thank you Captain Obvious

TKtravels · January 2014

I know we all love unsolicited advice, and at this point in the game, we've either figured out the basics of baby maintenance or have had our kids taken away. Is anyone still getting lots of unsolicited advice? Any gems? Anything really obvious that just left you wondering about the person who offered the advice?

I was recently told that I can't just use wipes to clean LO. I have to bathe her periodically, and I'm supposed to use soap. (context: she spit up a little and I grabbed a wipe to do a quick clean of her chin/neck - and don't worry, she had a bath with soap *and* water later that evening)

Albertsgirl1982 · January 2014

Wow. Thanks for that psa. Totally explains why LO is so smelly!!

Zmommy2 · January 2014

You have to bathe them?!

kailet · January 2014

Haha, I hope that was a sarcastic remark and not serious advice!

sunshine2929 · January 2014

I have been told so many times by so many people that I should give him formula as he will sleep through the night cause you know, my milk apparently isnt enough. I forgot that they are the ones waking up with him... also, hes gaining weight so fuck off people!

FTR, I have absolutely nothing against formula and do plan to introduce it soon as I am weaning him at 6 months but im tired of being told to give it to him now. I was fortunate enough to be able to breast feed so im going to do just that until I decide to give him something else.

kailet · January 2014

My mom thinks she's the baby whisperer because she babysits my sisters baby once a week. Whenever I mention that I'm having trouble getting my LO down to sleep at night she tells me to just rock her to sleep...yeah, like I haven't tried that one, lol.

sapphire0228 · January 2014

It has definitely settled down or I'm just not listening anymore. My mom is the worst! I know she raised 4 of us but geeze that woman is the most awkward mom. She never used pacifiers with us as kids but my LO does. But when She has LO she 'pacifies' just not with a sucky thingy, instead of actually fixing the problem. For example, LO is fussy so you go through the list: dirty diaper, sleepy, hungry, uncomfortable...the basics. But not my mother, she just immediately distracts LO. Which is fine if LO just wants attention or a toy but no she has a wet diaper mom, change her! Or at least give her over so I can change her. My mother also carries LO in the oddest positions. I mean I flop LO around quite a bit but my mom holds LO on her hip but facing outward and moms arm is wrapped from lo's tummy down to the front of her diaper. Wth!? Turned into a vent sorry.

As for the general public, nothing like while I was pregnant. They are more in awe of my beautiful baby girl and feel the need to tell me and I LOVE it!!

JocelynB0911 · January 2014

Sleep when the baby sleeps.

Mother fucker I have four kids under five. Ain't no one sleeping when these kids sleep.

thedash · January 2014

My IL's are on a rampage of criticizing our parenting lately. Our kids are either not dressed warmly enough or are wearing something that is somehow too big and too tight at the same time. They don't eat enough, sleep too much and don't watch enough TV. I told DH the other day that I need a break from them because I can't handle a bitchy comment every single time we talk anymore.

Jenly117 · January 2014

Really? That's great advice. My LO has cheese fermenting in her neck folds. I guess I should hop on the whole "bath with soap" thing too.

RoosterWrangler · January 2014

I get the formula thing almost every time I tell someone that DS is waking up every 2 hours during the night. I also had one of my staff ask me if I had started him on water yet. I told her "no" and she said that he's probably waking up thirsty at night. My dad told me that I need to let him cry it out at night because DS is just "training us" to cater to him whenever he feels like it. I think I'm going to just start telling people that DS is sleeping through the night.

kennazebrowsky · January 2014

What's this bath shit you speak of?

I'm intrigued....

jlp0528 · January 2014

RoosterWrangler said:
I get the formula thing almost every time I tell someone that DS is waking up every 2 hours during the night. I also had one of my staff ask me if I had started him on water yet. I told her "no" and she said that he's probably waking up thirsty at night. My dad told me that I need to let him cry it out at night because DS is just "training us" to cater to him whenever he feels like it. I think I'm going to just start telling people that DS is sleeping through the night.

