GOOD:
Milo is the perfect sleeper.
He has been almost from birth.
Don't get me wrong, we were up all hours of the night feeding and taking care of various baby messes, but for the most part he was perfect. By four months old he was sleeping almost eight hours a night, only waking up once to eat before falling right back asleep.
I don't remember EVER having to walk the floors with him to get him back to sleep. No nights spent rocking him for hours (except when he was sick), and getting him on a sleep schedule happened without any fight.
Even now he goes right down for his nap, and right down to bed at night without any fight. We transitioned to a toddler bed a few weeks ago without complaint. We even found the bottom half of Dane's old bunk bed in his parents' garage and set it up for when my baby sister sleeps over, and he will sleep on that.
Milo is the perfect sleeper.
Now.
The point of that wasn't to say "Ha! My kid is better at sleeping than your kid! Take that everyone!" I don't want to make anyone feel bad about this, but this just happens to be one awesome Milo fact.
BAD:
Eating.
Meal time is the worst part of my every single day. I dread it. I loath it. I abhor it. I want to drown it in a deep dark well and never have to think about it again.
Unfortunately, Milo has to eat.
Double unfortunately, Milo has roughly 5 favorite foods.
Triple unfortunately, Milo throws a tantrum of epic proportions if I offer him anything that isn't one of his favorite foods.
Sometimes I find myself in tears trying not to give in and let him eat another yogurt for the third meal of the day.
Sometimes I want to scream "I'm trying to help you!"
Sometimes I want to give up and let him eat yogurt, chips and salsa all day long.
And sometimes? I focus to much on this one thing. Meal times happens three times a day, and sometimes I focus too much on what a picky eater Milo is.
I feel like I need to focus more on the amazing things about my son. Like, what an AMAZING sleeper he is. I don't think I'm grateful for that as often as I should be.
I guess my point is, everyone has their "thing." Every child in every family is going to have something that they are amazing at, and something that is a huge struggle. I can't look at other peoples' children and think,
"Why is that kid capable of eating his food, when I have to fight a battle over it every day?!"
Because you know what? That kid is awesome at eating. He isn't picky, and he doesn't mind eating his meals. But he definitely has his own struggles. Maybe he will only wear his swimsuit, even in the middle of winter. Maybe he is terrified of anyone who isn't his mom. Maybe he screams every time someone tries to give him a bath.
BEAUTIFUL:
Milo is a picky eater.
But he is an awesome sleeper. He is one of the friendliest children I have ever met, and isn't afraid of anything. He is quick to say sorry when he's done something wrong. He helps me pick up toys and always puts his shoes away. He loves me and is sad to see me leave, and happy when I come home.
I know I need to focus more on all of these good things. I know eventually we will overcome this challenge of ours, and then we'll move on to a new one. So for now, I embrace it even when it makes me cry.
But it couldn't hurt if around meal time you all wanted to send some non-picky vibes our way.
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