and puts him in bed with her.

I do not regret breaking my so-called rule, one bit. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy snuggling each night with my sweet boy. Waking up to his smiling face each morning is one of my most favorite parts of the day.

I said I would transition Lincoln to his toddler bed once Jared graduated from the Academy. Umm, that was in February. Here we are in June…& we’re still bed sharing. I don’t think he’s ready yet, & honestly, neither am I. Jared may be done with the Academy, but he works third shift.

Who am I kidding. I think I’m just trying to make excuses for myself now. I broke my “no bed sharing” rule, and I’m proud of it! I have now set a more realistic goal to when I’d like Lincoln to sleep in his own bed. I figure by the time I’m in the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy with baby #2, I’d like him to be fully transitioned. We’ll see how that goes.

The only other “rule” I broke is the “No TV” rule. I firmly believed my children, more so babies, would not be watching television. I figured there were many other activities and forms of entertainment for them, & the TV was not one of them.

Well……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Lincoln loves him some Mickey Mouse and Sesame Street…& The Aristocats is his favorite movie.

While I do not have my sweet boy plopped in front of the TV all day long, I absolutely do let him watch a show or movie during the day. He won’t actually “sit and watch” the show in its entirety. He’ll play with his toys while it’s on, and glance up occasionally. If he’s tired, he’ll ask me to turn the TV on, & we’ll sit on the couch and snuggle. What Mommy wouldn’t love that?

So, while I was originally in the “no TV” camp, we’re now more in the “television in moderation” camp 🙂

There are a few things, however, that I have absolutely stuck to my guns.

A HUGE one would be that people have to ask either Jared or myself before giving Lincoln any food. When he first started solids, it seemed like everyone under the sun [particularly my inlaws], wanted to feed Lincoln literally anything and everything. That was not cool in my book.

And now, even though Lincoln is 18 months old, I still stick to that rule. My inlaws like to try to give him any sugary treat, particularly late at night, & I absolutely do not allow it. I’m the bad guy. I don’t care. Sure Lincoln eats ice cream and cookies, and plenty of yummy stuff. However, he doesn’t need them every second of the day. It still baffles me as to why people are so eager to shove all sorts of sugary things into a baby’s mouth. Lincoln LOVES fruit…& I’d like to keep it that way. He’s already picky enough with his veggies.

I suppose some rules are meant to be bent…or broken, for that matter. While others, are there for a reason.

What rules did you set for yourself regarding parenting? How did they work out for you? Did you break any? Which ones did you keep?