Strollerderby : Cry it Out

When to Ignore the Pediatrician

Madeline Holler — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:02:00 GMT

Is it ever a good idea to ignore the pediatrician's advice? After all, they're the experts, right?

Wrong!

A handful of doctors were interviewed, and here's what they say about some of their own advice: ignore it, sometimes. Here are five instances when it might be a good idea to nod politely and then carry on as usual:

1. Don't pick up your baby in the middle of the night. Can't stand the crying? Then don't -- if you can stand that.

2. Baby should be at home with Mom. Not only is this so far from reality, it's also never been shown to be harmful. It's a personal choice, not a medical one.

3. Don't give your baby triple nipple confusion. Breast, bottle and pacifier aren't necessarily bad in combination. If you think it's a problem, take away one or more of the nipple types. But there's little evidence to show that nipple confusion is guaranteed.

4. Your baby must eat solids by 6 months. If they're not interested, why push it?

5. Take the paci away! Doctors have their own opinions about age and pacifiers. It's good to remember, these are opinions. Unless the pacifier is interfering with speech and tooth development, there's no need if the kid (and you) aren't ready.

That's what the article says. What about you? What advice did you ignore? Here, I'll start. I ignored the doctor's advice and didn't give my breastfed daughter's iron supplements. And guess what? They're not anemic!

Photo: Guardian.uk

Strollerderby Playdate: No, I'm Not Crying, Don't Look At Me!

Kelly Mills — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:02:00 GMT

If you recap my playdates, you'll see a theme emerge: I like funny. Smart funny, bitter funny, swearing funny, but always, always funny. I don't look for my heartstrings to be tugged or my humanity to be found. I just wanna get in, guffaw, get out. Wham bam.

So no one was as surprised as me to be drawn to things that melted me more than I'd admit on a blog. Mike did it earlier this week on his blog, the bastard. And then, I went playdate cruising, and I found this.

I thought I'd get a few yuks, because Redneck Mommy is a go-to funny place. But then I read this achingly beautiful thing, with her dry humor and her giant heart, and shit...You know what? Read it. Hold yerself and read it. And then be grateful Ms. Redneck has the writing gift and the graceful outlook and the humanity that gets me riiiight here.

Strollerderby Playdate: More Crafyliciousness

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:02:00 GMT

You know you want it. With all your free time and energy and creativity that's been left untapped after you've spent all morning singing Barney's greatest hits and trying to figure out ways your kids can turn the contents of your wallet into some kinds of educational toy while you have an adult conversation with the teenager behind the counter at Starbucks. Here's a few bits plucked out of the blogo to give you the inspiration you need (the babysitter and fabric glue are not included):

Scrapgasm is just the right mix of sessiness and scrapiness. How could you not love that?! If I weren't so lazy, I would totally get this challenge going.

DIY Life's done all the work while we sit around and ooh and ahh. Their ten best craft sites is sure to inspire, or at least glance in the direction of your hole punches and rolls of ribbon and think about one day maybe using them again when the kids have finally left for prom and the house is quiet for more than four minutes at a time.

Scrappy Sketches and Ideas by Shanna reveals the mystery behind making beautiful books full of family memories (as opposed to stuffing them in a box that you shove in the closet to deal with after...yup...prom).

Adam Knits hats for his dogs and intersperses yarn talk with tequila quotes. I kid you not.

If you're not feeling like the glitterati yourself, you can always stop by Crafty Mama Creations to drool (I love these purses so much, I'd almost be willing to put a few PullUps and a paci in them if I could have one).

And let us not forget our own needle maven Mike, who makes stuff like this, wielding a machine like no other man we've seen (be careful with our hearts, man).

Strollerderby Playdate: Outside the Office

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 22 May 2007 11:07:00 GMT

Just in case you're not sick of us yet, I thought it might be fun to peek in and see what the Strollerderby folks are analyzing, investigating and yammering on about when they're not talking your ear off here (or is it an eye off, considering you're reading it? perhaps ear off does apply when the voice is conversational? anyway...). Consider it one part blatant self-promotion, one part sitting at the ~~theatre geek~~ cool kids' table, one part shout-out to the people you think, breathe and live parenting news commentary (and honestly, some of us do).

Here are a few of the things SDers are posting about outside the cubicle:

Karen is talking about Truth and Beauty and putting me to complete shame for continuing to blog incessantly about puke and poop.

Sarah's making her body business yours.

In other body news, Melissa's all fired up over scabs, toenail removal and suntans. If that doesn't peak your interest, you have something seriously wrong with you.

Kelly's also talking effed-up toes. And sleeping with Gabrielle Reece. Nothing about scabs, though (oh well).

MetroDad's OK. No really, he's fine. Stop fretting. Send scotch and flowers, but stop fretting.

Mike's done shedding tears for Lorelai and Rory and has moved on to wax poetic over the Princess Bride. The man loves him some modern day fairy tellin'.

CrankMama's 'fessing up in a veritable NaughtyMommyPodcastyPallooza.

And since all that blog-hopping probably worked up your appetite real good, make a last stop to see Stefania, who is whipping up tropical smoothies, kid-prep friendly cupcakes and Korean BBQ beef ribs. Mmmm....ribs.

Did I miss anyone? I hope not. Because that would be totally awkward on cigarette breaks. Joking. We only stop working to drink and bet on reality TV shows around here.

