Motherhood Rites of Passage Checklist
Test Your Supermom Skills! How Many Motherhood Rites of Passage Have You Been Through?
In our book (with a very few exceptions), every mom's a Supermom, but we can all agree that some of us have experienced more parenting-related challenges than others. From the "we've all been there" milestones like sending a child off to the first day of kindergarten (cue the tears!) to the special level of status reserved for those brave parents of multiples, see how many of these motherhood "rites of passage" you can check off your list. Then be sure to share with the other moms in your life, because there's absolutely nothing wrong with a little lighthearted competition amongst friends!
Source: Thinkstock
- Natural Childbirth
- C-section
- Went into labor, ended up with C-section
- Adopted a child
- Had a child via surrogate
- Mom to twins
- Mom to triplets
- Mom to quadruplets or more (You can stop right here. You win.)
- Had a colicky baby
- Have gone an entire night without any sleep — at all
- Have gone an entire night with less than two hours of sleep
- Have broken down in tears — in public
- Have broken down in tears — in private
- Have second-guessed life choices (SAHM? Working mom? Somewhere in between?) to anyone who'll listen
- Have spent all morning in eager anticipation of baby's nap
- Have actually missed baby while baby is napping
- Have woken baby up from nap because you missed baby
- Have read more than two parenting books
- Have read more than five parenting books
- Have officially made the switch from reading fashion and celebrity blogs to parenting blogs
- Have left a work or social function to use your breast pump
- Have excused yourself from a work or social function to use your breast pump in public bathroom
- Have had an awkward run-in with a co-worker pertaining to breast pump
- Have made enemies with another mom
- Have gotten irrationally mad over something another child did to your child
- Have gotten rightfully mad over something another child did to your child
- Took action on something another child did to your child
- Had to make an embarrassing apology on your child's behalf
- Ducked and hid in a store aisle while your child had a meltdown
- Found out your child got into a school/made a team that they're really excited about — yay!
- Found out your child was rejected from a school/didn't make a team they were really excited about — ARGH!
- Felt a sense of pride and accomplishment dropping off your child for his/her first day of school
- Sobbed in the car after dropping child off for his/her first day of school
- Potty trained a child/children
- Attempted to potty train a child/children many, many times before they accepted this new stage
- Bribed your child with candy/chocolate/toys
- Bribed your child with candy/chocolate/toys and made them promise not to tell the other parent about it
- Accidentally cursed in front of your child then had to deal with their repeating taboo word
- Just didn't like one of your kids' friends — for no good reason
- Realized you owe your own mom more gratitude than you've ever given to her
- Viewed going to work as a "break"
- Had to cancel a night out or (gasp!) vacation because of a sick child
- Had a secret countdown of days left until school starts up again
- Realized upon pulling into driveway your child had inadvertently pocketed something (unpaid for) from the store
- Stared at your baby in disbelief ("I made this!?!")
- Planned a "no kids talk" date night and found yourselves with nothing else to talk about
- Planned a "no kids talk" girls night and found yourselves with nothing else to talk about
- Realized your kids were well-wardrobed for the next 2 years, and that you hadn't bought yourself anything new in recent history
- Planned a family vacation to a theme park
- Had a purse full of squeeze pouches and pacifiers — but no wallet