Women talking, their children playing

I received some really good advice from other moms when I became a mom for the first time, but in that heap of advice and learnt knowledge was a big pile of utter nonsense! Of course it took me a while to sift through the crazy stuff and realize what was worth listening too, but it’s crazy the things some people came up with.

 

1.Sleep when the baby sleeps. While this sounds like a sterling piece of advice it’s just down right cruel because in the first few weeks after arriving home from the hospital you are made to feel like your situation is ten times worse than anyone else’s. Because hell, in between the salt water baths, the expressing, the sterilizing, the eating for the first time in 8 hours and the need to control EVERYTHING, how on earth are you really going to enjoy a few hours of shut eye? REALLY now.

  1. Don’t let your baby suck a dummy. Look I really don’t care what you think and quite frankly if a dummy means my child sleeps better from a young age, ill deal with the weaning and dental bills when I need to. My first-born didn’t take to a dummy and only started sleeping through the night when he was three. My youngest on the other hand, grew to LOVE his and slept through from 4 months. And no he wont be sucking it by the time he start school and generally at two years of age he will only use it to fall asleep. FINE BY ME!!!
  2. Put brown sugar in your baby’s bottle. Sugar is the worst thing for you, never mind a newborn baby. Whoever started with that one needs to question the source. No I will not be giving my 4 month old one of the most addictive substances known to mankind. And neither should you.
  3. If you don’t want your child to become cross-eyed or worse, permanently blind, don’t let them look directly into the sun. I cant remember who told me this and whether they were joking or not, but seriously. If this were the case we would all be squint wearing glasses. I don’t know many chidren who look directly into the light without scrunching up their noses and looking away after 0.5 seconds!
  4. Don’t let your baby sleep during the day and he will sleep through the night. What a crock of shit. Anyone who’s had a baby knows about over stimulation and creating bad sleep cycles. I can’t believe anyone in his or her right mind would be dishing out advice like this. Can you imagine your 5-month-old baby staying awake the whole day? What would the world come to?
  5. Don’t vaccinate your kids, it causes autism. I know this is a touchy subject for some but I’m just going to say it (as gently as lovingly as possible), the most selfish and cruel thing you can do is NOT vaccinate your children. While I sympathize with those who feel their child’s autism is a result of a vaccine, I am without a shadow of doubt convinced that this is not the case and that you owe it not only to your own children, but to your community and the general public to keep diseases from spreading. Don’t be fooled or let fear steer your choices away from what has proven to work for centuries!
  6. Don’t ever say No to your children, but rather offer them a choice or a distraction. I’m sorry but if my child is running towards a busy street I will not sit there and try to negotiate. And if he is having a frothy because its time to leave a play date, I WILL put my foot down and say NO! Sorry buddy but the sooner you learn this, the better. Life is tough. You will not always get what you want. I’m the boss. Deal with it.sating no
  7. Any medical advice from unprofessional is very, what’s the word? Very UNPROFFESSIONAL! I hate the way some moms dish out the kind of advice that could potentially put your child’s life in danger. From milk being used for middle ear infections to urine being used for eye infections, the medical advice being thrown casually around mom groups is frightening. While yes, milk has SOMETIMES been used to sooth ear infections there is also a high possibility it can cause more bacteria in the ear and even cause the eardrum to burst. What works for your child may not work for another because who’s to say they are the same illness! While I know many women are just trying to be helpful, and sharing your experiences is fine, medical advice should not be dished out so freely.
  8. Dress them in heavy clothes and blankets when they have a temperature, it will make them sweat out the fever. Ok, more stupid, dangerous medical advice given by someone who obviously doesn’t have a brain, never mind a degree. Never take this advice please; it goes against everything we have ever been taught. It goes against common sense.
  9. Don’t feed on demand, your newborn should learn to stretch for three hours in between feeds. I don’t know how it’s even possible to not feed your newborn baby when they are screaming for milk, but they are crying for a reason. They are hungry! Especially so in the first few weeks when they are getting onto a routine and their tummies are slowly learning to take more at each feed. Please if your newborn baby is hungry, FEED her even if it’s only been 1.5 hours. *I’m going to put a big disclaimer in here and state that I am NO doctor so if there are medical reasons and factors outside of the norm, please know this certainly doesn’t apply to you. PLEASE listen to your doctor.

What has been some of the bad, funny or crazy advice you have received as a mom? I would love to know!

Remember be kind and respectful even if we don’t agree with everyone.

Love,

Leigh

 

 

 

 

Hi I’m Leigh! Did you enjoy reading this post? I really hope so and would love you to stick around a little longer! Please feel free to browse my blog for other articles or to keep up with all the latest news and to be the first to hear about some great competitions, come and find me me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also email me directly at leeloobaggins@hotmail.com or simply subscribe below and never worry about missing out!