First-time-mom me was cute, y´all. She read all the books, used that special baby laundry detergent that smells heavenly, she checked and double-checked her lists. She did everything ¨they¨ said to do. She was the kind of mom that, ¨4 kids later¨ me would say, ¨Bless her heart¨ about.

She had it all together, and mostly, she already knew how she would raise her children. I mean she had been around kids before and seen her friends parent their children. Remember, she was cute y´all. She would think things like, ¨My kids would never do that¨ and ¨When I have kids I´ll never parent that way.¨

I laugh and joke about the kind of mom I was when I had my first born only because I can see how far I have come. First-time-mom me had good intentions, in fact, I had the best intentions. There is no doubt that my parenting has transformed with each child. There are things I said I would never do that I´m totally embracing now, because let´s be honest, mommin’ ain’t easy. Don´t fret though, baby number 4 is living her best life in her off-brand diapers, wearing hand-me-down clothes, eating her siblings’ leftovers.

Not one of my kids is loved more than the other because of these changes. I’ve adapted, grown, and certainly learned with each child. Some days are just about survival for all of us.

What I said I would never do as a mom:

• Bribe my kids with treats.
  • Because despite my belief, me counting to three isn’t intimidating to anyone.
• Feed my kids lunchables.
• Wear hand-me-down clothes.
• Let my kids eat in the car.
  • My throw accuracy from the first seat to the 3rd row is pretty impressive.
• Let them play on my phone during dinner.
  • Because sometimes you want to just enjoy dinner in peace.
• Co-sleep.
• Let my kids wear only diapers/underwear while at home.
  • On the weekends we rarely wear clothes. I don´t need all of that extra laundry in my life.
• Let my daughter leave the house without a matching bow in her hair.
• I thought the whole, ¨You get what you get, and you don´t throw a fit¨ saying would actually work.
• Let my kids be the last ones to be picked up from daycare.
• Skip baths.
  • If you didn’t play outside today, you´re good!
• Get dinner from a drive through more often than I´d like to admit.
  • If I cook more than twice a week, I feel like a regular June Clever!

My kids are still young but I didn’t forget about the moms of pre-teens and teens. So just for fun here is a list of things I will never (cough, cough) let my kids do as they get older.

• Get a cell phone until high school.
• Get social media until high school.
• I will not have stinky, sweaty, dirty boys.
• Play video games all day/night.
• Date.

Not only has my parenting style changed, but my mentality has as well. I wish women would step away from the ¨my kids would never¨ way of thinking and lean toward ¨she’s doing the best she can¨ type of thinking. Regardless of how you choose to raise your children, I think we can all agree that it´s tough. There isn’t a handbook and our tiny bosses can be ruthless sometimes!

Whatever you´re doing as a momma, if it´s working, mom on, sister! At the end of the day my children have full bellies and happy hearts and that makes for one happy momma.

What did you say you’d never do as a mom?