10 Things I Swore I Wouldn’t Do As A Mom That I Totally Do!

*This is a sponsored post by Payless. As always, all opinions are my own. 

On Jaime:  Top  //  Similar Jeans and Under $70  //  Payless KangaROOS c/o

On Harley:  Top  //  Shorts  //  Payless KangaROOS c/o

Oh the things we say [and think] before becoming a parent. Why is it that we truly believe that when it’s our turn to raise a tiny human, everything is going to be perfect. Temper tantrums? Not my child! Blatantly ignoring me? Nope! Could never happen! Bribing my kid with anything she wants in the cookie aisle just so I can finish grocery shopping before the next person gives me the “get a hold of your child” look?! Ha! Only bad parents have to deal with that! Yeah…it’s funny how quickly you realize that you are just like all the other parents out there, trying to SURVIVE!

Before I continue with today’s article, I do want to take a second to thank Payless for sending Harley and I these new KangaROOS! As most of you are aware, The Cittadinos are big time shoe lovers. I’ve personally been wearing sneakers more and more on a daily basis. A few years ago, you wouldn’t see me caught dead wearing jeans and kicks together, but now, it’s a common combo and my feet are so happy about that! Do you remember these KangaROOS from forever ago?! They’re back and better than ever! They come in a ton of cute color combos and I love the little side pocket they have on the outside of the shoe. For Harley, having the velcro closure makes things super easy. I swear, the first time putting these Payless KangaROOS on her, she got SO excited that she had new pink shoes. She started jumping around like a crazy person screaming, “PINK! PURPLE! LELLOW! [That’s how she pronounces yellow.] Harley’s shoes! Harley’s shoes!!” We love wearing them so thank you Payless!

Okay, now back on track. Here are the 10 Things I Swore I Wouldn’t Do As A Mom That I Totally Do!

1. Buy anything pink or floral if it’s a girl. 

If I’m being honest, before learning the gender of our child, I was more excited with the idea of dressing up a baby boy than girl. I was never an ultra feminine dresser growing up and even now, so was a bit overwhelmed by all of the girliness. As you can see, I got over that real quick!! LOL!

2. Buy baby food from a store because everything I give my infant will be home made.

Um, yeah. So about this… I made my own baby food for a hot minute. Maybe even two minutes. Perhaps if I wasn’t working, it would have been a different story. In theory it sounds great and I really do wish I would have had the time for it. Of course we gave her things like avocado, sweet potato, and banana that maybe needed a bit of breast milk or formula to thin out in the beginning, but as far as different fruit and veggie combos, I relied on store bought food. Fortunately now, there are tons of healthy options that remove unnecessary processed ingredients.

3. Give my child formula! He or She will only be nursed and fed breast milk until they’re old enough for cow’s milk.

I understand why giving your child breast milk is strongly encouraged. There are tons of amazing benefits! However, to put pressure on yourself to solely give your kid breast milk is not the greatest idea. At least for me it wasn’t. I loved nursing Harley, but didn’t have enough of a supply to store up milk to have for when I was away from her or when she was more hungry. Even after she was sleeping through the night, I had to wake myself up one to two times to pump just so I could build up a supply. I was miserable and exhausted. Pumping is so different than nursing. You have to be fully awake, sitting upright, and then get out of bed to clean the parts and put the milk away. AND when you’re husband makes comments about “the noise” from the breast pump interrupting his beauty sleep, you literally want to murder him! I made the decision to introduce formula to Harley around 6 months, but totally regret not using it sooner. We used Baby’s Only Organic Formula and she didn’t skip a beat. I felt so much better knowing that she’d never go hungry or be without food. The fact that I was able to function a little bit better during the day also made me a much better mom!

