Modern Mom: Friday Edition

Do you ever hear people say, "back in my day we didn't have all of these fancy gadgets..."? Boy, I do! Sometimes the tone is one of "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" -- you know, the only reason parenting seems so complex now is because of the Internet, the 500 baby monitor options and the plethora of books with competing science on sleeping, eating and pooping. To some degree, I get that. Before the Internet and other technology, things had to be simpler. A diaper is a diaper. They eat when they're hungry. They sleep when they're tired. Everyone just CALM DOWN.

I submit to you that, like most things, there is a balance. For instance, I love that I am sitting in my living room typing a blog and watching The O.C. while my baby naps peacefully down the hall in her crib. How am I able to do that with calmness? This baby monitor! I could kiss the genius who came up with these things. I've had my breakfast and my coffee. The baby has eaten. The diaper has been changed, and there seems to be a balance in the universe.

{An aside, as I type the ASPCA commercial comes on and I want to throw a shoe at the TV for daring to make me sad during the TGIF parade I am having by myself today}.

You hear a lot of mom labels out there these days: modern mom, alterna-mom, old-school mom, working mom, stay-at-home mom, breastfeeding mom, granola mom...and that's just a short list. I am not one for labels usually, especially because I believe we are all some sort of blend, improvising, adapting and evolving when necessary. Personally, I find the label "Modern Mom" to be endearing. I couldn't find a concrete definition, so I decided to create my own.

You might be a Modern Mom if:

• You've maximized your Amazon Prime membership on purchasing baby stuff alone. 
• You have apps on your devices like "White Noise" or "Lullabies" to provide soothing sounds for baby on-the-go. 
• You've at least had the conversation "Do you think we could sync this baby monitor with our iPads?" (Yes, you can. Check it out)
• You find it perfectly acceptable to ask to borrow a chair at a restaurant for your baby's car seat so you can have a quick patio beer with your spouse. I think that still counts as a date :)
• You accept when your mom offers to stay at home with your baby while you quickly - go to the store, run to Starbucks, breathe the air in Target, get your hair done, etc. 
• You'd be really embarrassed if someone hacked your google history and published it to the world (e.g., "is baby poop supposed to...").
• You've paused and said, "wait, is that a Keurig that makes bottles?" And subsequently considered purchasing it. 
• You 100% understand why going back to work, despite being a hard thing, is actually a good thing. Fun article here! 
• You've fantasized about teaching your child to code one day (oh, maybe that's just me.)

You get the idea - there's a preference for balance of baby's sanity and mom's sanity (as opposed to a total sacrifice at mom's expense). You give technology a big hug because you are a huge beneficiary of it. But really, it doesn't matter what we label ourselves. We are all doing our best whether it's cloth or disposable, breast or bottle, schedule or no schedule. But, you know me, just for fun, I will indulge a good stereotype when I find one :)