@RoosterWrangler we must know the same people and our dads must be in cahoots because I hear the same shit.

Also though I love my MIL and she is a great woman I wanted to punch her when she was changing LO while she was in for a visit last week and said, "your bum isn't red, it looks fantastic. Mommy must be taking good care of you and changing you often." [-( uhhh what do you think SAH I sit and ignore your granddaughter and let her soak in her own shit? Wtaf!?

amelbug · January 2014

My mum told me that I should show A who is boss (?????) and she constantly tells me that I spoil her. It's true that every time we FaceTime she is sleeping on me - it's the only way I get her to sleep longer than 20 mins. She is also obsessed with me giving her water, because she might not be hungry, just thirsty!!!

sapphire0228 · January 2014

jojo1112 said:
sapphire0228:
I mean I flop LO around quite a bit but my mom holds LO on her hip but facing outward and moms arm is wrapped from lo's tummy down to the front of her diaper. Wth!?

Haha. I carry my LO around like that all the time. He has to be outward or he freaks out that he's missing something. That's the easiest way for me to carry.

Sometimes I carry LO around like that too and it's fun and she likes to look around. But watching my mother do it and then try to do normal tasks, like cooking or cleaning drives me banana's. She's also rocked LO to sleep and then laid LO, belly down, on her knees expecting LO to stay sleeping. And then when she wakes up she somehow makes it my fault that the baby won't sleep laying on her lap. Meanwhile, she's rocking back and forth in the chair and LO is millimeters away from just rolling right off and onto the floor.

My mother is a special snowflake in every topic. She's just. Special.

blondii428 · January 2014

I hate

JocelynB0911 said:
Sleep when the baby sleeps.

Mother fucker I have four kids under five. Ain't no one sleeping when these kids sleep.

I hate this one too..if I actually did this absolutely nothing would ever get done.

HisChamaoleGirl · January 2014

jesnic89 said:

allisonnn5 said:

MIL is convinced that I need to start LO on cereal and solids because "she is just so skinny". Yes. My daughter is thin, 25% weight and 96% height. However! Her DR. said she is healthy. I am built the same way. She doesn't need to eat solids just because she is thin. Just because MIL is used to chunky babies like my niece and nephew, doesn't mean there is something wrong with my daughter being thin. Babies are all different!
My step MIL is the same way. DS is in the same percentiles for height and weight as your LO. She keeps asking me why we haven't started solids, then proceeds to tell me how she started her kids on solids at 2 months and it helped them gain weight. Yes, TWO months old.

My MIL told me that she started her oldest on cereal at 2 WEEKS old in order to help him sleep through the night...WTF is wrong with that generation?!

Back then it was normal and accepted. I am sure there are things we are doing today we will find out later are not ok...

kennazebrowsky · January 2014

Well maybe this more of a FFFC but I gave both my older kids cereal early. They are now 9 and 12. They both lived and only one has a tail and horns lol

Seriously though they turned out fine and that was More acceptable then. I don't get into the whole cereal debate. It's your kid and you should do what you think is right for them

MegStark · January 2014

So... this bathing thing... can I just throw her in an adult bubble bath? I mean, that's what I like so she should too. Right?

A "friend" of mine still insists that I'm using the "wrong" bottles and swears LO would like Dr. Brown's better because that's what she used. Ummmm, okay??? Avent are working perfectly fine, and LO's a great eater. She LOVES eating. Never has issues at all so I don't get it. Whatev.

And we use normal diapers at night. Not the night time ones. There are no leaks. No diaper rash, and she sttn half the time (only wakes if she's hungry). BUT I still get told that I need to switch her to night time diapers. ??

A new mom at daycare also tried to tell me how I should pack LOs diaper bag. Okay, what? Your child just started this week. I've been doing it longer. I know what works.

