I've Been Watching Him
>> Friday, September 16, 2011
I can't stand having to hear random stranger's opinions. Yes, this is one of THOSE blog posts.
I know I mentioned it a few times back when I was pregnant with Xavier but I haven't talked about the annoying comments since I've had him. If you think that after you have a baby people will suddenly stop giving you advice, you're wrong. I have come to find out that having an infant with you makes the comments fly at you even more frequently. For the most part, I've been good about letting those comments roll off of my back. Today, however, I was really struck by a stranger's comment.
"I've been watching him, and he's not as happy as you think he is." That is what this woman said to me. He hadn't been crying. In fact, he had been quite content the entire time we were at this particular place. What was she getting at? I'm a bad mom? I don't know how to meet my child's needs? She can see through he seriousness and see that deep down he dislikes me? Come on, lady.
I've tried my best. I ate a strict diet while I was pregnant, I didn't use any pain medication while having him because I thought that would be for his greater benefit, I've exclusively nursed him, I've used cloth diapers because I feel they are more comfortable for him, I console him when he cries, and on and on it goes. I don't need to justify myself to this random stranger, do I? Maybe it's just because I'm a first time mom that I'm so shaken by this woman's comment because I do know that I'm a good mom and I wish that the world could be perfect for my baby but I know it's not. I ended up spending my entire afternoon questioning everything that I do as a mother. Should I be doing A instead of B? Do I spend enough time doing this or that? It wasn't until I found myself crying over this person's comment that I snapped back to reality.
A good friend of mine (shout out KP) sent me this post from a blog that she reads that was so fitting and really helped me feel better. I am all for having the support of other mothers and getting advice from each other is so important. Let's not tear each other down though, shall we? If making others feel horrible and pretending it's helpful advice brings you some kind of joy then I think that's really sad.
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