4. Never let my kids eat junk food! Organic fruits, veggies, and lean meats only.

Casey and I care about nutrition. Since 2012, we’ve made such huge changes when it comes to the foods we buy at the grocery store, the meals we make at home, and what we order at restaurants. Are we perfect and eat clean 100% of the time? Heck no! You can still bet my favorite foods are pizza, french fries, and bagels. But we are very aware of what we put into our bodies. We read labels and limit processed foods as much as possible. When Harley started eating solids, we never gave her crackers, cereal, pretzels or any of that stuff. After a year old, we put her in pre-school full time. She gets healthy lunches from a kids food delivery service, but she also eats cheerios in the morning for snack, Friday is pizza day, and I’m sure she goes to town when parents bring in cake for their kid’s birthday. She had tons of ice pops this summer at the beach, and she requests noodles for dinner every single night. As long as we continue giving her as much good, whole foods as possible, we have to let her be a kid and just know that she’s going to eat other things too sometimes.

5. Share a ridiculous amount of pictures of my baby on social media. Like we get it…they’re cute. 

Harley has her own Instagram account. Enough said.

6. Brag about my child’s developmental skills and how smart they are.

Before becoming a mom, I remember people making comments about their kids doing or saying something they thought was so fabulous. No offense to them, but I just didn’t get the excitement. In my opinion, unless you’re a nanny, a teacher, or parent, you don’t understand what infants and toddlers are supposed to be doing. What’s normal? What’s advanced? And really, who cares?? Well, after having a child, I can say that I do care! And it is so exciting! The first time Harley counted to ten on her own and sang the ABC’s, I probably told every single person I know. It’s possible I even sent them 5 videos of her saying it over and over again. If you follow us on snapchat, then you know what I’m talking about! Obviously, I really don’t mean to “brag” or compare Harley to any other child. It just makes me so happy to watch her learn and grow.

7. Allow my child to sleep in bed with me.

Harley slept next to our bed for the first two months in a side sleeper. At 8 weeks, we started sleep training her in her crib and fortunately she slept through the night very early on [see, there I go bragging again! 😉 Don’t worry, I’m sure our future children will be horrible sleepers]. Then things like teething, ear infections, colds, and other awful things happen that keep them up at night. I used to stay in Harley’s nursery and rock with her until she would fall back asleep on my chest. Now, if she has trouble sleeping, I immediately bring her into our room and cuddle with her in bed. It’s actually my favorite thing! Except the girl sleeps perpendicular to us and usually kicks me in my side really hard! But, the snuggles before she practically kicks me off the bed are totally worth it!

8. Put an iPad in front of my kid’s face so they can entertain themselves.

Casey and I were anti iPad for a longggg time. After almost getting kicked out of a few restaurants though [or wanting to hide underneath the table], we figured there can be a time and place for it. I don’t love it for many reasons, but if it saves me from her freaking out on an airplane or allows me to finish a meal, then selfishly I am thankful for that digital tablet that entertains her for periods of time! There are so many different learning apps available and when all fails, she watches Minnie on YouTube. She’s happy. I’m happy.

9. Allow my son or daughter to sit in front of the television more than once a day.

Similar to the iPad, I much prefer Harley playing outside, coloring, reading books, and putting puzzles together. However, when she’s up at 7am on a Saturday, and Casey and I finished a bottle of Malbec the night before, you better believe I am thankful for the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sesame Street, and Maya the Bee. She’s in school Monday through Friday, from 9am to 5pm learning and doing activities. We read to her every night before bed and spend most of the weekends out and about, so I think she’ll be okay watching tv.

10. Sing children’s songs on a regular basis.

Not only do I sing them, but I dance too. And I kinda like it. 🙂

So that’s that! It’s safe to say that there’s no such thing as a perfect parent. Or a perfect child. We do things we used to judge others for doing and sometimes change our minds about certain rules when it’s convenient to do so. We all just need to come together, accept each other’s parenting ways, and let our kids be kids!

I’d love to hear what you fellow mommas have to say about these things. Is there anything you swore you’d never do that you do now? Tell me in the comments below!!