Oh mother!

This house is full of mothers these days.


Mom's mom, my Nannie is here visiting for three weeks.

My older sister Jenny swung in for a visit from St. Thomas with her youngest Averee.

My younger sister and brother came for a visit, as well as my oldest Fawn, and suddenly the place has become FULL of love, laughter, and, well.... a lot of noise.

Its also full of advice.  With this many mommas, the combined years of experience is staggering.  Everyone has ideas and suggestions for every single peep Amelia makes.  I'm finding it alternately very helpful, and reassuring when something I am worrying about gets explained to me, but also outrageously confusing.


The thing is, with motherhood spanning three different generations, the advice gets pretty varied.  You have a non-spanking sister contrasted with a nannie who believed a 4 month old baby will definitely deserve and understand a swat on the leg when she fusses.   I didn't know there were so many different ways to burp a baby and everyone has their own way of calming her down when she is screaming.   I do all the feedings and changings myself, so we are mostly advice free on the breastfeeding front, but the colic-like crying symptoms have brought out the most advice nuggets.  My sister swears her son's colic went away when she switched to formula instead of breast feeding.  My nannie says that when mom had colic, a bottle with a few ounces of rye, warmed with a bit of sugar put her right to sleep.

Yeah. Because you had a drunk baby.  I declined her offer to try this remedy, and I tried to do it respectfully, because in her days of motherhood, this type of thing was probably completely normal.  Besides, the important things remain the same over the years.  Every single momma here believes in unconditional love, soothing a baby when she cries, and the mommy-baby bond that is special like no other.  Its amazing to see how Amelia can somehow sense when she is in competent arms; she promptly falls right to sleep every time.

Love drunk, milk drunk, but not drunk-drunk.

Every generation of mothers has something that we all look back on, and judge, and agree was really really silly, if not downright dangerous.  We keep trying to give our babies a safer and healthier start to life and we do it with the best of intentions.   I wonder what mothering practice of our generation future mothers will look back on and say "God, that was DUMB.  What were they thinking? I won't be doing that!"