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12-20-2012 at 1:39 PM
LaurenAnth...
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Grandparent Advice

Hi all,

I need some advice. My mom is always telling me what to do with my 4 month old son. i.e. he's cold put pants on him, let him fuss a little more before you get him, he hates tummy time don't do it, etc. I told her today that I feel judged and it's bothering me. She starting crying and said I don't respect her as a grandma. Is this normal? Please share your experiences. Thanks!
 
12-20-2012 at 2:27 PM
brandyleig...
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It's not going to stop. So, you need to change how you choose to respond to her. If she suggests he's cold and wants to put more clothes on, would it hurt to put more clothes on? If you don't want to put more clothes on, give her a blanket she can put him in. When she suggests letting him fuss, tell her you tried it a few times and he became inconsolable for a while and you don't want to deal with that again. And tell her all the wonderful benefits of tummy time. I don't think it was even discussed when we were babies. Anyhow, just be prepared with a response. The things she is doing is necessarily a direct insult to your parenting, sometimes what they think is best for baby isn't what we think is. Other times, they just feel like they've been "around the block" and you should take their advice because they raised YOU. It's a wonder any of us survived.

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12-20-2012 at 2:40 PM
allardr
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I'm kind of happy both our parents live far away so I don't have that constantly. Though both sides are great and know its our baby to raise. I think just say "Thanks, I'll keep a close eye to see if he's cold" or "We've discussed it but we really don't like to let LO CIO." or "I know LO doesn't seem to like tummy time now but thats why we do it a little everyday in hopes that LO will grow to like it since LO needs it to build muscles,etc." Basically show you hear what she's saying but that it's not necessarily how you want to handle the situation. 

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12-20-2012 at 3:45 PM
mypeanut22
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I work with my inlaws and it got to the point I just had to say please stop telling ME what my baby needs. I had to be very blunt with them because when I was nice about it they didn't get the hint. Ever sense I told them how I felt it has been a lot better. You should let her know now before it gets worse. I would always hear, well when I had a baby we did this. They didn't understand that it was 30 years ago and things have changed. GL!

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12-20-2012 at 4:31 PM
jrebele
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I had to deal with this with my MIL and she is someone that you need to be upfront with so I politely told her that she raised her two boys and it is now DH and I time to parent and that if I need advice I will ask but to please refrain from providing unsolicited advice and instead enjoy being a grandma and not responsible for those decisions.  I got sick of hearing how DD needed to be wearing a hat at all times while inside the house.  We don't have the best relationship as of late bc she is used to running the roost and I have let things slide in the past when she has stuck her nose in where it doesn't belong but now that I am being more assertive she is upset.  I just feel that I am not going to compromise my parenting choices and style for anyone even if they gave birth to me or DH

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12-20-2012 at 4:41 PM
Mandy+J+Ba...
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Sounds to me like she's not respecting your decisions as a mother. She'll get over it. Parent like you want and tell her if you want advice you'll ask for it.

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12-20-2012 at 5:03 PM
Hennessy
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Believe it or not it's probably coming from a good place since she feels like she has experience and can share that experience with you by way of suggestions that will help you.  What many of our parents don't realize is that while the basics of baby raising don't change from generation to generation, learnings and science have made improvements to the things we do or do not do.  And, there is tremendous value in learning on your own as a new parent.

You can nicely tell her that while your appreciate her desire to help, you have done your homework on current day suggestions (ie tummy time) and you'd really like to figure things our on your own along with your pediatrician recommendations. Tell her that her primary job as a grandparent is to smother LO with love and to support your decisions on raising your new son and that if you need help she will be the first one you ask!


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12-20-2012 at 5:59 PM
skate88
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In my opinion you have to be up front about it. It is not her child, it is your child. She is judging you...and she might not know it, but things regarding babies have changed a lot since she had a baby. You need to let her know what her job as a grandma is...it is to love and spoil her little grandson. You should try to make sure to give her a special job or something. I'm assuming at the moment, she is not feeling a part of things. Maybe when she provides a suggestion, if you calmly explain why, for ex. tummy time, it is very important to keep doing it. You're not the only going through this.

