Can anyone relate? Am I unreasonable looking for some understanding?
I had a friend come over and I had my little girl with me, who is still breastfeeding at 2 years old. I did not plan for that, but here we are.
Also she wanted a tour of the house and she saw that my girl had one of her little blankets on my and my husband's bed. We co-sleep. Reason for that is because after my girl's surgery, she would scream her lungs out at night yelling for me, to the point of throwing up, because she would not calm down even if I went to her immediately. Another reason is because I spent the first year and a half of her life in hospitals with endless exams and scheduled surgery and I have a lot of trauma. She is going to be my only child because I had a lot of complications during delivery and my husband does not want to try surrogacy. So I understand that this second reason was selfish, but I was so scared I would lose her, I wanted her to sleep next to me, to smell her and feel her for as long as God would let her live.
My friend spent her visit criticizing me for co-sleeping and for my parenting style. But she has had 3 healthy children and I do not think she can possibly understand the trauma I have experienced and that I am now working on through therapy.
My girl had, among other "routine" exams, 2 MRIs and 1 surgery, all under total/full anesthesia by 16 months old. So after her surgery I started bringing her to bed with me and I am now starting to transition her back to her room, into a toddler bed now. We have started with her naps. My friend knows all about my daughter's health and she was even commenting to me about my girl's surgery scars, which I told her to stop doing, because my girl understands and my girl is even touching them saying "boo-boo"- like saying that she got hurt there and I don't want her to be self-conscious about that.
I just feel so defeated after my friend's visit. Like I am a bad mom, but at the same time I would really love some understanding.
Achieve your health goals from period to parenting.