Why I'm rocking motherhood

Being a mum is hard. Some days it's really hard and some days it's even harder than that. But us mums are all just doing our best and do you know what - we're rocking it!

I was tagged by Sara at Home with Mrs Harvey in the Rocking Motherhood post so now I'm going to share with you 10 reasons why I am totally rocking motherhood.

1. I'm an expert in allergies
Before Monkey was born I didn't really believe in allergies but that was mainly because I knew nothing about them and had never had to deal with them. Worringly, whilst stuck in hospital with a very poorly 3 month old I realised that many NHS staff either don't believe in or understand allergies either. We're under a great team now but we really struggled to get there and had lots of frustrating appointments. In those early days my Health Visitor was a great support but she told me that I needed to become an expert in all Monkey's allergies and associated conditions and be prepared to fight for her. And that's what I've done! Two years down the line and I've got a good understanding of her allergies - what helps, what doesn't and what to do when it all goes wrong.

2. I breast fed till she self weaned
When Monkey first became poorly lots of people said that formula would make her better. She'd keep it down easier and it would help with weight gain. I now know that it would have made her far worse as she would be having dairy direct rather than diluted through my milk. Once her allergies were discovered I was put under lots of pressure to move to formula as it would be 'easier'. Easier isn't what was best for Monkey though. I knew she was feeding well and that breast milk would help repair her damaged gut. I'm proud that despite initial challenges and a lot of pressure I continued to feed her until she decided it was time to stop.

3. Introducing a love of books
Books are important in this house. It was inportant to me that Monkey grew up loving books and so from being tiny we have always read to her. I read to her long before she understood the words I was saying but she always seemed to enjoy it. Now she has her favourite books that she demands we read over and over again. I also set up the baby book club. It was mainly because I was having a strop about her being excluded from messy play but it has helped her explore books in a fun way and lots of her favourites are ones we've done at book club.

4. Letting her grow up...
With all Monkey's health issues and the fact that she is so tiny it would be easy to wrap her up in cotton wool. She's still at an age where I can stop her doing things and keep her as my baby. But whilst that may mean I could relax more, I know it wouldn't be good for Monkey. She is fiesty, fiercely independent and all she wants out of life is to be big! I have to let her grow up, spread her wings a little and learn things for herself.

5. ...but letting her still be little
I love Monkey's independence and can do attitude and will always encourage that but at the same time I do remember that even though she's about 27 in her head she is still only two. The world can be a big and scary place. Sometimes she needs reassurance, someone to hold her hand of just a big cuddle. And that's fine. She has plenty of time to be big.

6. Monkey has great manners
Monkey's manners have been commented on by lots of people and it's something that always make me proud. She says please, thank you and excuse me. She is great at sharing and taking turns. She does have the odd diva moment but for her age she is great.

7. She sees me work
Going back to work was such a hard decision. At that point Monkey was still so tiny and poorly and I felt terrible about leaving her but it was absolutely the right decision. Monkey loves nursery and has learnt so much there but more than that I feel that I'm a good role model for her. She sees that mummy and daddy go out to work and they work hard so she can have nice things. She still has a lot to learn about the cost of things but she knows that if you want something you have to work for it.

8. But we fit loads into my days off
My worry about going back to work was that Monkey would miss out on things but that isn't the case at all. I've been lucky enough to go back part time and we fit so much into my days off. She goes to ballet, swimming and rock climbing lessons as well as baby book club and pramtime at a local church. We have lots of trips to the park and library too and love going to play with her friends.

9. I got over my own fears to get her the care she needs
I'm scared of hospitals. Not just scared, I'm terrified. Monkey has to spend a lot of time at hospitals. I will never let her know I'm scared. To her, it's all just a big adventure. She has no idea it is something to be scared of. She sometimes doesn't like the things they do to her but somehow the toys and the fact that everyone makes a big fuss of her make up for it.

10. Look how smiley she is....I have to be doing something right!

I'm tagging Kerry at Ramblings of a Biscornu Addict Raimy at Readaraptor Hatchling and Ann at Rainbows are too Beautiful to share the reasons why they are rocking motherhood.