Babywearing Moms New Pain in Motrin's Side

re: Babywearing Moms New Pain in Motrin's Side

Melissa — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:25:19 GMT

First there were breastfeeding extremists, now there are baby wearing extremists... it's nuts. I "wore" my baby for a few months. Once he could sit up, I was done. He was too heavy. And there's no way I'm carrying a walking child on my back. That's what strollers are for.

What's the big deal? It is such a short period of time in your (and the child's) life. The child will grow up happy either way.

re: Babywearing Moms New Pain in Motrin's Side

gpgirl — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:25:35 GMT

btw, sorry for the poor grammar/typos.

re: Babywearing Moms New Pain in Motrin's Side

gpgirl — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:07:33 GMT

Fiona, I tried so many baby carriers. I finally settled on the Ergo, which gave me the least pain, but it still was not pain-free. I had a very large baby, and I am pretty small, so maybe it was a size issue. But that ibuprofen really came in handy, and I have no long-lasting effects from the baby-wearing.

Like Mike says, do we really think there are parents who won't use a carrier because of this ad?

I used a carrier because it made my life so much easier. I never though much about the bonding, etc. that the attachment parenting people talk about. Sometimes I feel we take things that make our lives easier as parents and turn it into a movement. Then, when someone says anything that is not totally for this movement (as some people see in this ad) and it becomes a big deal. Is it that we think that if we say we do something for our own convenience, that makes us look like selfish parents?

I know I am getting a little off-topic, but maybe someone can help me with this.

re: Babywearing Moms New Pain in Motrin's Side

Fiona — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:26:55 GMT

I have two problems with the ad. The first (and more minor) is that the tone is condescending and implies that babywearing is all about fashion.

The second is that it suggests that pain from babywearing is an acceptable part of motherhood, and that a painkiller is the answer, when if you are having regular pain from your baby carrier, it's probably actually causing harm and a masking the symptoms will allow you to damage your body more.

re: Babywearing Moms New Pain in Motrin's Side

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:06:45 GMT

Motrin scared me away from carrying my child. If I didn't take my parenting advice from 30-second commercials from the pharmaceutical industry, I don't know how I'd make it.

re: Babywearing Moms New Pain in Motrin's Side

Adventures In Babywearing — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:29:16 GMT

I personally didn't like the tone of the ad. I also am a babywearer & blog about babywearing so it's important to me that Moms & Dads do wear their babies in a way that does not cause them pain. I can see how the ad might upset some Moms and I can also see how Motrin did not intend to offend in any way. I just wish they would have consulted with an experienced babywearing Mom first. Maybe they did? But I really doubt it.

Steph

re: Babywearing Moms New Pain in Motrin's Side

gpgirl — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:40:11 GMT

OK, I finally found the ad on Youtube. (Motrin took it off of its site.) I really did not find it offensive at all. Wow, it actually said that mom should think about her own pain for a minute - what a concept! Can someone out there please explain why this is offensive.

re: Babywearing Moms New Pain in Motrin's Side

gpgirl — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:37:12 GMT

I agree that the moms complaining about Motrin are being condescending. Why do people think they need to make things look super easy for us to want to do them? I used a carried when my son was an infant, and it gave me a lot of freedom. However, it also gave me a lot of pain, and I took ibuprofen on a regular basis.

This also reminds me of when I was pregnant and took a class on breastfeeding. They made it look so easy, and told us all how natural it all is. When I had my son and had such a hard time, I thought I should give up because I obviously was way too stupid to nurse. However, after talking to other moms, I realized that a lot of women had trouble nursing, and had to really put an effort to learn how to do it. I really think it is better to let parents know what could go wrong, so they don't feel totally incompetent when things don't go perfectly.