Baby crazies

My sister-in-law is currently very pregnant and potentially starting labor (my bil Facebook status would seem to imply but not clearly...) and the baby was obviously a huge subject of discussion during Christmas.

I'm hard pressed to think of a subject that makes people wackier than babies. In one sense, it's understandable that people have strong opinions: we're talking about long term repercussions for what you do. On the other: have you lost your mind?

For my sister-in-law there are the usual conflicts between generations:
• my husband's grandmother and mother drank (occasionally) during their pregnancies, whereas my sil will only take a sip of champagne for the entire meal, and the family feels the need to encourage my sil to drink more
• my sil can't imagine giving birth without an epidural, my mil seems shocked by the idea

But then there are other conflicts. My sister and brother in law obviously won't raise their child the same way my in-laws raised my husband and his brother, but in my opinion my sil shoots herself in the foot each time she explains her opinion by saying "I read in a book". No woman who's raised children is going to buy your argument because you read it in a book, even if it really is a better idea.

My sil is also Jewish and plans on circumcising her son, though parts of my husband's family are against it. There will also be the traditional Jewish celebration 8 days after the birth, but it's unknown whether the paternal grandparents will be welcome.

Here are some other 'crazy' things heard recently:
• baby weight comes off quickly and easily (said by mil)
• babies sleep through the night by 3 months (said by sil)
• babies shouldn't sleep the night in a place not their home before 4 or 5 months, so you can't travel with them before then (said by sil)

Now of course, it is possible for a woman to quickly find her figure again, and some babies sleep well through the night, and some babies might be confused by travel. But Hollywood moms look that way because they have personal trainers, a lot of babies keep their parents guessing for months on end by sleeping well some nights but not others, and tons of babies travel for baptisms/weddings/fill in blank and grow up just fine.

One of my bil's Christmas gifts was a guide on how to be a good dad. Here are some of the gems I found while leafing through:
• Make several resolutions as a new dad: no more sports on tv, no more daily work-outs, no more video games
• You can furnish your child's room with used furniture if the budget is tight, but for the birth of my twins I bought all new things because I wanted the best for them
• Jewelry is a common gift for your wife when she gives birth, but the current trendy gift is a weekend away at an expensive spa for her to help feel pampered and beautiful

This last tip (plus my sil talking about how she'd given up getting jewelry for the birth in order to pay for their sick dog) lead me to discover the craziest of all baby things: push presents.

Yes, there are lots of couples that buy diamonds as a reward for the woman going through 9 months of pregnancy and giving birth. All the articles, forums, and blogs I've read go more or less like this: "I saw my friend with some fancy new jewelry and she told me it was her push present. I told my husband about it and he was against it, but in the end I convinced him to buy me fill-in-blank. He gave the jewelry to me right in the delivery room."

In the end, it's important for my brother and sister in law to do as they see fit. It's not always easy to ignore imposing family members or busy bodies though and lots of smiling and nodding is required.

So here are two good phrases in French to bring just about any discussion/argument to a close, whether they be about (your) babies or anything else:
"C'est pas faux"
"Oh tu sais, moi..."