Toddlers are hard. Parenting is hard. God’s mercies are new every morning. Here’s my Thursday: the hard edition.

I desperately want to be the mom who doesn’t need to yell and can keep her composure in the throes of a toddler tantrum. I so want to be the mom who can manage her toddler in such a way that she doesn’t have meltdowns. I let anger and frustration be my driving forces today and look—this sad face was the result! We had a really really really rough and tough start to our day today. . Temper tantrums, tardiness, hurt feelings, reflux, and barf (one caused by reflux, the other caused by the epic tantrum) that resulted in me missing an appointment I really needed. I thought only of myself today and what I needed, and in doing so I failed to give my girls the gentle attention they needed. . I hate the messy days, when I fail to parent with grace and respond with mercy, and instead react out of anger, frustration, and then try to blame it all on no sleep (which was my fault, and no one else’s). . Today was just another hard reminder that my sweet girls need me to bring them to God, not try to “be a good mom” (as if I’m capable of that on my own abilities anyway—ha! If I were, days like today wouldn’t happen). . These children are such a precious gift from above and I want to raise them right. Some days I really wonder if I’m truly up for the task—thankfully I’m not meant to do it alone, and even more thankfully, I don’t have to. Today was another reminder that I need Jesus. He is enough, El Shaddai, the all sufficient nourisher of my soul. . His mercies are new every morning and I’m so thankful for a successful nap time. Tomorrow is another day. I am sorry for my shortcomings, and I pray they can forgive me. Lord, help me point them to You. . Everyone, please: learn from my mistakes. #dailyclaire #morenora #takingbackpostpartum #toddlerinchief #lifewithtwo #ig_motherhood #motherhoodunplugged #reallife #motherhoodthroughinstagram #momlife #momfail #terribletwos #threenager #jesustakethewheel

A post shared by cαιтℓιη ✿ wαℊηℯr (@caitielin34) on Oct 19, 2017 at 12:19pm PDT

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I am not a doctor, a nurse, a midwife, or a lactation consultant — but I’ve been breastfeeding for 30+ consecutive months so I’m becoming something of an expert in my own right. It hasn’t always been easy, and I’ve learned quite a bit along the journey. Among other things, I’ve got some experience in the area of removing and relieving clogs while breastfeeding or pumping. I’ve included links to the products I’ve used myself for your convenience. Nurse on!

How My Parenting Fail Caused a Potty Regression

Do you have a toddler? Do you ever have those stories that still bring tears to your eyes to retell? #realtalk: I’ve only been a mother for a few years, and already I’ve got a handful of them (ok, probably more than I care to count…) Are you in the throes of a tough toddler stage right now? Be encouraged: you will survive. I hope that by sharing this we can join together in solidarity to not only survive the toddler years, but thrive, learn from each other’s mistakes, cry together, laugh together, grow as mothers.

My friend sent me this podcast episode last week from God Centered Mom. It came at just the right time, as I was recovering from weeks of guilt after traumatizing my toddler over a poop accident (that was mostly my fault to begin with).

“Grace never calls right wrong. If right were wrong there’d be no need for grace. The assumption of grace is that wrong is wrong and that’s why grace is needed.”

It helped me shift my perspective toward “responding” in situations verses “reacting.” Take a listen, and let me know what you think.