by Jessica Martin-Weber and The Leaky Boob community
November is full of reminders to be thankful for what we have. Sunset images with an adult and child in silhouette flood our social media feeds with gentle poetic admonishments to take time to savor the little things. Lest we come across as ungrateful for our children or complaining about their presence in our lives, us parents start talking about how much we love our children, how grateful we are for their “unique” personalities, how the sound of their voices fills our ears and floods our hearts with appreciation, and share about the joy of baking together.
And we mean it.
It’s all true, every word.
But there are some words we’re leaving out.
Our kids are a delight, we are grateful, we recognize how blessed we are to have them, aware of how painful it would be to lose them. It goes without saying that we are grateful for our children. But there are some things we just didn’t appreciate fully until after having children.
I turned to the Leakies to ask what they are thankful for as parents, what they maybe wouldn’t admit as part of their month of Thanksgiving but have overwhelming genuine gratitude for now.
The honest parent’s 30 days of gratitude + 9 because we’re trying really hard.
I meant to do this this morning but I’m doing a month of gratitude and as I sit down with my glass of wine this evening, I’m just so grateful for my kids. So blessed by them and I never realize that more than when they are asleep.
Thankful my kiddos let me know how much they love me by saying my name non-stop just because.
So thankful that the toddler fell asleep in the car on our way home and I was able to get coffee from the drive through and then sit in my driveway drinking my coffee and playing on my phone in quiet for a whole 20 minutes without anyone judging me for being a mom on my phone.
Today as I was doing laundry I had an overwhelming sense of appreciation for the crib we bought that our child has never slept in but is perfect for holding laundry. It really saves my back not having to bend over to fold all these loads!
It’s nice to know my boobs care about others, letting down to every random baby cry or seeing baby clothes. Thank you for caring boobs!
Super grateful for how much my moon cup can hold since I have to go 8 hours before I get the chance to empty it alone and don’t want to traumatize my kids with a Dexter inspired scene.
YOU GUYS! I’m just exploding with thankfulness, my pump has sucked over 3,500 ounces out of my boobs in the last 6 months! WOOHOO! Thank you pump!
This morning I’m so grateful that the baby woke 6 times during the night, that way I didn’t have to wake on my own wondering if she was still breathing.
Huge gratitude share today! I’m so appreciating the glass of non-alcoholic eggnog I got to enjoy without someone else’s backwash. Such a rare treat!
I’m grateful for my 19mo son’s beautiful voice, it makes me feel a little proud as he’s singing instead of sleeping.
I really don’t know what I would do without all the articles from blogs, magazines, parenting sites, and newspapers that point out how I’m pretty much failing at this parenting thing. Good to remember I can always improve!
I’m grateful for the hour of freedom that I get after my partner comes home from work because before then, I can see why some animals eat their young.
WOW! What a reassuring sign of strength and health when little tiny new baby fingers grab on to hair with a death grip!
Tonight, I’m grateful for nights when both kids go to sleep and hubby is downstairs doing dishes so I sit in my kids’ room pretending to be doing something but really just playing on my phone without anyone talking to me.
I am grateful for my industrial microwave so I can heat up my meal for the 3rd time.
It means to much to me that I got to take a dump today without an audience, thanks honey!
Such a relief that I never have to concern myself with having another thought of my own.
It is so touching that my kids give me the opportunity to develop my cooking skills by each having different meal requirements.
I don’t know where I would be without Dr. Google and all my internet friends diagnosing and recommending oils when I share someone has a cough in our house. Thank you!
I’m grateful that stretchy pants like leggings and yoga pants are a thing now.
Grateful for a few minutes of quiet as my 2 year old drew all over his face (grateful for easy clean markers).
I’m thankful for the 85% of the time my kid wipes his own butt. Now to get the other 15% of the time.
Such a gift, a bathroom fan louder than a tantruming toddler and a partner who can totally handle it. Also, wine.
I’m thankful I can hide out in my room nursing and maybe even nap this holiday season when my visiting family gets on my nerves.
I’m grateful for a split level entry-way. I can sit on the lower stairs and hear the kids, but they can’t see me while I sneak a snack that I don’t want to share.
You know what I’m grateful for? That all my friends are online so I don’t have to worry about cleaning my house in case they stop by.
My appreciation for DVD players, Netflix, and YouTube runs deep. One episode is the equivalent of a clean kitchen without “help” and maybe even get to eat a piece of chocolate.
Laundry gratitude: Washed the sheets 3 times in the last 4 days thanks to leaky diapers. Clean sheets for the win!
I’m grateful I can turn down ANYTHING with “well, no, I dont think its a good idea with the baby’”.
I’m grateful I get to give baby to his dad in the morning and get some more sleep because I was “nursing all night!”
I’m grateful for coffee every morning, because it helps me do some adulting, not all of it, but just some adulting gets done.
It’s so sweet how my kids want to make sure I never feel alone. Ever.
I’m thankful for how the kids like to update me every 2 minutes on what they’re doing even in the bathroom.
YES! The kid pooped in the potty instead of his nighttime pull-up, so thankful for a great day!
Another big one today: so thankful that the shit that leaked from the diaper stopped at the baby’s ankle and didn’t go down into the shoe.
Gratitude: the kids actually all went to bed at a decent hour so instead of falling asleep with them, I got to snooze while catching up on Downton Abbey finally!
SO thankful that the kid has the innate ability to sense mommy and daddy having ‘private happy time’ from another room and come running to interrupt.. almost EVERY. SINGLE. TIME….yay for cheap birth control!
Boy am I grateful I don’t have a strong gag reflex, learned that today!
I appreciate how clingy the baby was today because in order for her to take a nap I had to take a nap.
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What are you thankful for as a parent but never would say?
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