Education

Being a parent has provided me tons more education than any college course or work experience as a pediatric speech pathologist have ever taught me.

1) I am constantly exposed to new behaviors i.e., watching my three-year-old tantrum over a "My Little Pony Book," in Barnes & Noble which left many of the customers shocked beyond words, because I "ignored" her then carried her out to the van to calm her down - we do not own the book I refused to give in.

2) I have also learned new words e.g., bleb as in "When my right breast began hurting from nursing, I took a close look at the nipple and discovered a milk blister (aka "bleb") forming on it.

3) I have begun implementing different parenting styles and techniques. For example, we tried CIO (cry it out) with Ava at six months, "on demand feeding" to get through growth spurts, and redirection to name a few.

 

4)As a mom I have provided more intervention both medical and therapeutic than I ever thought I would. We have removed splinters, taught s-blends, demonstrated proper pencil grip, promoted tummy time, and helped our  children gain critical weight. 

5) I have also had to make important financial decisions such as do we buy Pampers or Tugaboos this week as well as can we afford a brand new mini van? 

I enjoy being a parent and I enjoy learning, so really the two mesh well.  Now I have to learn the secrets to getting the twins to sleep through the night and potty training Ava so I can add "I have discovered superpowers" to my list of aforementioned things!