Push or let be?

In order for me to become a mother I had to push. You know PUSH PUSH PUSH- now STOP pushing. (YEAH RIGHT!) Do you ever stop pushing?

One of the hardest parts of being a parent, I've found in my LONG almost 7 years of parenting (ha ha) is knowing when to push and when to let it be. This seems to be a constant struggle for me lately.

With Addy- it started with baby food. ALL babies are supposed to eat baby food, right? Well, not my babies. Sydney didn't like it. Hayley didn't like it. Why did I expect Addy to be any different. So finally instead of pushing what she "should" have she is now eating table food like the rest of us. And can you blame her? Have you TRIED baby food. (I did at my baby shower at church. Who know all of those yellow fruits and veggies really did taste slightly different? )

And sleep- I mean- YES she SHOULD be sleeping all night. I get that? But is it worth pushing her to her cry and cry and cry for hours night after night? Yes, I realize EVERY baby slept through the night at 6 weeks, but mine do not. Yes I realize that she SHOULD just cry a few minutes less each night- but that hasn't worked for 8 months- when will it start? So is it going to scar her for life if she sleeps in my bed nursing to sleep for just a little bit longer?

With Hayley- she really knows how to push MY buttons. But we got past the food and sleep issues. Now it is clothes. Do I need to PUSH her to be dressed in normal clothes when she is home? Or are jammies and 2 different flip flops ok?

Now with Sydney this weekend it was going to Grammie and Papa's house. She was THRILLED to get to go for another week with Hayley. But something clicked as she was buckled into their truck and she did NOT want to go? As a parent- do you just make them kick and scream and cry that they just want to stay with mommy? Or do you just let them come home?

My mom and I joke still about my first day of middle school when she had to PUSH me out of the car crying because I didn't want to go. And guess what, I survived. Yes, middle school was NOT the best time of my life, but she HAD to push me- or I would have pulled the same thing day after day. And what parent can deal with that?

But when do you know when is the right time to push and when is the right time to just stop pushing and let things just be?