Tag Archives: Motherhood

Mommy’s Monday Moments: I Miss Being Missed

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File Apr 11, 6 24 22 PM

My Little Girl Having Fun Without Me at IHOP

Last week, I posted a blog entry about missing my daughter because I’d be out of town for the majority of the week. When I saw her yesterday after missing her sweet smile for days, my heart melted as she excitedly hugged me. Then, my little girl revealed something; maybe she didn’t miss me as much as I thought she would.

“Guess what Mommy! We went to IHOP!” she exclaimed. We often go to IHOP on Fridays as a family, and it doesn’t hurt that kids eat free. What’s funny is that whenever we drive near IHOP, Quinn will say, “I want to go to IHOP, but we can’t go without Daddy! We’ll have to wait until he gets home from work.” Since I was out of town, they went without me. I couldn’t believe it! My husband even mentioned that the servers inquired about my whereabouts. He sent me a picture of Quinn with her giddy smile so excited to eat her pancakes. She told me that they went Target, our favorite shopping spot, and said, “I had the best day ever with Daddy!”

Of course, I’m happy that my husband and Quinn are so close and that they had a great time together to bond even further. Though my husband is home with her on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I must admit that I thought she would miss me more and constantly ask about me. My husband told me that she asked a few times to see me on the video (Skype and FaceTime ), but for the most part, she was fine. Am I wrong for wanting her to miss me a little more?

All the best,

Tanya

 

Mommy’s Monday Moments: Missing My Little Girl

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2016-03-11 14.15.41“Absence makes the heart grow fonder” is one of those cliché phrases people utter to soothe others or themselves when they are away from their loved ones. Even though there’s some validity to this phrase, it unfortunately is not soothing me as I cope with being away from my daughter throughout the course of this week. Shortly, I’ll be traveling a little over two hours away to Harrisburg, PA for a work-related function and will miss our daily bedtime routine of me hugging her, kissing her and telling her I love her and she doing the same to me. Then I’ll be traveling to the Washington, DC area this Thursday through Saturday and will not see her in person until Sunday.  Thank goodness for FaceTime, Skype and Nest.

We had some fun earlier today doing activities, and I’m going to make sure we enjoy each other tomorrow when I get home from work and Wednesday when we have the entire day together. Yes, I’m sure we can both benefit from having time apart to miss each other and recharge, but I truly do treasure our time together, and it’s moments like this when I appreciate the bond we have even more.

All the best,

Tanya

Here’s to Another Happy Mommyversary!

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Mommy and Daughter

Quinn and Me: Ready for Mother’s Day Brunch at the Please Touch Museum (2015)

As cliché as the saying goes, “There truly is something special about being a mom.” Though my little girl just turned two last week, this is my third year celebrating being a mother, and I feel so blessed to have her in my life. She constantly inspires me and is the reason I started this blog. As I continue on my journey taking baby steps into motherhood, I am bewildered at times because I know I have so far to go and so much to learn. Regardless of the emotions ranging from anxiety, happiness, frustration and joy, the views thus far have been breathtaking and often leave me in awe.

Being a mother has allowed me to have an even greater appreciation for my own mother, grandmothers, family and friends who are mothers, co-workers who are mothers, and even people who are mother-like figures to those without mothers, etc. People often remark that it is one of the toughest jobs that you will ever love and would not trade it for anything in the world. I wholeheartedly agree and hope that my little girl enjoys being my daughter as much as I enjoy being her mother.  Here’s to all of the mothers celebrating another mommyversary!

All the best,

Tanya

I’m a Mommyholic: Help Me Help My Toddler

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Quinn feeding herself with no help from Mommy

Quinn feeding herself with no help from Mommy

Hello, my name is Tanya, and I am a mommyholic. With each passing day, more of my world revolves around my adventurous and inquisitive 21 month old little girl, and as each day passes, I wonder if I am doing what is in the best interest of my daughter and her development.  For the past few months, I have been grappling with my latest transgression: overly helping my little girl, who expresses her independence in countless ways, do tasks without giving her a chance to show me what she may already be capable of doing. Of course, all children are not the same, but I am wondering how most parents are able to take a step back and let their young toddlers experiment, learn, maybe even be unsuccessful at a task but try again.

For instance, when Quinn is doing a puzzle, I cannot resist wanting to direct her or even turn a piece around or point out where it goes. Now, she wants to feed herself all the time with a fork or spoon, which is great, but there are instances when she gets nothing on the fork or spoon, and I have the urge to help her, which she is not always happy about. Sometimes, she’ll give me the “let me do it myself mommy!” look, and I feel so bad that I did not give her enough time to try on her own.

Maybe it is that I teach professionally, and it is my natural inclination to help. Perhaps I just do not like seeing the frustration on my daughter’s face if she cannot figure something out. Something new I’ve been doing is actually counting in my head to make sure I am giving her adequate time and even asking her if she needs help. This works sometimes, but she’s at that age where she will sometimes ask for help but not always. How do I know when she needs my help or needs me to back off? I have a feeling that this is a question that will resurface over and over throughout Quinn’s childhood and even into adulthood. If you have any techniques, please feel free to share.

