Parenting: Mitchell-Style!!

I was reading my friend, Michelle's blog this afternoon and she was talking about the Bisphenal-A (BPA) warnings with plastic that recently came out. Basically, if you haven't heard, BPA has been shown to cause cancer and a lot of companies are discontinuing the use of it in their factories because of the risk. One such company is Avent, which produces baby bottles, among many other products that contain plastic. I was commenting on her blog about how my poor kids probably have so much BPA in their systems because they drank out of Avent bottles for years! This got me thinking about all the "rules" Aaron and I have broken as parents. As we raise our kids, we all have a tendency to compare ourselves to others who seem to be "model" parents--people who seem to be doing all the right things. Personally, I think there's a shortage of honesty and transparency in society today. That's where I come in...Here's a list of parenting "faux-paus" that we in the Mitchell family have been guilty of practicing. Now, you all can look at your methods and not feel so bad:

1. Pregnancy and Childbirth: Caffeine and synthetic sweeteners were staples in my diet during pregnancy. Sonic Diet Vanilla Coke was my favorite! Also in my diet: fish and peanut butter. Also, many of you might already know this, but I am a big believer in C-Sections as opposed to natural deliveries. After doing it both ways (natural with Jack, section with the girls), the C-Section is the way to go!
2. Bottle Feeding: For obvious reasons, breastfeeding didn't really work out for me. And it wasn't for lack of trying! I double-dog-dare someone out there to call me lazy because I might have to hit you. I finally accepted that the bottlefeeding was the best option for our family at the time. My kids loved their bottles so much that they kept them until the age of 2-2 1/2. If you don't already know this, it's a big "no-no" to keep the bottle past the age of 1. I also mixed formula with warm water out of the....(brace yourself)....FAUCET. Oh, yeah, and with the girls, I propped them up on a pillow every night and gave them each a bottle (set inside a bottle feeder) IN THEIR BED!
3. Thumbsucking: I WANTED my kids to suck their thumbs! I begged them to. Nope, as you can imagine, my kids (being the independent thinkers that they are) wouldn't suck their thumbs, take a pacifier, a favorite blankie or toy, etc....They just wanted ME! I would have probably had it a lot easier those first couple of years if they had taken something!
4. Safety: I tried the "back to sleep" method (lying the kids on their backs rather than their stomachs) and gave that one up after, like, 2 nights. They slept so much better on their tummies and they still do. Also, my electrical outlets have never been covered (they aren't actually dangerous unless the kid sticks something metal inside the outlet), we let our kids play with small objects (under supervision), and we never followed them around when they were crawling or climbing. I mean, we'd be in the general area, but we usually kept our distance. If they fell, we would wait until they cried to respond. If they did hurt themselves, we hugged them, rubbed some dirt on it and sent them on their merry way :) Honorable mentions in this category include: letting them buckle themselves into their carseats, teaching them how to dive from the coffee table to the couch (while listening to Led Zepplin), and letting them sleep with us in the bed when they were small babies (to avoid major sleep depravation and insanity).
5. Bribery: Desperate times call for desperate measures. For doctor visits, grocery store trips, and other outings where all 3 kids are present, nothing keeps them under control more than a big fat sucker! If someone starts acting up, I take the sucker away. Judge me if you want to, but it works!
6. Teething: Nothing worked better for our kids than a good dose of Benadryl when they were cutting teeth. Orajel never worked. I think the FDA now warns against giving kids cough medicine under the age of 2 or something like that. Oops!
7. Things you might see at my house: Me still wearing pj's and crying at 4 in the afternoon because I've done nothing but clean up potty training accidents and dirty sheets all day long--oh, and I haven't even thought about dinner yet. At any given moment, you might see someone get naked and run around the house. Usually, it's Moriah, but not always.;) Week old banana peels might be found under the couch. Toys have been known to turn up in the refrigerator, in the kitchen cabinets, and in the toilet, among other places.

There you go...see, you're not as bad of a parent as you thought, are you? Our parents would probably read this list and laugh because they did even crazier things to us when we were small. It's only by God's grace any of us or our kids are living today. It's also funny to look back and see how our philosophies have evolved since before we had kids, or when we just had one child. We used to go around judging everyone's parenting methods like crazy! God definitely has a sense of humor because he gave us 3 little mysteries that we might never figure out!

May God bless you all this week as you raise your children. May He give you patience, may He give you discernment, and may He give you joy in the neverending, neverfailing grace He will provide.