Are you mom shaming?

I follow a lot of different motherhood pages on Instagram, and it has to be said that there are so many different posts on bias opinions. If you are totally against a form of parenting, you should be able to have that opinion while also respecting other opinions.

We live in a society where everything goes, and that includes parenting. When it comes to how we choose to feed our babies, what we feed our babies, whether or not we choose to sleep train, we have zero rights to tell people what their child needs because only those parents know what that child needs. And what is best for their family, doesn’t mean it’s best for your’s.

We don’t know what is happening in that house to be able to understand why decisions are made. You can only understand your own situation.

When I read comments on baby sleep posts, (not my own btw) and how wrong mothers are made to feel for not allowing their baby to sleep with them, it makes me sad. We all know what is best for our baby. I made the decision to sleep train personally because Isabella WOULD NOT SLEEP WITH MY ASSISTANCE, and wouldn’t find comfort in my arms. If I hadn’t put her through The ABC’s of Sleep Course at 6 months old, Isabella would not be sleeping well and neither would I be, and we would both be exhausted and miserable. My marriage would be suffering and my relationship with my son Jackson (6 years old) would be suffering too. I would be putting Isabella through such an injustice by not teaching her that sleep is NOT an option. Her bedroom is down the hall from mine too. Do I wish she fell asleep by rocking or nursing? YES! Would I be okay with traipsing up and down that hallway all night because she couldn’t self settle? NO! Do I care if someone has a negative bias opinion about sleep training? No! Because you don’t live here. And guess what? My baby sleeps better than my 6 year old now, thanks to sleep training. It was the best option for Isabella and she will always have a good sleep foundation. Will there be possible setbacks someday, like teething, bad dreams, fear of the dark as a toddler? Probably, but we aren’t there yet so for now, baby sleep is solid and so important, and who cares what others think. Please don’t shame a mother for decisions she makes for her children. She is only doing what’s best for them and they are surely in good hands.

Being a mother is the hardest job there is, and we all need to be kind to each other. You are doing your best, and so am I. We are all happy and healthy and that’s what matters. YOU are making the best decisions for your baby and that’s important. No mom shaming please, I see it way too often.