In this day and age, meeting a mom who never feels guilty is akin to happening upon a rainbow-colored unicorn at the grocery store. And the guilt — much of it self-inflicted — starts before we even give birth. If you had a C-section, you feel guilty. If you delivered vaginally but with an epidural, you feel guilty. Heck, if you delivered sans pain meds in a creek, you probably have some reason to feel guilty about something. And the pattern continues on through every stage of parenthood, whether you breastfeed or use formula, whether you cosleep or have them cry it out, whether you work or stay at home. We might think we do it to each other, but the truth is, we do plenty of it to ourselves. All it takes is merely looking across the playground at another mom and finding 17 things that prove you don’t measure up. Let’s stop the cycle.
