Mommy Milestones

Well, it's official. My girls are 11 months old. In exactly one month we will be celebrating their first birthday and I am kinda freaking out. Time flies. I feel like I was just pregnant imagining what two little babies would look like when they popped out. I started reflecting on the past year of my life as a parent and it is literally insane. So many ups and down, smiles, laughter, tears. It has been one hell of a journey and I would never trade it for anything in this world!

My daughters have grown so much and in reminiscing about their first year of life I started thinking about all of the ways I have grown as a parent. With each milestone my kids have reached I have reached one as well. Parenting definitely does not come with an instruction manual, so I am very proud of how far I have made it. I have compiled a list of my mommy milestones to share.

PREGNANCY
Any multiple pregnancy is considered high risk automatically. So being pregnant with twins, I had a slightly complicated pregnancy. I was on bed rest at 5 months. My mom had moved out of state and was not by my side, which I really craved while pregnant. My insurance benefits were exhausted around month 8 and my doctor stopped seeing me. I had to go through the county health department for my last few check ups, which meant waiting 5+ hours just to be seen by a doctor. I met the doctor who did my C-section the morning my daughters were born. Through all that craziness, I made it to 36 weeks with twins and my daughters were born healthy. It was rough, but I did it!

SURVIVING COLIC
Around 3-4 weeks old both girls became extremely colicky. For those of you who don't know what colic is, it is described by scientists and doctors using "The Rule of 3's" - an infant who cries for more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days a week, for over 3 weeks. Basically, your baby cries for no reason and there is nothing you can do to stop it. We had this times two and it was probably the most challenging thing I have faced as a parent thus far. There are tons of things to try to make the baby more comfortable - warm baths, baby massages, gripe water, wraps/swaddles. We tried it all, but sometimes it would only soothe the girls for a short period of time. There were many times Kevin and I walked out of the apartment and sat outside the front door listening to them scream because we were exhausted and there was nothing else we could do. Our pediatrician told us around 3 months the girls would grow out of it. And one magical day just after they turned 3 months old it literally stopped. If you are a parent experiencing a colicky baby, hang in there! There is an end and don't forget it is okay to walk away to collect your sanity for a moment.

Imagine this on loop for 3 months and that is colic!

AIRPLANE WITH BABIES
I think most parents would agree that flying on an airplane with kids is super intimidating. September of last year our family made the decision to relocate to Texas. Kevin drove the moving truck from Florida to our new home and I boarded a plane with my aunt and uncle (who were conveniently heading to Texas on a previously planned trip) and the twins. I was so nervous the girls would be screaming the entire flight and i would have every passengers eyes burning holes through me wondering why I am a horrible parent that cannot handle her children. I tried to plan as much as I could to make it an easy experience, but I have such travel anxiety it was really hard for me to stay calm. However, I am happy to say that my girls were complete angels the entire time. They slept almost the entire flight and did not cry once. I know this is probably a freak occurrence and the next time we ride on a plane it will most likely be horrific. But I feel like this was a milestone I passed with flying colors, at least the first time.

FIRST BABYSITTER
Before we left Florida the only people that watched our girls were Kevin's parents and sister. And once we got here to Texas my mom and sister watched them as well. Of course we trust our family 100% to care for them just as we would. I made a close friend when we moved here named Ashlee (one of the writers here at MM) who has a 2 year old son. We started hanging out a lot and one day it came up that we could swap babysitting to help each other out. As parents we always need more me time, time with our significant other, or time to just get shit done. Ashlee came over one afternoon when Kevin and I had a ton of errands to run. She brought Judah along, we gave her the low down on the girls, and headed out to seize the day. I have to admit I felt a bit nervous and I wanted to text and call every 5 seconds to make sure everything was ok. But I got through it and we had a super productive day. I really learned to let go and it helped me grow so much as a parent to take that step. A few weeks later Ashlee made an appointment to get her first tattoo and Kevin and I returned the favor. Just for the record, babysit swap is amazing! You don't have to worry about paying a sitter you don't know or trust.

DAY CARE
I recently wrote about my experience in sending the girls to day care here . It was a giant step in parenting that Kevin and I made for our family. It has turned out to be an amazing thing. I know everyone has different situations and sending your kids to day care may not be the best thing, but so far it has turned out to be a great decision for us. i love that my girls can be social and are learning English and Spanish simultaneously from their caregivers. They come home happy and we have the energy to spend amazing quality time with them. It took a lot of guts to make the decision, but i am so happy I did because the benefits we are reaping from this are amazing.

Parenting is a wild ride! Don't forget that as your littles are beginning to crawl, walk, loose their first tooth, and reach all of their amazing milestones, stop and think about the milestones you're hitting as a parent. You deserve to give yourself credit for all of the work you do and things you overcome because it is just as important!

Comment below with some of the mommy or daddy milestones you have reached. And don't forget to click the banner below to vote for us!