All the best,

Tanya

Go to Sleep, Go to Sleep, Go to Sleep My Sweet Toddler!

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Quinn Wide Awake

Quinn Wide Awake at 4:45 am

Many parents struggle with getting their babies to sleep through the night, but my husband and I were the lucky ones who had our little girl sleeping through the night by the time she was four months old. We developed a schedule that has been working for a good while. She would consistently have her bath around 7:00 pm, get her bed time story around 7:20 pm and be in bed no later than 7:45 pm. In the morning, she would wake up anywhere between 6:00 am to 7:00 am. A couple of months ago, Quinn actually started sleeping in until around 7:30 am, sometimes 7:45 am. However, most recently, my 20 month old’s sleep habits changed. She went from sleeping in to waking up even earlier. Lately, at bed time, she’s very alert, ready to play and is certainly not eager to go to sleep. She will fuss about it some and eventually doze off maybe 15 minutes to a half hour later. In the morning, she has been waking up around 5:00 am, sometimes earlier. Though she is usually content and will remain calm in her crib until around 6:00 am (I watch her on our dropcam), I wonder if this change is attributed to her getting older and a reminder to me that my little girl isn’t a baby any more.

Any thoughts? Suggestions for getting my little girl to sleep back to sleeping in until 7:00 am? I’ll take 6:30 am!

All the best,

Tanya

My First “Mommyversary”

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Tanya H. Franklin & Baby QuinnA little over a year ago, I celebrated my first Mother’s Day; my baby was merely one week old. I was awestruck and simply overwhelmed with all that motherhood had in store for me. A year later, I’m still awestruck and perhaps even more overwhelmed. I love being a mom and am glad it has been added to the many labels I have accumulated over the years. Though family and friends have let me know that I am doing a good job, several questions and concerns are constantly on my mind. I am sure this is only natural, but I really wish there was a way to just get a glimpse into the future to make sure my actions are to the benefit, not the detriment, of my little girl. In the meantime, I will continue to try to be the best mom  I can for my daughter and hope that she knows how much I love her and how much I love being her mother.
All the best,
Tanya

The Battle of the Binkie

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Baby Quinn, Mia the Monkey & Best Friend Binkie

Quinn taking a quick nap with Mia the Monkey & Best Friend Binkie

“Are you putting pacifiers on your registry?” the woman asked her friend. She emphatically replied, “No baby of mine is using a pacifier. I don’t know why moms let their kids use them. I saw a four year old still sucking on one the other day!” As my baby girl sucked away on her pacifier dozing off into dreamland, I shamefully tucked it under her bib as the women approached us to dote over six month old Quinn. Prior to Quinn being born, I too vowed that she would not be a “paci baby” for fear of her craving it for comfort as a toddler or even a preschooler. Needless to say, Quinn had other plans.

After giving it some serious thought, I decided that for Quinn’s “eight month” birthday which was just two days ago, I would drastically cut down her pacifier usage. So I removed her pacifier clip when she was consumed with playing, and she did just fine unless it was nap time, bed time, she was getting her diaper changed or was just a little restless and longing for the comfort of her best friend. Of course, I lost the battle, caved in and gave it to her each time. She clutched the pacifier strap with delight, plopped her binkie in her mouth and gave me the “please-don’t-take-it-away-from-me-I-need-it-look.”  I know eventually I will need to stand my ground even if she cries for it, but how will I know when the time is right?

Freud stresses the importance of the oral stage which lasts until around 21 months, which means Quinn has plenty of time with her binkie. I want to do what’s best for my baby girl, but is nearly two years old too old? I know each child is different, but I’d love to know what other parents think through the poll provided below and/or by providing your insight by posting a comment. Thanks in advance.

All the best,

Tanya

This Day is a Happy Birth Baby!

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Baby Quinn and Tanya H. Franklin

Baby Quinn and Mommy Tanya

Hooray, it’s my baby’s “eight month” birthday.  It’s also the birth of my second blog! (Welcome, and please stop by again) For the past four years, I’ve been on a journey filled with epiphanies, musings and even a little creative writing here and there on my blog Journey of Anonomz. But I noticed ever since my daughter was born many of my posts have been about her or what I’ve been learning as a first-time mother.  So I thought why not start a second blog dedicated to getting this motherhood thing just right.

At my blog, you will not only find my daily baby and mommy musings, but I will occasionally provide posts on DIY projects I am working on. I’ll have candid discussions on things that have been working or not working for me as a new mommy. There will also be reviews on various baby items and products that I’ve found to be quite beneficial or not so much.

My hope is to not only help new parents by sharing my experience but to receive insight from well-seasoned parents as I leave the crawling stage and continue to embark on this journey of motherhood taking baby steps. I hope you’ll join me and that we can have some fun along the way.

All the best,

Tanya