Unsolicited parenting advice

Wowzers. It turns out that people offering parenting advice is JUST AS ANNOYING as the advice we received when trying to conceive.

I’ve received the following comments:

• Just let him cry it out! He needs to develop his lungs. My baby is 7 weeks old. He has a set of needs that we fulfil – comfort being one of them. There is no reason for him to cry it out.
• He should be sleeping in his crib. We’ve decided to co-sleep. I am breastfeeding and this is the easiest for us. We will move him to the crib when we feel the time is right.
• You shouldn’t let him pacify at the breast. I’m just going to assume that pacifers were created by a man… and yes, Wikipedia proves me right... in the early 1900s to mimic the nipple as a way for infants to self-soothe. You really don’t think the original and most natural pacifier is bad for my son? Besides, he’s only been on the boob 5 mins longer than his feed… he ain’t crying. What’s your issue?
• Cloth diapers are not better for the environment. I’m not going to get into the environmental or economical arguments surrounding cloth vs. disposables. I’m just going to say: cloth diapering works better for us and our little man prefers it. If you aren’t doing my laundry, you don’t get an opinion in my household.
• Just give him a soother. He’s not really hungry. He just ate. Oh really? You know what my baby’s hunger queues are from spending 1 hour with him? I on-demand feed. Baby eats when he wants to eat, not on a set schedule or when it’s convenient for you… because you want to hold him right now.
• You don’t want people to see your breasts! *gasp* *shocked expression*!!!!! Since having my son, I have a new found appreciation for my breasts as a non-sexual source of nourishment and comfort. Wyatt hates the hooter hider. I don’t ask you to eat your supper under a blanket, why should he?

I try my hardest to ignore endless rants that don’t align with our choices. It’s also much easier to give basic responses (or change the subject) rather than constantly having to defend our choices. Although I think life would be much more amusing if I gave the answers above! 🙂

Today, I also stumbled upon a post, Not Amused by Mama at Heart, that contains friendly holiday reminders for families dealing with newborns this season. I suggest you check it out as I second everything she said!