Stupid/outdated/funny advice and beliefs

[christinelle]

If there is a thread like this already, please let me know.
OK, so my MIL is the queen of misinformation and insists she's right. For example, she fed her children blended leftovers (like fish, banana, rice, apple, milk all together) through a bottle to make them sleep longer (and she propped up the bottles and left the babies unattended), she believes that the umbilical cord can get wrapped around the neck from doing chores, she thinks the baby moves in the womb when they can't breathe right (cord wrapping makes breathing hard, according to her), she didn't change the diapers as soon as they got soiled but waited until they were completely full, she told me that leg crossing could be dangerous for pregnant women (and got mad when I laughed), she didn't breastfeed because "she had no milk" and didn't always sterilize because "she didn't have time" (she's a SAHM who barely cooks and cleans), she thinks thalassemia is transmitted by mosquitoes and so many more.
Everytime I calmly point out that current guidelines are different, she gets all defensive and insists she's right. I would like to hear more crazy stuff people say. Do you have anything?

 

[Hopefulk]

My mum said that no baby would be sleeping on it's back in her house because it was too dangerous... I had to print off research and current SIDS stats for her!

My nan wanted me to give baby rice at 6 weeks old and couldn't believe it when I said I wouldn't ever give baby rice (we did blw)

"Babies strengthen their lungs by crying"!

"Don't waste your time taking baby for walks - leave it on the drive for fresh air" (whaaaaaaat?!)

Only feed at 10, 2 and 6 - doesn't need anything between those hours

I guess we all survived to tell the tale, but...!

 

[LoveCakes]

Oh yeah the risk crushed up in the milk to get them to sleep

Fil was shocked we would need a car seat to bring LO hone from the hospital as he just brought his kids home in their mums arms.

Mil was annoyed I didn't automatically use sudocreme on LO as neither of her kids had nappy rash but guess what neither does mine. The midwife said if you use it all the time when you need it it's less effective. Plus general disappointment I don't use every product Johnson's make so she 'smells like a baby.'

I haven't had too much thankfully but my talk of blw doesn't seem too popular...

 

[Kittycat155]

So far family has been good minus the Indian thought of laying baby on back for spine which my baby would never go for short of being taped to floor. My neighbor has made it her thing to get me to start feeding baby ASAP "real" food. I can hardly talk to her cause I just have the image of me "sitting" LO up and watching as he would fall back or sideways. I get she is trying to help...

I have been told I change diapers to often by IL. I also only have had no diaper rash issues and never use anything. It is spoiling the baby to "give in" to its crys to be changed. Then again my baby is normally very quiet so why change a thing IM

 

[caitlyn2009]

I have been told from the very beginning that LO should have some water everyday or else he might get constipated. I also get told by everyone that he has diarrhea.. Uh no he is breastfed.

I just wanted to add that in reality.. It is bad for anyone to cross their legs. It has been linked to blood clots.

 

[hayz_baby]

I have never beard much about the cord thing, do you think there may be a reason behind the cord fears?

 

[minties]

Lol at the baby breathing in the womb! Sure, they practice breathing with the amniotic fluid, but don't people know they get oxygen through the cord?

I remember my MIL saying I should feed Thomas on boiled skim milk with rice cereal in it when he was a newborn.

 

[Bevziibubble]

Some that people said to me:

Push down on baby's tongue with a spoon to force them to eat solids when she wasn't ready at all.

Baby is feeding too often, therefore I had watery breastmilk and must wean immediately!


Drill holes in wall above baby while they're sleeping or they'll never get used to sleeping with noise and you'll be creeping around forever.

 

[Perplexed]

Here are a few:

-a pregnant woman laying on her back causes the umbilical cord to wrap around baby's neck
-a pregnant woman laying on her back causes her tailbone to break
-pregnant women must not turn in bed, they have to sit up then switch sides. Lol.
-breastmilk and formula both have salt in them so they make babies thirsty. They must be given water between milk feeds.
-baby will never sttn if you don't give them herbal water/teas
-whenever baby has gas it's a problem and it's my fault for not giving herbal water/tea.
-all babies must be swaddled or they won't sleep. The swaddle must also go under the neck to "protect the neck"
-baby will never sleep without a dummy (lol)
-good thing you never gave her a dummy, they're bad for her teeth (said by same person who nagged me about the dummy early on. Actually I did offer dd a dummy and she said no.)
-babies must wear socks and cover their heads because it's cold (it was April...in a warm climate)
-breastmilk is great but baby gets hungry too fast so you must supplement
-at 4 months of age I started supplementing with formula due to specific things...same person who told me to supplement previously said that formula is "literally and honestly poison"
-letting my one year old sleep at 7.30 or 8 pm is "too early" and she will keep waking up several times at night. I should force her to stay up till 10 or something so she stays asleep till morning.
-apparently we are supposed to change baby's diaper as soon as they've peed. 2-3 hrs is "too long".

