Opinions

As a parent you develop some pretty strong opinions about pregnancy, babies and children through experience and research. And as more of my friends become pregnant and we start talking about birth plans and sleep solutions and parenting tricks I am struggling to realize that my opinions are not always right. They are just my opinions.

It is no secret to those who know me that I am passionate about natural birth. I think medical intervention and caesarean sections are highly overused by the medical community and I really wish more women took the time to educate themselves on birth. But because of this I've caught myself judging people who opt to let doctors lead the way, which is totally unfair of me. Some people choose not to breastfeed, have no interest in cloth diapering and find that crying-it-out does work best for them. This may be different than what we do as parents, but that's okay. We all have our own ways.

Being a mom has made me really earthy and I have turned into a natural birth advocating, co-sleeping, breastfeeding, cloth diapering, recycling granola, in five-inch heels. I believe so much in the way I parent that I have become quite opinionated on the subject too, though admittedly I have always been rather bossy. It's a tough lesson to learn that my opinion is not always right, even if I disagree. But the more I learn about being a parent the more I understand that every parent just wants what is best for their children, no matter how they achieve it.