Judgey McJudgersteen

When you get pregnant or have a newborn, lots of people start asking questions about your plans.


Are you going to breastfeed?
When will you go back to work?
Are you going to use cloth or disposable diapers?
Will your kid be vaccinated?


Uh, yes, don't know, disposable, and YES!  Before Elijah came along, I used to judge other moms' choices because I thought I knew it all.  What I've found out is that I am a twit.  Who am I to judge?  I wasn't a mom yet so maybe what those other moms were doing was all fine and dandy.  So some moms plop their kids in front of the TV for hours at a time so that they can get some rest.  Maybe their kids were screaming for hours on end and they needed a break.  And those moms that breastfeed in public without a coverup?  Their kid was hungry and they forgot to bring a cover or don't care what others think and just want to feed their child.   Ok, I get it.  I wasn't on that side of the baby aisle - all I had were assumptions of what I myself would or wouldn't do in the same situation.


Fast forward to today.  I don't go so far as to breastfeed without a cover, but I have breastfed in public, which is something I never thought I would do.  And work?  I always thought I would just go back to work and let someone else (Jeff, my mom, babysitter) take care of the baby because I was NOT a stay-at-home type.  Now, I can't imagine going to work and missing out on Eli's first steps or seeing all the cute things he does every day.  My "green" sensibilities considered cloth diapers for a second, but it quickly passed.  I was not ready to put baby's poopie diapers in a bin and let it accumulate for a week until the diaper people came to pick it up, regardless of how much they tell me that there is no smell in their special bins.  Yeah right.  As for vaccines, I'm all for them.  I remember being blown away when I found out that kids these days don't have to get the chicken pox anymore because there's a vaccine for it.  I remember being a kid with itchy blotches all over my body and hating it.  Now my kid can be spared that yuckiness.  But for all those moms that choose not to vaccinate?  I say stay away from my kid.  I don't understand why you would want to risk your child's health by forgoing time- and science-tested shots.  But, people will have their reasons.


There are things out there that I haven't decided on and I know others will judge me based on my choices.  Will I keep Eli from watching TV until he's at least 2 (as recommended by "child experts") or will I find myself letting him veg out in front of Sesame Street?  Will I try to breastfeed until he's 1 years old or just stop at 6 months?  And here's something else - will I be those crazy moms who breastfeed their kid past 2 years and well into pre-K age?  At this point in time, I say if the kid can ask for your milk, he's too old to get it.  But who knows?  If you see me breastfeeding my 3 year old, just walk on by and cast your judge-y eyes somewhere else.  I've learned that every mom does what's best for her child and everyone else can just suck it.