When I first started bringing my 1 year old to mass, I was terrified that she would be distracting/disruptive to everyone else. I thought people would judge me and think I’m a bad mommy because I can’t control my child enough to make it through the whole church service… Now I realize that if someone has a problem, with me or my little one doing our best IN CHURCH, its on THEM, not US!
Please bring those babies to church! You’re doing a good thing!
Background
Before COVID, we would go to mass at the Catholic Church every Sunday. But once the pandemic began, we stopped going because of restrictions… Since the restrictions have let up and cases have gone down, we decided to start going to mass.
Keep in mind, when we used to go to church, our baby was little… she couldn’t walk around, didn’t make much noise, and was super easy going… now that she is almost 2 and independent with a mind of her own, I was dreading taking this first step.
The Week Leading Up to Sunday
I spent an hour or so googling how to bring a toddler to mass because I was so nervous. The blogs and sites I read had some good tips, but also some stupid ones (well at least I didn’t think it would work for me). The tips didn’t seem fool proof and I felt like I needed more resources on how to make it through this potentially stressful hour.
Also, keep in mind, my church is full of mostly older people and very few to no children or people my age (mid 20s).
The First Sunday we Attended church in a year
I got up very early and packed my kid’s favorite snacks, sippy cup, and quiet toys/books. We got up early, had breakfast, had a great morning in general, and even better: we got to church on time!
The 3 of us get in and get a good seat at the back near the door, just in case we have to make a quick escape out (lol). When we sit down and get settled, she starts talking a little (baby babble) and she realizes that her voice echoes in the huge, quiet church. So, she starts making noises to hear herself echo!
I am mortified at this point. I look around and I realize that no one is even making glances at us… I was so relieved to not have any judgy stares and I calm down like 35%.
I kept telling myself in my head, “Shes a baby, she will make noise! Shes a baby, she will make noise!” as I was making nervous glances at my fiancé.
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When church finally starts, she quiets down and sits, reading her books. This lasts for like 2 minutes. But she’s relatively calm and quiet until during the homily.
After the homily, she’s ABSOLUTELY done. She gets upset because we won’t let her leave the pew and starts to fall out crying… the nice usher lady tells us we can go into the cry room.
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So we go into the cry room.
It was horrible.
What’s the cry room? A little room with a huge window that you can see church though. This one has no speakers so you are basically in a quiet hot box. My baby hates it and so do I! She begins to bang on the door trying to get out! My fiancé and I are just done at this point because we cannot hear church, we are hot, and our baby is over it.
I have the bright idea of going outside for a break… which ends in us leaving and going home lol.
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That’s my story of my first time taking my toddler to church… Looking back, I really didn’t need advice on how to make it through church with my own kid because no one knows her better than I do! I think the real thing I needed was to know that I am not alone in this struggle of trying to raise a little person of God in a setting that was not designed for her current age group!
Even though we didn’t make it to communion the first time going back to mass, we went back the next week, and the next week, and the next week! Practice makes perfect and every time it gets better and better!
Please bring your kids to church with you.
For real, I’m sharing my story because I want you to know you are not alone!
Stay tuned for what happens the next week when my fiancé has to work and I have to take her to church alone *screams*.
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Thanks for still being here after my few months hiatus!
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***champagne and confetti***
Jalynn
pmreflection.com 