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12-20-2012 at 6:47 PM
hijoi
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Tell her that you are the baby's MOTHER, and that's that. If she insists that you are not respecting her as a grandma, ask her why she's not respecting you as a mother. Then end the convo by walking away. She'll get it.

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12-20-2012 at 7:02 PM
Nita2603
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My mother is like that. I tried nicely. At some point I told her that I am their mother and that I do not ask or need approval, permission or even advice.

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12-20-2012 at 7:58 PM
bigbootyju...
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I think it's normal. Our moms have good intentions. They're just trying to help because if you think about, we're their babies and it's just their natural instinct to try and help us in any way they can, just like it is your instinct to help your LO in any way you can.

My mom does the same thing. If it's something little that won't hurt him (like putting pants on him - which I do all of the time anyways because of blow outs), I'd just do it. If it's something like sleep; she likes to keep him awake when he can only be up for a short period of time, I'll tell her however many times she needs to be told that he needs to go to sleep. If she tells me he's not tired, I just repeat myself and eventually, she gets it...or she'll get it when he starts throwing a fit. 


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12-20-2012 at 8:05 PM
GreenMonke...
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To me, it sounds like your mom had some expectation of how the grandmother-mother-grandson relationship would be and reality isn't meeting that expectation.

It's ok to tell your Mom how you feel.  Honestly, it's good to have that open conversation in my opinion.  Because if you don't then those feelings fester and end up popping up later, usually worse than if you just brought them up in the beginning.

Being a grandma doesn't mean that you are the expert, you get to tell everyone everything you think, and the parents will then do exactly what you say.  To me, your Mom isn't respecting you as a parent.  I'd sit down with your Mom and ask her what she means by "not respecting her as a grandparent".  If it's about you doing things her way, let her know what you want to use her as a resource, but that it is important for you to find your own parenting groove.  So you need some space to try things your way and you hope she can give you support when you have questions or concerns.  Then, I would sometimes (even if you really don't want it) ask for Mom's advice and take it.  Let her feel involved and important.

 


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12-20-2012 at 9:41 PM
LaurenAnth...
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Thank you everyone. I do think she had preconceived ideas of what being a grandma is and they don't align with
my idea. I will have to try to calmly explain that I'm the mother, and while I appreciate her concern I would like to be respected as his mother. Hope it works.
 
12-21-2012 at 4:26 AM
Kimbus22
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My Dad pulled this crap with me.  Which is hilarious given the 2 days a month he spent with me from birth until I was a teenager.  I finally told him he had his chance to parent when I was a kid and that if he wanted to see his grandson, he needed to shut his mouth and respect the fact that I'm his mother and I get to make those decisions now, not him.  I pointed out that it was likely I was more aware of what my kid needed, since I'd been with him since birth and my dad had met him exactly 3 times.  It wasn't a fun conversation but it worked!

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12-21-2012 at 10:47 AM
highlights
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You need to lay down boundaries now, because it won't get better.

My parents are ridiculous about my parenting choices, to the point where I limit their time with him and do not trust them to spend time with him alone.

You need to be upfront and say "Look mom, its my turn and this is my baby. If I have questions, I'll ask you. Otherwise, just enjoy being a grandma."


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12-21-2012 at 2:04 PM
torneen
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My Mom is a monster about this. We are really lucky and my parents take care of our five month old daughter right now while we are at work, but she will go to day care soon. Sooner than they might like if they don't stop crossing that line. My parents are constantly telling me what to do with her and the unsolicited advice is starting to make me grind my teeth. It is not helping me become a confident parent and it makes me second guess everything I know. So what I do is I act as if I am the expert on current trends with babies, which I am because I have read all the books/journals/columns/articles/etc. and they have not. They raised their babies thirty years ago, a lot has changed. So now when my Mom tries to put a third blanket on my daughter, I nicely take it off of my daughter and hand it back to my mother and tell her that she is fine as she is. If she protests I just calmly say that my daughter is fine and if she needs another blanket I will give it to her. I just walk the walk and talk the talk. I am her mother and I know what I am doing. If I need advice, I will gladly seek theirs out first. But until then, I have this covered. I just adopt that mentality and it works 99% of the time.

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