Saw this on my homepage yesterday and had a little chuckle. Unfortunately I've experienced about 90% of those..ahem..."tips".
I know people usually just mean well...but honestly, they need to just put a sock in it. Acting like they have all the answers and making me feel like I'm doing it wrong just adds fuel to the annoyance fire. I've been taking care of my baby practically on my own since the day we left the hospital - Clay went back to work when Levi was 4 days old and I didn't have my mom staying with us to help or anything. And being that I had virtually ZERO experience with even holding a newborn, let alone raising one, I'd say a mother's instinct counts for something. I know my own child better than anyone else.
It used to really get to me, but I've learned to a) not divulge a lot of information that leads to said "advice", and b) if it is offered, I take it with a grain of salt. If I know that a particular person is very generous with tips, I will even kinda stretch the truth in some situations..i.e. "Oh yes...he sleeps right through the night!" simply to avoid being lectured to. Defending my parenting decisions (like not doing the cry-it-out thing, breastfeeding, supplementing, co-sleeping, etc.) only happens when I really feel the need to stand up for myself, otherwise I've discovered that it's just not worth getting into arguments over. I do what is best for my baby and if they have a problem with that, well, that's their problem. One of the only people whom I don't mind getting feedback from is my mommy, and not just because she's my mom. She has a way of being really receptive and totally non-judgemental, and I know she really cares about Levi as much as I do. Also, she doesn't really push her opinions on me unless I ask her. Which, if you know my mom, is kind of surprising! She's usually pretty opinionated...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ;)
Question for all my mom readers: have you experienced any of these? If so, do they annoy you as much as they do me (and the author of the article)?
I haven't even popped my child out yet and I am getting unsolicited advice! And yes sometimes it is very annoying.
ReplyDeleteHi Chelsea, I'm glad you found my blog because now I've found yours and I love it! You have such a cute family. Oh my goodness the "annoying tips" article cracks me up and I'm very tempted to post it on my blog because so many (family especially) people give me such "advice" all the time! Drives me batty! Oh and I wrote you back about the amber necklace in the comments on my blog. I'm going to follow your blog, hope you'll follow me back. Happy Friday :~)
ReplyDelete@Nikki - trust your instincts...they truly guide you better than anyone else can sometimes!
ReplyDelete@Allison - thanks so much! feel free to repost the article :)