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Confession Number 1: I get jealous. 

It’s true. I get jealous. I get jealous when you talk about your toddler being able to count to 10 in three languages. I get jealous when you talk about your toddler being on TV. I even get jealous when you talk about your toddler sleeping through the night. Yup, I’m a jealous mom.

Why am I jealous? My one-and-a-half-year-old is doing awesome! He is happy, loving, fun and smart. He identifies letters and is especially fond of the letter W. His vocabulary is through the roof and he’s putting words together all the time. The doctor was even impressed with his development at his 18 month check-up. So again, I ask, why am I jealous?

I take a step back to collect my thoughts when this happens. Sure, my toddler might not be a superstar or speak multiple languages, but I love him just the way he is. I love my little munchkin who announces when he’s pooping, who doesn’t sleep through the night, and who climbs everything in the house as if he’s Spiderman. I love going for walks with him and stopping at every street sign and manhole to check for the letter W. I love my son curling up on my lap with his blankie, thumb in his mouth, and asking me to read him the same books he loves over and over again. I even love him when he wants to go down the slide one more time on the way to the car, when it’s wet, and I’m late for work.

So yes, I do get a tinge of jealousy when I hear about fabulous things other toddlers are doing. But I wouldn’t trade my son for anything. You keep your movie star, trilingual, super-sleeping toddlers. And I’ll keep mine—even when he’s announcing to the world that he is pooping or when he wants to nurse in the middle of the night. Because my toddler, flaws and all, is perfect to me.