I’m joining in with Emerging Mummy’s “Practices of Mothering” carnival today. She’s inviting people to share “what we do – or try to do – to help us enjoy parenting right now.”
Here is what is working for me right now.
I try to trust my baby, my Ellie.
I trusted that she would work together with me when we were laboring together to help me push her out and I believe that she did.
I trusted (and still trust) that her cries mean that she needs me, not that she’s manipulating me and so I answer her cry for help, every time.
I trust that her current desire to nurse a lot comes from a true need, for either nutrition or for comfort. So I respond to her requests when she asks. Eventually I know that I will miss these quiet times together.
I trust that she won’t starve herself so I don’t need to worry about how much solid food she’s eating. (Besides, she’s nursing all the time!)
And I try to trust myself.
I trust that God has given me instincts that tell me how to respond to my baby in the way that she needs me to. So I try to trust my instincts.
I trust that God didn’t make a mistake when he entrusted Ellie to my care and that he will equip me with all that I need to mother her well.
When I trust in Ellie, when I trust in myself, when I trust in God, I am a much happier mother.
How about you? What do you do to help you enjoy parenting right now?
Salmon and Souvlaki 
Awesome. I think that’s such a beautiful gift for your child — letting her know from birth that she can be trusted. I try to do the same — I just never thought to put it that way.
Thanks – I hadn’t thought about it as a gift to Ellie before, just as a way to help myself!
No. Way. For real, I could have written EVERY WORD of this post! In fact, I almost did but decided I would save my Trust post for later. The eating, the sleeping, the nursing, I try to trust her with all of these things. To not bend her to my wiser opinion- which would probably look like more eating and sleeping and less night time nursing!
(Although you said it a lot more succinctly and articulately than I would. You used real words and everything)
Thanks for stopping by my blog too. I’ll be stopping by yours often from now I think!
🙂
I agree about the less night time nursing – that would definitely be my wish!
Our carnival posts are very similar. I too find this practice makes motherhood so much less complicated. He knows what he needs and tells me. I follow him.
http://macattackmondays.blogspot.com/2012/01/following-child.html
oh, i love this message of trust. in yourself, and in her. I am a firm believer that our generation of mothers is shifting the parenting scale from trying to form our children into what we want, to forming our instruction to suppliment the already amazing person that they are. Trust places such a huge role in this. beautiful.
I like that idea of a changing generation of mothers!
As I’ve been thinking about my “practices” the idea of trusting myself really hits home. You captured it well.
Favorite line: I trust that God didn’t make a mistake when he entrusted Ellie to my care and that he will equip me with all that I need to mother her well.
Thanks for sharing.
Years ago, way before I was a mother, I learned the happiest babies had mommy’s who responded to their cries. It taught them to trust the world. Wow, was I glad I followed that advice. My kids are 20 and 23 and they seem like happy kids. I’m so glad you’re sharing this.
Thanks Lucille! I’m glad to hear that this is a good practice to start now and that it keeps on working!
Thanks for this post! It’s amazing how much I am tempted to doubt myself and my instincts as a parent, especially when others disagree with my decisions. Thanks so much for this reminder!
It sure is hard to do what your instincts tell you too in the face of opposition from others. I’m glad we can encourage each other to stay strong.
Such truth in your words. Thank you for painting such a beautiful picture of the power of trust!
Amen and amen! Love this. Thank you.
Thank so much for hosting this blog carnival Sarah! I’ve really been blessed by all of these posts!
Amen! This resonates so much with our parenting practices. Our friends would say “You still nurse her to sleep?!”. Well, yes, she liked to nurse and you know what? I like it too.
Our friends said “She sleeps in your bed at some point every night?!” Yes, indeed, and at 3.5 still does and none of us would trade those snuggles for anything.
People said “You have to teach her you won’t come running for every little thing.”. Oh no, no. I want her to know that if she needs us for the rest of her life, we are running to be there to hold her.
People say “You haven’t slept more than 5 hours straight in 3 years?!”. Nope, and I have survived and thrived and so has she.
Listening to her is such a beautiful way if putting it. I messed up once, listening to others and let her cry it out for two nights. We all hated it. I said to my husband “What should we do?” “What do you want to do?” “I WANT to go in there and rock her to sleep.” “So do that!”. Wiser words were never spoken.
Those questions are so hard to know how to respond to, other than to just say, “This is what my Ellie is telling me that I need and so I’m going to respond to her with love and grace.” I like that idea of teaching her that she can come running to me for anything because honestly, I think when kids know that they can come to us for anything, that frees them to try many things, knowing that they have a loving safety net underneath them!
This may be the best post I’ve read from anyone who linked up over at Emerging Mummy… and I probably think so because I needed to be reminded to trust my little and trust myself. 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Candice! It’s a hard lesson to remember. I had to remind myself of the same thing again today in the early morning.
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