A Cup of Catherine

Motherhood: Successes and Fails

by

It’s been a long time since I’ve talked motherhood on this blog. I know some of my readers are no where near the motherhood stage of their lives, but hopefully you guys are ok with a little thinking out loud in that realm every now and then.

You guys. My sweet, still-tiny, ever-so-active Bazooka is going to be TWO YEARS OLD in less than 2 months.

I just can’t.

I just can’t believe that my little guy will be two. That he’s started his second year of daycare. That he can be so assertive and determined. Or that he still fits into 9-month pants.

Since lately some of the simplest “duties” of being a mom have overwhelmed me and tested my patience, I thought it would be fun to do a little list of motherhood fails and successes.

mom-successes-fails

Motherhood Successes and Fails

Success:

Sleep. Apart from a couple of nights this past week, Bazooka has been a FANTASTIC sleeper. He falls asleep easily when we rock him (ok, I know rocking my toddler to sleep is a failure in some people’s eyes, but I make the rules here) and sometimes he will even let us sleep late on the weekends.

Success:

After a few months of worry over Bazooka’s speech, his vocabulary has skyrocketed! The most precise and clear word he can say is “cookie.” And that’s probably because I’m #winning at motherhood and gave him cookies for breakfast (oh, shut your face, they’re gluten free and organic!) the other day.

He also loves saying “shirt,” which, in adorable toddler accent, sounds more like “shit.” Yes, at all hours of the day my toddler is whining for his “shit.” He loves to carry around his “shit.”

But, hey, at least his speech development is on track, right? ?

Fail:

My child still eats nothing. Take a look.

exhibit-A

exhibit-b

Both are creative, lovingly-packed lunches that were surely thrown into the trash.

It’s hummus or die, people.

Success:

Bazooka weaned himself from the bottle! He has been using sippy cups for his water for a while, but until a couple months ago, he was still drinking bottles of milk at daycare (he would barely touch a cup of milk, though). One day we just sort of put away all of his bottles and it’s like he didn’t even care. I guess it had to be in his own time.

Fail:

My child still bites me. He doesn’t seem to do it in an aggressive way, but I’m having a hard time reminding him that it’s not kind to bite his mother (Mark is the disciplinarian between the 2 of us). He’s been the “bit-ee” several times at daycare, so you’d think he’d realize being the biter is not something he should aspire to.

Success:

After 2 whiny beach trips and a summer on the sidelines during “water days,” this crazy child of mine has finally fallen in love with the swimming pool! His first time was in his clothing (because we didn’t pack a swimsuit) and I’ve never seen such joy on a child’s face. Now he’s obsessed with “wah-wah.”

072016

Success:

Hugs and kisses! Oh my gosh, my heart melts whenever this sweet child gives us hugs and kisses. Sometimes he’ll even give them out without being asked to do so. ❤️

As you can see, the successes outnumber the failures. Although I have my bad days where I feel like I’m the worst mother ever, I definitely enjoy being this little fellow’s mother like nothing else in the world. Maybe I’m doing something right!

Humor is essential for #motherhood. Check out these successes AND fails for a laugh. #thinkingoutloud Share on X

So tell me…

  • What’s one of your recent fails and/or successes?
  • Any tips for getting a picky eater to eat?

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Love this. <3 Mama, you are a wonderful mama, and I can testify that I used to be SO PICKY. One of the things that my mom and dad did was have me eat just a tiny bit of the food I didn't like; I didn't like it at the time, but now I'm grateful for that. They called it a 'no thank you' helping. They never forced it on me, but somehow I knew I needed to eat a little bit. :o) And the fact that he gives you lots of hugs and kisses = SUCCESS!

      • Thanks Emily ❤️ We’re hoping that once he’s a little older, we can reason with him to at least TRY new foods (instead of tossing them to the dog). I was picky too so I guess it’s karma 😉

    2. Aw this makes me smile so much 😉 Love hearing about all the successes. So cool how quickly his vocab is progressing. The kids I babysit are so picky with what they like to eat too. Hard to get them to sit and focus and actually finish a meal, they always get distracted!

      • Yes, the wins luckily outweigh the fails. I think 90% of kids are just picky. It’s so frustrating but I know how important it is for us to react mildly and not make feeding time a source of anxiety.

    3. Oh I so needed to read this today. One, to know that my 16 month old WILL develop beyond what she current does right now, which is climb ALL furniture including my kitchen table, bite, only say one word, and love to throw food.

      The eating thing is tough. Claire was normally a good eater but just went through about a month of eating literally pineapple only. I was like wow so this is what it’s like to have a picky eater. She kind of eased up and started eating again, but one meal she’ll eat chicken nuggets, the next she throws them on the floor and has a fit if they come near her? I’m so confused!

      I do need to remember that more of motherhood is success instead of failure. And some failures are just out of our control or not truly failures.

      • Sounds just like bazooka. Yes!!! He is the same way. He used to love eggs and sliced chicken and now he tosses it to our dog. He eats nothing but carbs (truly he is my child!).
        We will survive, just keep reminding yourself of that 😉

    4. I love this post! I still rock my 2.5 year old to bed post nights. Not to complete sleep, but he likes to be rocked and I know these days will be short lived. (I don’t know any 5 or 6 year olds who want to be rocked!). So I say, enjoy those extra snuggles!

      I love those bento lunch boxes(?) – so cute!! Where are they from. Your meals look delicious, I would eat them, haha! Every day is a challenge with eating. Some days my toddler is a great eater, other days what he loved the day before, he claims to hate the next. Oy.

    5. I will eat those meals for him 😉
      I can only imagine how much trial and error motherhood is. I know marriage certainly is! I loved getting this little update!

    6. Motherhood and childhood are journeys, and they are going to billed with smooth sailing and potholes. My brother’s friend when he was a kid was a biter. You could always tell it was him because the kid had weird teeth, lol

      • Oh that’s funny about the boy with the weird teeth!
        You’re so right about motherhood/childhood being an up and down journey. Thankfully there seems to be more smooth sailing than storms, at least right now.