Babble Talk: Still Crying It Out

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Fri, 18 May 2007 19:15:00 GMT

When I last wrote about Emmeline's Keith Richards imitation -- no, not snorting her dad; sleeping -- the response was mixed. Some agreed with my method. Some thought I was crazy. And some were just clearly not aware of the joys of being tied up (Oh go read the comments -- you'll figure it out).

But that "survey" was very non-scientific. Babble has an actual survey out, and when it comes to getting your kids to sleep, the results are still mixed. About 31 percent said they opted for a hardcore Ferber-Weissbluth cocktail of crying it out, while 24 percent chose the no-cry solution.

Seventeen percent said they didn't do a thing and plan on getting some shut eye once they retire, while a shockingly high 28 percent said their babies are angels. Are you telling me there's just about the same number of kids out there who don't need any help as those who do? Where can I get one?

Finish Line: Drunken Parents Rule the World

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 15:26:00 GMT

Bear with me -- or is it bare? I can't never remember -- but I am two "choking hazards" into Strollerderby's latest and best creation, so this post may be a little more unintelligible than all my others. (Didn't think that was possible!) The point is, there is reason to celebrate. Strollerderby rocked the sandbox this week -- and I feel like sharing.

First, and sticking with the vein of parents who like a stiff drink, Sarah puts the smackdown on the most ridiculous anti-teen drinking campaign ever. What won't work for teens, she says, will cause a laugh riot for their parents.

And when we're not smacking down stupid campaigns, we're smacking down bullies. Karen provides some excellent tips for beating bullies -- even when your school doesn't do a damn thing to help.

CityMama Stefania warns parents about a looming storm this summer ... when the new Apple iPhone debuts. Turns out kids are already gabbing about the thing and parents are about to be hit up for $500 big ones. Get a job, she says. Agreed.

Alisyn provides the big ideas this week with a touching post on gender and identity and how, sometimes, one doesn't determine the other. A must read. So get crackin'!

SD newcomer Jessica Ashley starts out strong with a scathing report on rampant child abuse. Everywhere, it seems, children are being forced to wash their hands! The humanity of it all!

When she's not using your favorite kid names for her car, Patti comes to the conclusion that you just can win in the name game: "Just pick a name you like, and don't tell anyone so you won't have to listen to them try to talk you out of it." Again, agreed. 100 fuggin percent.

And CrankMama Rachael again very astutely -- and very hotly, I might add -- gets at the crux of the hipster parenting phenom and finds there is, gasp, other shit to worry about than $800 strollers and lame-ass TV shows.

My oh my, it was nice knowing you Pierre aka MetroDad -- but mocking Scientology? I just don't have the, um, guts -- even if the idea of a desperate Katie Holmes using her daughter's birthday party to send for help is kind of funny. OK, really, really funny.

And finally, I tell the world that a kidless, college-age know-nothing is, well, a kidless college-age know nothing. Except I do it with panache ... and a "choking hazard!" Mmmmm. That's good parenting.

Easy Sleep Now Only Means Pain Later

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:06:00 GMT

When Emmeline was about five months old, I performed the usual bedtime routine -- bath, massage, bottle, book -- then hoisted in her in her crib, turned off the light and let her fend for herself. Dana had to work through the night and into the early morning, and so I was the only one around the hear Emme cry. Maybe it was cruel. Maybe it was mean. It certainly broke my heart every time she woke up and I sat on my hands. But she sleeps like a drunken rock star now, so I'm not complaining.

I'm not advocating the cry-it-out method, despite the aptly chosen moniker above this post. It worked for us -- but it may not work for you. Still, I was reading a column by family psychologist John Rosemond, and I started to see he had a point: Taking the easy way out will only haunt you later.

Before we let Emme cry it out, Dana and I were up every half hour to plug a pacifier back into her yawning maw. She couldn't do it herself because A. she didn't know what those chubby, wiggly things were at her side, and B. she was swaddled, so she couldn't use them even if she did know. We tried everything to get her to sleep just a little bit longer. We took turns sitting with her. We brought her into bed with us. We sang, we hummed, we got so tired we actually rationalized with her. "Emme, you're a big girl now -- it's time to sleep. All night."

So at five months, we took away the swaddle, we took away the pacifier and we let her soothe herself -- and us, eventually -- into a deep, sound sleep. The easy way would have been to answer her every cry and trudge into her room for comfort and pacifiers. The hard way was to let her cry for one night -- she only needed one. If I had it to do over, I'd choose the hard way -- simply because it's easier over time.

Down with The "Housewife Award"

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:03:00 GMT

MommaSaid holds a bi-weekly competition encouraging stay-at-home moms (though you can enter if you work part-time) to share their successes in the hopes of snagging a Housewife Award (she asks nominees to skip going into their daily juggle, since "we're all doing that" and instead offer up something original and hopefully humorous). This week's awardee will receive "Babyproofing Your Marriage."

There is something wincingly difficult to digest about the word "housewife" for me unless it's preceded by "drunken" or "desperate." Unless there's a word used or a wink or a nod to the fact that no one, really no one, hopefully wants to resurrect Donna Reed, I simply cannot get over the assumptions built into that laden word. Given that there are now plenty of stay at home dads, some of whom are probably also looking for some sort of award (though I'm thinking a book, unless it's about tantric sex, isn't what they're after), the concept of a Housewife Award seems dated.

I applaud the concept of recognizing the exhausting mind-numbingly repetitive tasks of childrearing. But it remains no wonder to me that the chasm between stay-at-home moms and working moms persists, when awards like this exist.