Mother of the Year

Feelings of guilt and inadequacy started for me the minute I became pregnant with Shelby. I think any mom will agree that the feelings never go away. During pregnancy, it's "I'm not eating enough protein" or "I had a diet Coke and have decreased my baby's IQ by 10 points." During maternity leave, it was "I only have __ more weeks with my little one until I have to abandon her for 8 hours a day."

Now, my guilty feelings revolve around "She's watched tv for 2 hours today" and "Oh, no, her college fund doesn't have 5 figures yet. How is she ever going to Yale with no money?" But, my number one worry is about separating Shelby and her bottle. Don't judge me. I've had a lot to do lately. So, she is still drinking her milk from a bottle 3 months after I should have taken it away. I know I'm rotting her teeth for life. I feel guilty everyday.

So, all that being said, I was asked by a stranger yesterday, "When are you going to take that bottle away? My kids all were completely off of the bottle by 1 year." Little Miss Know-It-All really got to me. I had a wonderful day--a massage, a wonderful baby shower, time with lots of family, and lots of laughs with Shelby. But, yet, going to sleep, all I could do was stress over the stranger's judgements. Thank goodness for the internet! This picture saved me:

So, I'm rotting my child's teeth out...at least she is still breathing!!