“First Time” Mommy Milestones

Much of the first year of life as a new parent celebrates marking key dates and milestones in your baby’s life. Friends, colleagues and relatives may ask if your child is sitting, standing or walking, but not many may think to ask about your remarkable milestones as a mother. How many of the following “Mommy Milestones” have you experienced?

First All-Night Worry Session

Whether it’s the first after-hours call to the pediatrician, first night spent online trying to decode the various kinds of coughs, or first panicked visit to the hospital emergency room, such moments of concern are never fun. They’re simply part of being a mom.

First Time Giving Advice

When another parent seeks your advice for the first time, perhaps wanting to know where you found your convertible stroller or how you got your baby to sleep through a football game, you’ve earned another parenting stripe.

First Time You Make a “Mommy Decision”

The first time you reach the point of ignoring the advice offered by seemingly everybody around you and make your own “mommy decision” is clearly a highlight worth acknowledging.

First Time You Let Go

Leaving your child with someone else can be hard. No matter how long you’ve dreamed of personal time or of going back to work, walking out of a room for the first time, while leaving your child crying and calling for you, is a huge moment for a mom.

First Family Holiday Card

There’s nothing quite like sending a holiday card that has photos of your beautiful new baby. Whether you create custom photo cards or simply tuck a 4×6 print into the envelope, you’ve reached a level of joy and achievement that clearly merits a “Mommy Milestone.”

First Time Packing for Family Travel

No matter how much you prepare and even over-pack for your first family trip away from home, it’s inevitable that you’ll forget something. But it’s okay; you will all survive. You’ve accomplished yet another parenting feat.

First Time Fitting Into Your Pre-pregnancy Jeans

This experience warrants true celebration. Sliding on jeans that don’t come from a maternity store can be exhilarating for many new moms, so take a victory lap in those jeans and call a friend to brag a bit.

First Time Sleeping Through the Night

The moment you awake after sleeping through the night until morning may cause immediate concern. If you rush to the crib to check on your snoozing child, remember to run quietly so that you don’t wake baby up! Your child may not immediately adopt a routine of sleeping through the night, but it will happen eventually. Take the time to fully appreciate this moment. It’s a big deal!

First Time Patting Yourself on the Back

You may be your toughest parenting critic, but there will come a time when you realize that your child is healthy and growing, and you deserve a pat on the back. Maybe it’s when your child reaches out to hug you for the first time or when you successfully juggle a wiggling baby, bag of groceries and stuffed teddy bear from car to front door – but it will come, a light-bulb moment when you admit to yourself that you’re doing a really hard job wonderfully. Kudos!

First Time Wondering Where Your Baby Went

One day you’ll look up and see a very grown child instead of a toddling baby. You may reach this milestone when you leave home without a diaper bag for the first time, or first eat a family dinner without having to feed someone else as well, or first sleep in on Saturday morning because your child learned to turn on television cartoons and pour a bowl of cereal without your help. Children grow up so fast. Celebrate your Mommy Milestones and enjoy them, because these moments are lasting memories that will be gone all too quickly.

What are your favorite “first time” mommy milestones? Share them with us on our Facebook page.