Parenting Journals

So, I have come to an interesting conclusion about parenthood. When we give birth to our child…even if not right away, we at some point feel like this child will love us forever…unconditionally. Later we find out that although they will love us forever…inevitably we will fall from grace… or when ‘life happens’ they will decide that we do not deserve their unconditional love. Whether we hand them a reason on a silver platter or whether we do everything we can to never give them a reason…they will find one. And of course as parents, we think the world revolves around us, and so we will take it personally when our children begin to distance themselves from us. We will think that they uncovered the truth about us. That in some way we accepted a certain amount of mediocrity in our lives and they have found us out. We will blame ourselves. And if we handed them a reason on a silver platter….ie: divorced their mother or take them across 5 states to move in with a soul mate…they would resent us even more. And even if we didn’t give them a tangible reason the law of gravity would still pull them away from us…perhaps it would be more gradual of a distancing, but let’s face it…by the time a teenager is about 15…they have subconsciously started pulling away from their parents.

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A child chokes on a bite of hot dog. A toddler wanders into the edge of a lake when the parents look away briefly. A young one is found by a parent, unresponsive in a crib. All of these children have something in common: they are all in life-threatening situations.

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It is day four of incessant crying. No sleep for anybody in the family. The new baby, a precious gift, is no bundle of joy. You would do anything to help relieve the obvious pain your baby is experiencing. The worst part is nothing seems to help. Many parents end up in the emergency room in an attempt to find an answer to their baby’s suffering. But there doesn’t seem to be any definitive answers. Experts can’t agree- some say the baby is trying to change the dynamics of the household to focus more on the infants needs. Others insist that the baby is not in any real pain but uncomfortable outside the womb. Still others maintain allergies to breast milk or formula is keeping your baby gassy and fussing. While all of these theories may have a very small place in the very large, all encompassing diagnosis of colic, an immature digestive system learning to synchronize itself seems the most plausible answer. After talking with hundreds of colic-challenged moms let me dispel some popular colic myths.

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Research has shown that breast-fed babies enjoy health advantages such as fewer digestive problems, colic, reflux, gas, intestinal infections, allergies and skin diseases. The babies are also at less risk of developing high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. A study suggested they are smarter than formula-fed babies as well. That is why men should get involved with their wife, girlfriend, or family members to help with breastfeeding cores. The breast-fed babies are probably better at sports too. Although there is no current study supporting this sports theory, maybe someone can add this study their next thesis?

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