The Unsolicited Parenting Advice I Couldn't Help but Give
I mean, I wasn't the only one. Oh no. Moms, and dads alike, were chiming in right alongside me.
Yes, there was a new family - a mom, a dad, and a 4-day-old baby boy. 4. Days. Old.
Mom and Dad, well, they looked a bit frazzled. They were trying to figure out how to carry the car seat, diaper bag, and baby with only four hands between them. One insisted it was time to feed the sweet, sleeping baby. The other insisted he shouldn't be woken. They both admitted they'd had very little sleep - especially after a 3-day labor. (Yes! She was in labor almost as long as she'd been a mom.)
It started with a, "Oh my goodness, I can't even remember when my baby was that little."
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Next someone else chimed in with, "Sleep, who needs it? No, no, it will be fine. This stage of mixed up nights and days fixes itself. In like three months."
A dad admitted that his baby had reflux, so sleep was an issue for a long time. Oh, reflux, I know it well. Before I knew it, he'd reeled me in and I was right in the middle of offering unsolicited advice that had these new parents' heads spinning. From the best kind of bodysuits that grow with baby to the perfect swaddle blankets to maximize Baby's sleep to the best reflux medicine available (of course).
While it may have been one of the first times this family found themselves on the receiving end of such wonderful advice, it certainly wasn't the last. And, I'm afraid, it won't be the last time I'm the one offering it. I just can't seem to help myself.
What about you? Do you tend to offer advice to parents who are going through stages you've successfully completed?
- By Amy Heinz
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