I'm still THAT mom....

I recently came across this post from over two years ago. It's a blog entry about how much I thought I knew about parenting before I became a momma, and how much I would have judged future me had I seen myself raising my boy beforehand. Interestingly enough, I was pretty spot on with my "prediction" for our parenting of future theoretical Baby #2. We do treat him a little differently than we did/do our oldest, but not necessarily because we made mistakes or did things wrong the first time around. We do things differently because he's a different person. (On the other hand, because we're the same old parents, we do a whole lot of things the same old way!)
The things that we do differently with Levi are indeed things that some people might consider our "mistakes" with our first child--co-sleeping and pacifier use are the two biggies that come to mind. Nathaniel slept in our bed until he was almost two years old, and he used a pacifier until he was about 18 months. I don't consider either of those decisions to have been mistakes, and I don't regret that we did either one of them with Nate. Nor do I regret that we don't co-sleep or use a pacifier with Levi! The reasons that we did/didn't do those things with our sons are simple; we did what was best for each boy. Nate needed to be close to us, and he used the pacifier to soothe himself. Levi wanted his own space, and he had no interest in a pacifier. We gave both boys the same options, and they both made their own decisions. They're different people, and will make different decisions for rest of their lives; why were we surprised that they started being different as infants?
On the other hand, there are many ways in which my boys are very similar. And, as far as making "mistakes" as a momma--well, I think that mistakes aren't necessarily a bad thing. (How else would we learn?) But, on that same note, your mistakes might not be mine--and vice versa. I rocked Nate the sleep for every single nap until I was too pregnant to hold him comfortably in the glider. Mistake? Some would say so. But, for us, it was not a mistake at all. I have never regretted that I did that, and he had no problems transitioning. I absolutely still rock Levi to sleep for his naps and bedtime now, and it's not a mistake at all. Both of my boys can/could put themselves to sleep alone...but, they'll have years to do that; why shouldn't I enjoy the rocking and snuggles while I still can?
There are lots of other things that I do as a momma that I'm sure lots of people would judge and whisper about. So what? I'm doing the best that I can for our family, and I'm not hearing any complaints from my boys! (Yet!) Being a parent is hard work, and there isn't any textbook answer for raising good children. Every single momma is different, which is a good thing because every single baby is different too! I studied a bit about the Nature Vs. Nurture Effect while I was in college, and always tended to lean a little bit more on the Nurture side of the spectrum. Now that I've had two [very different] babies, I understand the Nature argument a little more. Clearly, there is no real "answer" to the debate, but it's an interesting concept.
As a mother, I love comparing my boys to one another, particularly at similar ages. I don't do it to see who's ahead or behind, but rather just to see how they're different and the same. My precious boys are opposites in so many ways, but I love how they both fit perfectly together into our family. We never knew it before, but these are the exact two little boys that our hearts were missing before they came along! And, even though our parenting might be spotted with "mistakes" here and there, our boys are growing up to be super, awesome little guys!