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Motherhood Rites of Passage Checklist

Test Your Supermom Skills! How Many Motherhood Rites of Passage Have You Been Through?




In our book (with a very few exceptions), every mom's a Supermom, but we can all agree that some of us have experienced more parenting-related challenges than others. From the "we've all been there" milestones like sending a child off to the first day of kindergarten (cue the tears!) to the special level of status reserved for those brave parents of multiples, see how many of these motherhood "rites of passage" you can check off your list. Then be sure to share with the other moms in your life, because there's absolutely nothing wrong with a little lighthearted competition amongst friends!

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  1. Natural Childbirth
  2. C-section
  3. Went into labor, ended up with C-section
  4. Adopted a child
  5. Had a child via surrogate
  6. Mom to twins
  7. Mom to triplets
  8. Mom to quadruplets or more (You can stop right here. You win.)
  9. Had a colicky baby
  10. Have gone an entire night without any sleep — at all
  11. Have gone an entire night with less than two hours of sleep
  12. Have broken down in tears — in public
  13. Have broken down in tears — in private
  14. Have second-guessed life choices (SAHM? Working mom? Somewhere in between?) to anyone who'll listen
  15. Have spent all morning in eager anticipation of baby's nap
  16. Have actually missed baby while baby is napping
  17. Have woken baby up from nap because you missed baby
  18. Have read more than two parenting books
  19. Have read more than five parenting books
  20. Have officially made the switch from reading fashion and celebrity blogs to parenting blogs
  21. Have left a work or social function to use your breast pump
  22. Have excused yourself from a work or social function to use your breast pump in public bathroom
  23. Have had an awkward run-in with a co-worker pertaining to breast pump
  24. Have made enemies with another mom
  25. Have gotten irrationally mad over something another child did to your child
  26. Have gotten rightfully mad over something another child did to your child
  27. Took action on something another child did to your child
  28. Had to make an embarrassing apology on your child's behalf
  29. Ducked and hid in a store aisle while your child had a meltdown
  30. Found out your child got into a school/made a team that they're really excited about — yay!
  31. Found out your child was rejected from a school/didn't make a team they were really excited about — ARGH!
  32. Felt a sense of pride and accomplishment dropping off your child for his/her first day of school
  33. Sobbed in the car after dropping child off for his/her first day of school
  34. Potty trained a child/children
  35. Attempted to potty train a child/children many, many times before they accepted this new stage
  36. Bribed your child with candy/chocolate/toys
  37. Bribed your child with candy/chocolate/toys and made them promise not to tell the other parent about it
  38. Accidentally cursed in front of your child then had to deal with their repeating taboo word
  39. Just didn't like one of your kids' friends — for no good reason
  40. Realized you owe your own mom more gratitude than you've ever given to her
  41. Viewed going to work as a "break"
  42. Had to cancel a night out or (gasp!) vacation because of a sick child
  43. Had a secret countdown of days left until school starts up again
  44. Realized upon pulling into driveway your child had inadvertently pocketed something (unpaid for) from the store
  45. Stared at your baby in disbelief ("I made this!?!")
  46. Planned a "no kids talk" date night and found yourselves with nothing else to talk about
  47. Planned a "no kids talk" girls night and found yourselves with nothing else to talk about
  48. Realized your kids were well-wardrobed for the next 2 years, and that you hadn't bought yourself anything new in recent history
  49. Planned a family vacation to a theme park
  50. Had a purse full of squeeze pouches and pacifiers — but no wallet
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