I don’t mean I ‘accidently’ had a child because believe it or not, despite the stress and sleepless nights, that was actually a deliberate decision! No, I am talking about a book I’ve been reading: The Baby Whisperer solves all your problems. Firstly, the title itself has far too huge a claim for my liking – so once she’s got my baby sleeping through the night and gurgling through the day will she then set to work on fixing the hot water in my shower or put my spine back into it’s pre pregnancy position? No? Then perhaps it should be entitled ‘The Baby Whisperer attempts to solve specific problems related to your baby, as long as said baby is fairly conventional and has textbook issues’! Probably wouldn’t sell quite so many copies though!
Now before I begin my rant, I have to say that my annoyingly analytical brain has actually found this book quite helpful. It just seems a little hard to believe that although the World is full of amazingly unique people with an array of weird and wonderful personalities that every single baby can conform to the exact same routine and be soothed by exactly the same techniques?!? Sorry, Ms Baby Whisperer but I just don’t buy it!
My particular reason for wanting to throw this book across the room tonight is due to the following: my lovely daughter still does not sleep through the night, far from it, in fact she wakes quite a few times – sometimes wanting feeding and other times just wanting a cuddle. So having got back into bed after cuddling Roxy back to sleep I read that this is what the Baby Whisperer calls ‘accidental parenting’!! Apparently by cuddling her back to sleep I have created a bad habit and now she will be unable to settle without me! But surely she’s too young yet to have mastered the subtle art of manipulation so if she’s crying because she needs a cuddle then perhaps she just needs a cuddle!!?!? And aren’t I then actually being a good parent by responding to her needs! And what’s the alternative? That she cries – I’ve already been told in a previous chapter that babies who are left to cry will be psychologically scarred for life so I can’t really win!
On that note I can hear Roxy calling for her accidental parent so I best go and accidently help her get back to sleep!!
wheredidthatdaygo 