Monday, November 14, 2011

Parenting Lilli 101

Parenthood is the toughest job…. I don’t care if you are the CEO of the biggest company in the world; nothing carries more responsibility than being a parent.

Nearly from the moment Lilli was born I have struggled with how I should parent her. Now that we are in the 2’s (nearly 3) and rules, limits, and expectations of her need to be clearly set I’ve been struggling with “normal” vs. “Lilli”. (NOTE- I understand every child is different and requires their own time frame.) I’ve come to the conclusion that YES Lilli deserves and requires different “rules” than many kiddos her age and I’m 100% fine with that.

Should she sit and the table and eat like and big girl? YES

But is her health and lack of weight gain worth the battle, NO!

Should Lilli be able to run around at the park, climb by herself, and not fear slides..? YES

With all she has been through physically is it possible, NO!


Should Lilli be potty trained at this age? YES

Does she get a “break” with essentially missing out on months of “life”? YES


What I’m attempting to say is that I struggle with being the parent of a “normal” child and the parent of a severely ill child…. I seem to live in limbo of both worlds. Thank God Lilli has been as healthy and is thriving as she has been, but I still need to remember that Lilli is one of a kind and that it’s only by the grace of God that she is still here with me. So many parents with children with similar CHD’s would give anything for their child to breathe on their own, eat on their own, to be mobile, and to spend months on end out of the Hospital….


I’ve noticed others are very quick to judge parenting and or your child’s behavior/skills/abilities (I myself was one before I was a parent and still catch myself at times). All I can say is that as long as you love your child and have their best interests at heart, you are doing your job. And it truly is the most rewarding and amazingly challenging job in the world.