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Hi, everyone! My name is Cady, and I blog over at The Bloggy Mommy. I am 33 (as of today, actually! Happy Birthday to me!), married to Joe and stay-at-home mom to Lucy, a crazy 3-year-old.
I have learned a lot in the last three years. When Lucy was first born, I thought that parenthood was a breeze. Then, she stopped sleeping all day, and I realized just how wrong I was. :) Today, I want to share some advice for those of you with soon-to-be toddlers!
It's OK to get frustrated.
Seriously. I haven't experienced anything as frustrating as raising a toddler. Lucy is incredibly independent, and we butt heads a lot. She also plays the "I don't see it!" game when I ask her to pick things up. Even when they're right in front of her! Try to take a deep breath before you respond.
Be consistent.
If you tell your child he or she can't do something because they misbehaved, stick with it. Don't give in. It can be SO easy to give one more chance, especially if your child has perfected the heart-warming smile like mine has, but if you give in once, your child will know they can succeed in getting what they want. Being consistent shows them who's boss.
Take your child on dates.
I like to take Lucy on a lunch date to a sit down once every 1-2 weeks. She LOVES it and gets so excited about it. She loves being referred to as a "lady" by the servers, and she just loves spending one-on-one time with me. And, I love it as well. Those are memories I will cherish when she's older.
Take time out for you.
It is SO hard to find time for yourself when you're a mom, but it is SO important to do so that you don't lose your mind. Take a Sunday afternoon and go to the mall, get a mani/pedi or, heck, go out one evening to grocery shop by yourself (that is seriously SO much easier without a toddler!)! Even taking an hour to get out of the house by yourself will rejuveniate you.
Have your child help around the house.
Lucy may be 3, but she already asks to help wash dishes simply because she spent time watching us do it. She loves to get up on a chair and "help" us. We also have her pick up her toys and put her clothes away. Teaching her to do simple chores now will hopefully result in her being more of a help as she gets older.
Read.
We are avid readers, and we knew from the beginning that we wanted to pass our love of books on to our daughter. We not only read to her every night, but we also read to her throughout the day. And, it's already paid off. I've caught her sitting on her rocking chair in the middle of the day reading, and she has a pile of books on her bed that she reads every night. I hope that love of reading will never go away.
Rock your child in the middle of the night.
One of my best memories is of going into Lucy's room late at night, getting her out of bed (and somehow not waking her) and rocking with her. It's the little things like that that you will never, ever forget. These years go by so fast, so make all the memories that you can!