OliveMom3 · January 2014

@sapphire0228. Are you my sister? Because I think we have the same mom! I also carry lo around on my hip facing out but the lying face down on the knee thing my mom does all the time.

janelleashu · January 2014

MegStark said:
So... this bathing thing... can I just throw her in an adult bubble bath? I mean, that's what I like so she should too. Right?

A "friend" of mine still insists that I'm using the "wrong" bottles and swears LO would like Dr. Brown's better because that's what she used. Ummmm, okay??? Avent are working perfectly fine, and LO's a great eater. She LOVES eating. Never has issues at all so I don't get it. Whatev.

And we use normal diapers at night. Not the night time ones. There are no leaks. No diaper rash, and she sttn half the time (only wakes if she's hungry). BUT I still get told that I need to switch her to night time diapers. ??

A new mom at daycare also tried to tell me how I should pack LOs diaper bag. Okay, what? Your child just started this week. I've been doing it longer. I know what works.

All this advice seems kind of crazy balls! I can't imagine commenting at All, Ever on another parent's baby prep unless to ask where they got something. I find that very bizarre. I'd have given her a serious stink face.

Albertsgirl1982 · January 2014

JocelynB0911 said:
Sleep when the baby sleeps.

Mother fucker I have four kids under five. Ain't no one sleeping when these kids sleep.

I actually do this. I nap when he does. So many people told me to so I do it. So now why can't those same people understand why my I'm asleep at two in the afternoon with the phone off?? Hmmm perhaps maybe because I have a 4 month old who was up every two hours all night??

smilingeyes2308 · January 2014

So, theoretically speaking, if I give my LO said bath... will it get rid of the crusty stuff between her neck rolls?

smilingeyes2308 · January 2014

Albertsgirl1982 said:

Sleep when the baby sleeps. Mother fucker I have four kids under five. Ain't no one sleeping when these kids sleep.
I actually do this. I nap when he does. So many people told me to so I do it. So now why can't those same people understand why my I'm asleep at two in the afternoon with the phone off?? Hmmm perhaps maybe because I have a 4 month old who was up every two hours all night??

I WISH I could do this

My DD won't nap anywhere but me. I just sit and watch youtube or a movie while she naps. Sometimes she sleeps in her swing for 10-20...but I don't even bother with napping then or else I'll just wake up more tired than before said nap.

Albertsgirl1982 · January 2014

smilingeyes2308 said:

Albertsgirl1982 said:

JocelynB0911 said:
Sleep when the baby sleeps.

Mother fucker I have four kids under five. Ain't no one sleeping when these kids sleep.
I actually do this. I nap when he does. So many people told me to so I do it. So now why can't those same people understand why my I'm asleep at two in the afternoon with the phone off?? Hmmm perhaps maybe because I have a 4 month old who was up every two hours all night??

I WISH I could do this

My DD won't nap anywhere but me. I just sit and watch youtube or a movie while she naps. Sometimes she sleeps in her swing for 10-20...but I don't even bother with napping then or else I'll just wake up more tired than before said nap.

Oh mine is the same. I lean back on the couch and we nap together. This way he can even nap 2 hrs. I'm probably encouraging some kind of vicious cycle but pre-baby I slept 8 hrs a night.This is just survival for me.

TKtravels · January 2014

smilingeyes2308 said:

So, theoretically speaking, if I give my LO said bath... will it get rid of the crusty stuff between her neck rolls?

I think you might have to get a little hands-on with LO for this to happen.

I was told once to use baby wash cloths because they're softer. You definitely shouldn't use steel wool, or any scrubby dish washing tools.

JocelynB0911 · January 2014

Albertsgirl1982 said:

JocelynB0911 said:
Sleep when the baby sleeps.

Mother fucker I have four kids under five. Ain't no one sleeping when these kids sleep.
I actually do this. I nap when he does. So many people told me to so I do it. So now why can't those same people understand why my I'm asleep at two in the afternoon with the phone off?? Hmmm perhaps maybe because I have a 4 month old who was up every two hours all night??

