Sunday, April 24, 2011

"Let Him Cry"

So we went to an Easter dinner at my father-in-law's house last night. It's the baby's first Easter and it was the first time he met a bunch of my father-in-law's friends. This past week we had gone to Vermont to visit my brother-in-law. We were talking about this trip with a few different people. They, of course, asked about how the baby did in the car for that long. I said, "He did great, and when he fussed, I went in the backseat with him to comfort and distract him." (All right, that's not word for word what I said, but that's the gist.)

Time after time, the response I got was, "Well, it's okay if he cries a little." Okay, I get that a few tears aren't going to kill my kid, but if my presence next to him helps him feel better and assuages some of those tears, why wouldn't I hop back there and help him out?

I spent the little time he was awake on the trip in the backseat playing with him, singing to him, even nursing him in the car seat (hello, back-breaker). Yes, it was exhausting, but I didn't become a parent so that I could ignore my baby when he needs me.

It's a three and a half hour drive to Vermont for us and we asked the baby to make the sacrifice of being strapped into a car seat limiting his movement and vision for all the time. Isn't it my job to help my child with the difficult things I ask him to do?

5 comments:

  1. One of my favorite slogans is that "for some people babies are just an accessory to their life." People like you and I don't feel that way. We're willing to making back breaking sacrifices to help our children be happy. (Ponchaby from BCC)

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  2. exactly! i wasn't expecting my baby to be convenient...from his breech position to my water breaking at 3 am, he ignored what i wanted from the beginning!

    he needs love and affection, not to be ignored in a dark scary car.

    ps, i had to nurse him in the car on the way home from the party too!

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  3. LOL - I have TOTALLY breastfed the kiddos when they were babes in their carseats.....totally ackward and uncomfortable. You do whatcha gotta do ;)

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  4. the things we do for our kids, mary!

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  5. Gurrr, I hate this comment! Of course I am going to go and attend to my baby if she is crying! It may take a min, but I am getting there ASAP. I am not going to let her cry because its "good for her". If anything, she is crying because I am super slow at making it to her or she is super good at whining :)

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