Ann, our Parent of the Week, is someone I know you all will be able to related to. Read on as she talks about how there's really no 'one size fits all' way of parenting. Oh, and did you see her absolutely, breathtakingly precious daughter?!
As always, if you'd like to be a Parent of the Week or would like to nominate someone, email me at deluna.jamie@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!
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Tell me a little about you.
My name is Ann. I've been married to my wonderful husband Daniel for 5 1/2 years. I quit my career to be a stay-at-home mom to our daughter and I'm so happy and grateful that we were able to make that change. We're also expecting our second baby! I'm a proud graduate of the University of Southern California, Fight on Trojans! I love kids, sports, reading, traveling and food. :) We also have two chocolate lab doggies, named Abby and Ace. I'll dance occasionally in the car, these days, it's to amuse my daughter. I also love my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with all my heart.
Tell me about your little one.
My daughter Alexis is almost 18 months old and is the absolute joy of our lives. She is extremely smart and advanced for her age. She loves the Your Baby Can Read program and can read and say lots of words. The best part is she LOVES books and loves to read with mommy and daddy. She learns something new nearly everyday. She's very sweet and funny and dogs are her favorite thing in the whole world. We love taking walks in the stroller and visiting the dog park near our house. She really likes all other animals too. She prefers peas and fruit to most sweets, but loves chocolate and cookies (such a girl). She's very attached to mommy, and is VERY shy around people she's not around all the time. She knows how to work mommy's iphone and loves swimming. She freaks out at doctors offices, elevators, and anything that resembles a doctor or dentist (not fun.) She'll dance to just about any music, anytime, anywhere. She loves other babies and is very excited about the other baby in mommy's tummy, which is good for us.
What surprised you most about parenting?
The thing that surprised me most was that there are no absolute right ways to do ANYTHING. There are a million different opinions about sleep issues, feeding, nursing/weaning, vaccines, etc. I didn't expect that and it can be quite confusing when trying to figure out something with your child, especially as first-time parents.
How have you had to be Avant Garde as a Parent?
Based on all these different parenting styles, we've pretty much had to try different things based on what we as parents know about Alexis and trust our instincts. We may do things the same or completely different for the next baby. I've learned you can't protect your child from everything and you can't compare yourself to other parents. Every child is unique and different and needs to be raised as such. For example, I know the cry-it-out method works for lots of babies, but we figured out almost immediately that it wasn't going to work for us. Therefore we have had to create our own sleep training program (because the others didn't work) to try and get her out of our bed and into hers (still working on it and praying it works, lol.). Weaning was another thing I had to figure out based on lots of other suggestions that didn't work. Thankfully, she is fully weaned and I'm really happy that we figured out that issue mainly on our own. Parenting is this crazy, sometimes scary, sometimes exhilarating, roller-coaster ride. I wouldn't trade it in for anything and I am so in love with my kids and being a mommy!
Ann and Past Parents of the Week: Feel free to grab the Parent of the Week Badge:
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