Oh the monthly baby pictures…how I despise thee.
Honestly, whoever came up with the monthly circle stickers to put on baby onesies and therefore making it mandatory that we document each month with perfectly staged pictures of our babies was not thinking it through…
I have spent way too much time feeling guilty over not taking the perfect monthly picture, or completely forgetting it all together until the month already went by that I’ve come to say…
Enough is enough!
Not saying that I don’t like to document my girls’ growth and progress and take fun monthly pictures of them, because I truly do!
But when did it become another mandatory-mom requirement?
Do we really have to add something else to this never-ending list of things we HAVE to do to be the perfect mom?
I don’t think I can really handle ANOTHER expectation that we as mothers put on ourselves.
And it really is us that do it ourselves!
We start out with the best intentions…
Oh how cute would it be to lay my baby on the floor each month and display their monthly age using all fresh flowers cut from my garden!
How adorable would it be to pose my baby in her rocking chair in her nursery propped up next to her big stuffed elephant with a chalkboard sign displaying her accomplishments each month!
It all sounds heavenly and wonderful and super duper cute.
But then reality hits.
You baby gets a stomach virus and has 24 hour recurring diarrhea for two weeks straight. Can’t possibly find the time to get her all dressed up and staged for a perfect pretty picture…
Then you get sick and can barely function and do just the bare minimum of feeding and changing and try to try to fall asleep in 30 minute increments in any and all times and places possible just to survive and wake up to do it all over again…
Maybe you baby starts teething and there’s NOTHING that will calm her besides you holding her in your arms 24/7.
Maybe your baby just isn’t feeling it sitting completely still on that rocking chair next to that chalkboard. Maybe all she really wants to do is just chew on that stuffed elephant instead of siting perfectly propped up next to it.
These are the real life moments that we sometimes forget when we get caught up in all the cutesy stuff we try to plan.
Again, I’m ALL for the cutesy stuff. I love it and I wish I could do more of it.
But I refuse to feel guilty about it anymore!
So what if my girls have a one week, two week, three week picture, and then not another one until their 7 months?
Am I a horrible mom because of it?
Am I any less of a parent?
Not in the least. Life just happened.
And with that…So what if I took my girls’ 6 month pictures when they were a few days shy of 7 months.
And so what if I’m just now posting them now that they’re a few days shy of 8 months!
MAMAS – WE NEED TO GIVE OURSELVES A BREAK!
I see posts on my Instagram feed all the time with the same similar caption:
“Sally’s 3 month pictures! I’m SO sorry I’m posting a few days late!”
Who are you apologizing to?
What are you sorry about?
I’m just as guilty about this, but I’ve come to the realization that there’s nothing to be sorry/ashamed/feel guilty about!
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So that is reasoning behind this post. Why I say I despise the monthly pictures trend.
It’s another mommy-guilt filled task that I just don’t wanna buy into anymore.
So here are Genevieve and Georgia’s 6 month pictures.
Taken at almost 7 months.
Posting when they’re almost 8 months.
Because I just got around to it.
Maybe I’ll start taking monthly pictures on time from here on out, or maybe I won’t post their 1 year pictures around the 18 month mark…either way I’m still a good mom and I will try my best not to feel bad about it.
So mamas, join me in not feeling guilty about these trivial things.
It’s no big deal if you don’t get around to doing all the fun/cutesy/pinteresty-type things you’d hope to do.
I know it’s hard, but don’t apologize for it and don’t feel bad.
It’s just life with kids! And that’s okay 🙂