 

[christinelle]

I have never beard much about the cord thing, do you think there may be a reason behind the cord fears?

It's because doctors here will push for a c-section and they come up with anything a gullible mother would believe. So they say it's because of the cord wrapped around the neck, because of fetal distress (even when there isn't any, how can mom know?), because of a previous section or some other fabricated reason.
On top of that my MIL is notorious for not understanding what she hears, so she's told BS, understands half of that, adds hers own imaginary details and then insists she's right. Sometimes I tell her what's considered right today and we have a mini fight. The next time we bring it up she will say what I told her before and present it as her own advice! Crazy huh? I guess she desperately wants me to agree with her.
She also tells me what other moms do as an indirect way of giving advice. When I say I don't agree, her defence is "but SHE does it! It must be right".
She used alcohol on her kids for teething and to make them sleep. She also used sugar to make them accept a pacifier and in their bottles to drink more. She practically force-fed her kids and is proud of it. She claims the blending of table leftovers (full of salt and cooked fat) with formula made her kids smart.
You guessed it, I don't like her.

Thanks everyone for your contributions, I love the advice.

 

[Perplexed]

Christinelle, one of the ways someone tried to convince me to give my dd herbal water is because "so and so did it" and because our moms did it for us so it must be right.

Just remembered one more: if you give baby a bottle of room temperature milk, they'll get a stomach ache.

 

[christinelle]

I forgot to mention the herbal tea/chamomile, she was confused when I said I won't give my baby such drinks.
Now it's time for someone other than MIL, I was talking to a clerk about solids (and how my baby is too young for them) when a customer said she gave her 2.5 mo baby anything from chocolate to cheetos to lick so he would learn tastes. She said that in a very serious and didactic tone, as if to scold me for creating a picky eater by sticking to milk only until 6 months.

 

[pinklizzy]

Not really advice but my MIL did advise me to sellotape DS ears down when he's sleeping to stop them sticking out

 

[Wriggley]

'you dont need to buy a cot just open the bottom draw of your chest of draws and put a pillow in it' :/

 

[Alyssa Drough]

These are all paraphrased from my nan...

"You need to wrap her tightly in a billion blankets at night"

"Her bottles should be at these exact times every day"

"She should have at least 10 minutes of crying time every day"

"Carriers are stupid and dangerous... Put her in the pushchair! "

Plus the classic bull about how I'm spoiling her too much by responding to her needs!

 

[MrsPear]

I said I wanted to wean at six months for my daughter and was told, "oh my god that's ridiculous! Wait until you have a second child, you'll be weaning as early as possible because you won't just be able to put up with the crying and waking up at night when they're so hungry!"

I'm quite laid back actually(don't mind unhealthy treats here and there, allow television etc) but pretty much everything I did as a first time mum i was told by certain people "just you wait for your second, you won't be so uptight about it all then!" Like there's no point even trying to do the healthy option because one day you might have another hypothetical baby who gets exposed to these things sooner?

Strangely enough, I probably still won't be spoon feeding meringue dessert to my six month old this time (was told how mean I was last time), but I don't think that makes me particularly extreme.

 

[Andypanda6570]

Not really advice but my MIL did advise me to sellotape DS ears down when he's sleeping to stop them sticking out

Oh Jesus That is SO funny...

 

[LoveCakes]

Oh and whiskey/ gin in her bottle to make her sleep

 

[AnneD]

You need to let her cry more.
Don't cuddle her or she'll get used to it.
Cloth nappies are bad for babies.
Breastmilk is bad for babies, formula is more nutritionally ballanced and has everything babies need in it.
Don't just feed her whenever she's hungry, make her wait.
Don't let her comfort suck, she'll have bad eating habits.
Depressed people shouldn't have kids.
Whisky on gums for teething.
Vodka in bottle to make her sleep.
Jars are the only way to wean. The only right way, of course.
Leave her upstairs for two hours when she is to have a nap.
Keep a newborn up all day to make her sleep through the night.
Get a childminder quick so she gets used to not being with you.
Get her exposed to norovirus, it's good for her immune system. (She was a week old, MIL had norovirus and was offended when I refused to visit.)
Give her MacDonald's to make her eat.
Effing rusks - first in a bottle, then as an excellent first food alongside jars.
Don't speak a foreign language to her, it'll slow down her development and she'll never understand or need it anyway.
Have you tried just putting her down and walking away?
Give her some black tea.

 

[cjwn]

"Breast milk is only nutritional for baby during the first six weeks - pointless after that."