By Kimberly Keys 
I am a mom who gets criticized because I baby my son.
I was the mom who held her son until he fell asleep at night until he was 22 months old, rather than leaving him to fall asleep on his own.
I was the mom who held her son for naps until that age as well a lot of the time.
Do you want to know the reason I stopped holding him to fall asleep? He was up to 27 pounds and my shoulder was starting to ache from him lying on me. Otherwise, I may have been holding him to get him to go to sleep even longer.
I’ve heard the jokes that I will be going to kindergarten with him for nap time one day.
I am the mom who will ignore your call and call you back when I can if you call when my son needs something.
I am the mom who ends phone conversations with family or friends abruptly if my son needs something, rather than telling him to wait.
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I’ve been told I am spoiling my son and letting him control me.
I’ve been told I’m raising a mama’s boy.
My days revolve around my son. I look for activities he would like, read whichever books he wants to, and play outside as long as he wants to.
If something is bothering my son, I will hold him as long as he needs me to.
He’s had doctor’s appointments when I have held him the whole time including while the doctor was examining him because he hates the doctor’s office.
I’ve made the mistake of bringing him along to appointments of my own and ended up holding him for the appointment. I learned the hard way it’s not fun to hold a toddler for your entire annual dermatology skin check, but it was easier than listening to him scream in his stroller.
The reason I “spoil” my son, as some people put it, is that at this age I know I can make things better for him if something upsets him.
There will be things in the future I won’t be able to make better, and that breaks my heart.
It might be nerves on the first day of kindergarten that won’t go away no matter what I say to him.
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It might be hurt feelings by something that happens on the playground.
It might be when a girl he has a crush on doesn’t feel the same way.
It might be stress over a school project or test.
It might be worrying about which college to go to.
It might be concern about finding the right job one day.
It might be a challenge I can’t even guess is coming.
The thought that things are coming as he gets older that a simple hug or snuggle from mommy won’t fix breaks my heart. So while I can, I’ll spend my days trying to make the things I can easier for him by being there as soon as I can and as much as he needs me.
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