This week, we had my son evaluated for Physical Therapy (I am certain I’ll write out more details in another post). I basically surround myself with only attachment parenting moms, so my ‘norm’ clearly is not THE norm. When you go to an evaluation at one of these places, they ask you a ton of questions about your child’s development, and these questions tend to favor a mainstream parenting philosophy. Here are the top 10 questions that got on my nerves:
10. He sleeps with you? (or the alternative “He doesn’t sleep through the night yet?”)
9. You’re still breastfeeding?
8. Are you always carrying him?
7. You didn’t feed him purees?
6. He wears cloth diapers?
5. You don’t have him on a nap schedule?
4. He’s at home with you still?
3. Is he a good baby?
2. Can you feed him some inexpensive food so he can practice using a spoon? (This is when I said I don’t want to just give him a spoon to play with because I don’t want to waste our good food.)
1. WHY?
You should’ve seen how horrified these women were when I breastfed Bryce 4 or 5 times during a 2-hour evaluation. They asked if I wanted them to leave the room to ‘feed him’. I said “no, let’s just keep going.” And here’s an image worth sharing. This was the information desk, which clearly, between the WIC, headstart information, formula samples, plagiocephaly pamphlet, and magazine that discussed sleep-training, did not have any ‘information’ to offer me. Why has historically ‘normal’ parenting turned us into freaks?
Lol mine is only 11 months old and I already get the stink eye for STILL breastfeeding. Most annoying from the moms whose 2 years olds are carrying around a bottle……. I probably had $300 worth of formula mailed to me from companies while pregnant and postpartum. And yes. If my baby wakes up he comes in to our room the rest of the night. And i carry him everywhere too! You are not alone. There are still parents out there like you!!!
Ha, ha. I’ve experienced that too, People think I”m weird, as my son’s 3 .5 yrs, and I still breastfeed him 2-4 times a day before sleeping. (My daughter weaned herself at 2 yrs – when I was pregnant). BUT I’ve met those that their child’s entire breakfast or entire lunch is a bottle of milk, and often it’s a bottle, not a cup. And when they are 6 or 7, it’s STILL just milk for breakfast. HUH?!
And they want to know why my kids don’t drink milk. what?!
People love to have opinions about things they know little about. I try to brush it off or at least find humor in the situation (as I’ve done here).
Why?
Because it’s not profitable. That’s why.