Note to self: (and maybe to you too?)

I had started to feel discontent, envious, and even lazy on a regular basis. So I sat down and had a talk with Alex about it. During our chat I came to this conclusion: Life -and motherhood in particular- is not a competition. I realized that I need to remind myself this, sometimes more than others. In this age of digital sharing, (facebook statuses, mommy blogs, twitter) it's even easier to get caught up in how well, and how much better, others seem to be doing.

So I'm working on changing my thinking in these areas:
*My baby: as long as he is healthy, happy, learning, and growing I do not need to be comparing when he reaches milestones, how long he sleeps at night, and how fast his motor skills are developing with other babies So maybe he isn't very good at tummy time, isn't sitting up on his own, and still nurses to sleep at night. He is a very happy little man (most of the time) laughs on a daily basis, is smiling directly at us, growing like a weed, loving bath time, sleeping through the night, and starting to play with his toys. Every baby is different, and every mommy needs to know that and stop comparing her baby to other babies.

*My house: as long as it is relatively clean, regularly vacuumed, and there aren't just huge piles of "stuff" and dishes and laundry I can be content. Sometimes I still get really nit-picky, I have always been a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to cleanliness, especially when something is my responsibility. My husband has been a big help with keeping things done. He's really good at just noticing if the dishes need done and getting that taken care of. He's also a big help with laundry.

*My "business": I'll admit it, I kind of failed in this aspect. I'm not very outgoing, not good at networking, not very good at hounding people (or feeling like I am) so I may have a business page and a whole basket full of handmade headbands, but it seems that it's going nowhere. I may work on it again at some later date, but for now I'll leave home based businesses up to the people who are actually making sales.

*My weight: as someone who has always struggled with weight issues and body image, this has been the hardest thing not to compare or envy. Especially with so many women having had babies around the same time that already lost all of or more than their pregnancy weight. I had a very hard time recovering from my c-section and am just now starting to feel like I can do everything I did before. So it's really slow going. I need to remember that as long as I am happy, getting enough sleep, able to take care of myself and my family, and am working on losing weight in a healthy manner, I need to stop comparing to other women.

Happy mommy and her growing baby

I guess that's about it! Have you ever had struggles with comparing?