It's Just A Phase....

My cousin, Kelly, emailed her mom friends asking for advice on how to get little Miss Talia to eat...we all responded with our best advice. But, in the end, I reply to nearly all mom questions I get with this: It's Just A Phase. That answer brings absolutely no relief to us moms, it's often frustrating to hear from other moms, but in the end, it's usually right-on. What I mean by "It's Just A Phase" is that whatever your child is going through at the moment usually does pass. Here are some of my favorite - or least favorite - phases my children have gone through:

* The phase where all they want to do is stick their finger in an outlet. Seriously, it's like a magnetic attraction.
* The phase where they refuse to eat anything.
* The phase where they want you to hold them all the time.
* The phase where they want to do EVERYTHING by themselves.
* The phase where all they want to eat is fruit snacks.
* The phase where they cry every time they have to come in from the outside.
* The phase where they throw themselves on the ground, kicking and screaming and flailing when they don't get their way.
* The phase where they refuse to go to bed.
* The phase where they refuse to sit at the table for more than 5 minutes.
* The phase where they will stop at nothing to find your cell phone, and then either hide it, break it or flush it.
* The phase where they HATE their bath time.
* The phase where they refuse to get out of the bath.
* The phase where they HATE to have their diaper changed.
* The phase where they refuse to pee or poop in the potty.
* The phase where they say "Mommy" 92 times a day.
* The phase where they want to watch the same DVD 92 times a day.
* The phase where they want to walk everywhere- they refuse the shopping cart and strollers.
* The phase where they want to drink everything out of a "big" cup and refuse sippies.
* The phase where they fall every 5th step they take.
* The phase where it seems like they bump their heads on anything and everything.
* The phase where they put EVERYTHING in their mouths- including dirt, bugs and toejam.
* The phase where they want to play in your car all the time.
* The phase where they hate to get into their carseat.
* The phase where you can't understand one thing that comes out of their mouth.

And, I think even us moms go through "stages." Here are some that I went through:
* The stage where I can't hear "mommy" enough because it's too darn cute.
* The stage where if I hear "mommy" one more time, I might need to take my children to a "Safe Place".
* The stage where either the dishwasher or washing machine is always running.
* The stage where you know the Dahl's Produce and Deli guys by name, and when you don't see Aziz, your bagger, for a long time, you ask if something has happened; and you feel bad for Marvin, your check-out man, because he just lost his wife.
* The stage where you can't remember when the last time was that you saw your child's face without dirt, food, boogers or marker on it.
* The stage where you convince yourself that you can plan out your menus every Sunday night and be stress-free come supper time.
* The stage where you realize that you were only kidding yourself about that meal-planning stage.
* The stage where you are constantly making appointments- doctor appointments, dentist appointments, teacher conferences, financial appointments, hair cuts...it's never-ending.
* The stage where it feels like they are growing up way TOO fast.
* The stage where you can't wait for them to "just walk" or "just talk" or "just be potty-trained."
* The stage where you can't wait to get up in the morning and spend all day long with your kids.
* The stage where you honestly aren't sure if you can get yourself out of bed for another day with your kids!

In the end, Talia will eat again, and it's simply a phase. But, in the moment, it's always more than that - and as moms, that's our job- to make those phases as easy as possible for our children. It reminds me of the advice my pediatrician gave me once when Joey wasn't sleeping, he said "I assure you, he will grow out of this, too. I know it's hard, but trust me, he will not be waking up 7 times a night when he's 16 years old." Whew. And, when I couldn't get Joey to show ANY interest in potty training, he said, "I've never seen a 15-year old wear pull-ups to high school- I don't suspect Joey will be any different. Just give it time." I loved that. And, his answer to my "All he wants is juice- he's refusing any other drinks and I can't believe I started this trend, and now he doesn't like milk and he's ruined forever!" complaint: Don't be alarmed. He'll go back to milk. It's just a phase. Well, turns out, he was right on all accounts. Joey sleeps through the night. He pees AND poops in the potty. And, he drinks milk. Life is good when you remember "It's just a phase, give it time!"