Ah, the thrill of competition. Men in little shorts and big shoes dribbling a ball; beautiful women in flowing gowns vying for that crown; babies in diapers cutting their first teeth...huh?

We all know that men can be competitive to the point of being ridiculous, but they've got nothing on us mothers when it comes to our babies and their development. What is it in us that makes us wish failure upon even our best friends' children if it will make our own children look a little better?

Are you a new mom or a mom with a new baby? Have you found yourself fighting off these feelings of competitiveness yet? Don't worry...you will! The first time another mother tells you about her baby cutting a tooth, sitting up, or magically forming the shape of the state of Texas on the floor with his own drool, you'll feel it, too.

This competitive thing is a surprisingly common, though slightly troubling phenomenon in the mothering community. It often causes strange and disturbing behavior in otherwise sane and rational moms. If you've found yourself doing any of the following, you may be coming down with the dreaded "competition bug."

* When your neighbor tells you that her little girl just had her check-up today and is in the 99th percentile for weight, you are actually jealous. We moms have this weird tendency to brag about our babies' weight...the fatter the better!

* When you go to playgroup, the grocery store, or to church, you spend hours picking out the perfect outfit for your child. This is because there are bound to be other babies out and about and you want yours to be the cutest AND best-dressed.

* You're talking to your friend on the phone and she's giving you the play-by-play as her baby is trying to stand up for the first time ever. You're secretly wishing he would fail miserably and fall flat on his padded little bottom. After all, YOUR baby isn't even crawling yet! Through clenched teeth you manage to get out an, "Oh, that's so great!" You politely tell her you have to hang up. You then race through the house, find your poor, unsuspecting baby, and spend the next two hours forcing, uh, teaching him to stand (unsuccessfully).

* If, by some miracle, you DO come across a baby that's cuter than yours, you can always find something wrong with him/her: ugly clothes, ugly smell, ugly parents. You get the idea.

* You are able to compliment other people's children, but it makes your stomach hurt.

If you have experienced any of the above symptoms, do not panic. This only means that you are a normal, caring parent who loves her child with an intensity matched only by the noon-day sun in July. The good news is that babies are completely oblivious to these unrealistic pressures that we place on them. The bad news is that the competition bug is a chronic ailment with which we plague our children for a lifetime. That is, of course, until the grandchildren come along and we evolve into the only creature that is more competitive (and annoying) than a doting mom: a proud grandparent. May the best baby - or grand-baby - win!

Jacey Reynolds is mother of two and author of the popular eBook which teaches a simple method for helping your baby to sleep through the night. Her baby sleep program comes with a money back guarantee and unlimited email support from her! Visit http://www.yourhappybaby.com for info.

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