It's one thing to nap when you have one kid. I have four...

mistyflame · January 2014

My mom doesn't really give me advice, she just tells my sister to do the opposite of what I'm doing once she has kids. "I told your sister that when she has kids to not get them used to sleeping with the noise machine. It will just be easier for them." Uh huh... that sound machine is the only thing that made DS1 sleep as an infant and keeps him asleep now. I don't see what the big deal is with me bringing it to your house with him when he spends the night every once in a blue moon.

amelbug · January 2014

I thought of another one - my mum is always telling me that I should be dressing A in dresses and tights instead of leggings and onesies etc. blah I hate the faff of dresses- they ride up all day and A does not look comfortable or cute when her dress is at armpit level! She looks adorable in anything else!

juliad2010 · January 2014

allisonnn5 said:

jesnic89 said:
MIL is convinced that I need to start LO on cereal and solids because "she is just so skinny". Yes. My daughter is thin, 25% weight and 96% height. However! Her DR. said she is healthy. I am built the same way. She doesn't need to eat solids just because she is thin. Just because MIL is used to chunky babies like my niece and nephew, doesn't mean there is something wrong with my daughter being thin. Babies are all different!
My step MIL is the same way. DS is in the same percentiles for height and weight as your LO. She keeps asking me why we haven't started solids, then proceeds to tell me how she started her kids on solids at 2 months and it helped them gain weight. Yes, TWO months old.

This week a stranger asked me how old lo is and if I've started solids yet. When I said not yet she proceeded to tell me she fed her son pablum (sp?), oatmeal, prune juice and water at ONE DAY OLD on since she didn't have any breastmilk. Total nutter. She looked about 60. Oh, also said he was always constipated - no kidding!

charpe · January 2014

My 85 y/o grandma told me that I "shouldn't talk to LO so much, or she's going to get used to it." WTF?!

redfallon · January 2014

@susanb887 said:

My mom doesn't really give me advice, she just tells my sister to do the opposite of what I'm doing once she has kids. "I told your sister that when she has kids to not get them used to sleeping with the noise machine. It will just be easier for them." Uh huh... that sound machine is the only thing that made DS1 sleep as an infant and keeps him asleep now. I don't see what the big deal is with me bringing it to your house with him when he spends the night every once in a blue moon.
There are so many adults who need to have the tv or radio on to fall asleep. What would be so bad about "needing" a noise machine. I had a friend who had her daughter pretty much trained with that thing lol. I watched her one day and when I carried her to the crib she was hysterical. I put her down (she stood up) and when I put the machine on she hit the mattress like a sack of potatoes lol. I was in awe.

That sounds wonderful. Oh, I wish, I wish I could have that!

Lesley726 · January 2014

Just yesterday I was told by a lady at the dry cleaners that I need to be careful with how "chunky" my baby is because I don't want her to be obese when she grows up! I couldn't even respond. I was shocked and hope she doesn't have babies of her own.

Albertsgirl1982 · January 2014

JocelynB0911 said:

Albertsgirl1982 said:

JocelynB0911 said:
Sleep when the baby sleeps.

Mother fucker I have four kids under five. Ain't no one sleeping when these kids sleep.
I actually do this. I nap when he does. So many people told me to so I do it. So now why can't those same people understand why my I'm asleep at two in the afternoon with the phone off?? Hmmm perhaps maybe because I have a 4 month old who was up every two hours all night??
It's one thing to nap when you have one kid. I have four...

And I bow down to you. Much respect!!

bumpuser10024844 · January 2014

This isn't exactly advice, but this weekend I was out with LO. He was asleep in his stroller. A random lady came up and asked me if I'd like a recipe for homeade baby wipes. I just said no thank you. She gave me a look like she was offended.

MJHershey · January 2014

MIL thinks we are living in Poland in the winter with how much she pushes wrapping them in 15 layers. It can be 50 outside and she wants them in winter coats and hats.

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thank you Captain Obvious

Re: thank you Captain Obvious

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