Bottle? No thanks!

It appears this week Nicole, our 14 month old, has decided she no longer needs bottles. Good girl! She is growing up so fast. This makes me very proud of her, however it also makes me sad. Where'd my little baby go?

This is typical Nicole though. She has always been a very easy baby. It seems like she has been the one to teach me. She let me know when she was ready to eat solids, she let me know when she didn't need a pacifier, she let me know when she was ready to ditch the bottle, and so on. I am still waiting for this parenting thing to become challenging. I know, I know...either she will end up being a terror in a couple years, become a horrible teenager, or my next baby will have colic. Some way I will get pay back right? I hope that is not the case. I hope Nicole continues to be a well-adjusted, sweet girl. All's we can do is try our best. I will continue to let her guide me through this parenting thing. Now that isn't saying I will let her take advantage of me...no, no, no sir! I will listen to her and let her guide me. Take last night for example. Nicole had a rare crabby day yesterday. She was overly tired and I think her teeth are bothering her. She would touch her face and say, "Ow!" and there was a lot of whining. So, at about 7:00pm (a full hour before her usual bedtime), I said, "Nicole, do you need to go to bed? Are you just too tired?" She raised her arms for me to pick her up and said, "Night, night". I picked her up and she laid her head on my shoulder and put her thumb in that cute, cranky mouth of hers. And off we were to bed!

So, I have found that before you get worked up...if you just take a step back, listen to your child, they will tell you what they need.

Now...if only I could tell Nicole that I am ready to give up my baby blanket. Hmmmm, I don't think that will happen any time soon considering I am 32 years old. I sometimes wonder what it will be like when Nicole is 16 years old and says to me, "Mom, when are you going to stop sleeping with that nasty baby blanket? It's so embarrassing!" Hey, if sleeping with my baby blanket at the age of 32 is the most dysfunctional thing about me, then I am in pretty good shape!