Simply Relax Mom...It Will Happen

My kids are running through the house, yelling, screaming, shooting each other with Nerf guns and I'm standing there at my washing machine holding a fitted sheet that I know I lack the capability to fold correctly when a thought crosses my mind...No one had an accident last night, or the night before, or the night before that. Thinking back it's been weeks, maybe even a month since I've woken up in the middle of the night to my child whispering in my ear, "Mommy I had an accident..."

Now all of my children potty trained fairly early but a couple of them had trouble staying dry at night, no matter what we did. The pediatrician assured us it was normal, genetic and they would eventually outgrow it. As I stood there at my washing machine it hits me that it's over...we did it, they outgrew it, and I hadn't even noticed! In midst of all the noise and chaos that is my day, another milestone had been conquered so subtly that I hadn't even realized.

I spent so many nights changing my child's pajamas and stripping down another wet bed that I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel! And then one day it just clicked. All of the concern and worry was for nothing, the battle was over!

Now this was by no means the first battle, or at least what I considered a battle. I made the mistake of reading every parenting book I could get my hands on in those first few years and I lived and parented by the milestone charts. When we would come to a milestone and my child wasn't quite there, I would panic, convinced they were behind and I was a total failure! By taking in every word the books threw at me and comparing them to other kids their age, I was sabotaging myself!

I believed my oldest was never going to walk, my middle one was never going to crawl, and my youngest was never going to talk! Now guess what?!?! My oldest isn't walking, he's running, EVERYWHERE, the middle one..she never did crawl, she scooted around on her bottom until one day she stood up and took off chasing her brother, and my youngest talks my ear off all day long!

Now I'm not one to give advice by any means, I've made so many mistakes! However, I will say this to nervous Moms, (it's what my own Mother told me)...burn the books, throw away the charts, quit comparing them to others and just watch YOUR child. Whether you're impatiently waiting on that first step, waiting to hear that first word, praying they will finally potty train or teaching them to read, just know that IT WILL HAPPEN! Just Relax, take it all in, don't rush, be still, and enjoy the day! IT WILL HAPPEN, I promise!