Rushing It

"You still rock her to sleep?  Even for her naps?"
"You nursed her until she was how old!?"
"She's old enough to walk, why do you carry her everywhere?"

My response has changed of the course of my parenthood adventure but I seem to have found the best response for me : "Why rush it?"

I assure you, she will grow to no longer ask for her stars night light before bed, lullabies, or to be rocked.  And she nursed until she was ready to stop and so what if she remembers?  If we have more children she'll see me nurse them constantly anyway.  And carrying her, well, aside from the fact that she absolutely will not ride in a cart or stroller, she loves it.  We can chat face to face while I shop or hike and she twirls my hair around her little toddler fingers.  (This isn't a major factor, but just driving the point home: 4 children have been abducted from their parents while in plain site in our area in the past year.  Praise the Lord they were all rescued and returned safely to loved ones).

Why is everyone so set on rushing it?  Sometimes I think it's a milestone war, who's baby can sleep through the night first, crawl, walk, etc.  Milestones will drive you mad.  If not the worry about them, the constant reminder from others.  I no longer care.  She was late on all of her mobility milestones by months and she still isn't ready for potty training.  This isn't a problem or a concern I have.  She has proven to me time and time again that only when she's ready will she tackle something new, once ready she only takes a few days to master it.

Other times I think it's buying into the hype.  Heard of a thing called "tweens"?  My general definition of a tween is the stage before becoming a teenager where kids are allowed to emulate teens because they are soon to be one.  Um, no.  Why are we rushing kids out of childhood into a world of scantily clad dressed pop stars and dolls.  Let babies be babies and children be children.  I'm not buying into what the newest toy company is telling me my child should be interested in.

My baby is a baby until she lets me know she's ready to be otherwise.  I miss what we call her "peanut days" when she was brand new but I also adore every new skill she masters as she grows.  Having a front row seat for your child growing up is pretty awe inspiring, who in the world would want to rush that?