Mars and Venus
There are definite differences in Hubbs' and my parenting styles. Namely - he's a guy and I'm a momma bear. Here are some examples:
Feeding Baby L
Hubbs: will only feed her if she makes overt signs to tell you she's hungry
Me: will feed her any time she begins to fuss (hence overweight baby)
Hubbs: will feed her in any way that allows her to eat and allows him to continue to do whatever he's doing
Me: will only feed her in a cradled position, ensuring that her head is appropriately elevated relative to the rest of her body (but her chin is tilted upwards and not against her chest)
Holding Baby L
Hubbs: will hold her in any way that doesn't cause her to cry and allows him to continue to do whatever he's doing
Me: will only hold her in cuddly positions, mindful of the placement of her hips, legs, back and neck to avoid future neck/back problems
Hubbs: will hold her with one arm
Me: two arms except when she's in a sling or I'm only taking the arm away for like 2 seconds
Dribble on Baby L's Chin
Hubbs: wipes off with his fingers, which are then wiped on his jeans
Me: "Can you please get me a warm clean washcloth?!?" followed by gentle cleansing of the face and neck
Burping Baby L
Hubbs: will burp her until he's too tired or "it's good enough"
Me: will burp her until her lips move like Homer Simpson's and there is an audible, shockingly loud belch
Hubbs: will smack her back vigorously (my mom-in-law might even say violently) until she burps
Me: will gently pat at her back and bottom with a steady rhythmic motion in hopes of triggering burps
Pacifiers
Hubbs: will use it when she's fussy and doesn't need to eat
Me: avoids it like the plague and will often not even consider it an option, literally forgetting about it
Diaper Changes
Hubbs: will not cringe (and will in fact be sort of proud) when Baby L does a massive gross number 2
Me: will call in reinforcements if I even suspect a poop, grossed out by the nasty yellowy-brown of it
Hubbs: will wipe until there's no visible trace of poop
Me: will wipe until she's clean, and then do two more thorough wipe-downs for good measure
Hubbs: will not wipe Baby L after a pee
Me: will wipe her, front and back, after every diaper change
Hubbs: will boldly change her on the change table bare-assed
Me: will line the change table with paper towel and position a new diaper beneath the old one before attempting the removal of the soiled one
Bathing Baby L
Hubbs: will initiate bathing procedures if Baby L begins to stink
Me: will bathe Baby L every other day (and every day if I can sneak it in)
Changing Baby L's clothes
Hubbs: will change her clothes if she begins to stink or there has been a #1/#2 accident
Me: will change her clothes daily, at minimum
Playing with Baby L
Hubbs: will do whatever amuses him and her
Me: will try to figure out the most stimulating and educational things to do with Baby L (hence the black-white contrast images posted in her playard and on my nursing recliner, and strategically-placed dangly toys on her activity mat)
Hubbs: will utter nonsensical things to Baby L
Me: will try to converse with her in two languages (English and Cantonese), alternating between them as I narrate every activity we're doing together
Hubbs: considers napping with Baby L as play time
Me: does not
And that's just the beginning. We're so different, but I'm so thankful that we bring balance to each other's approaches so that Baby L gets the best of both worlds, though in my humble opinion, mine's probably better by a slight edge ;) !
Feeding Baby L
Hubbs: will only feed her if she makes overt signs to tell you she's hungry
Me: will feed her any time she begins to fuss (hence overweight baby)
Hubbs: will feed her in any way that allows her to eat and allows him to continue to do whatever he's doing
Me: will only feed her in a cradled position, ensuring that her head is appropriately elevated relative to the rest of her body (but her chin is tilted upwards and not against her chest)
Holding Baby L
Hubbs: will hold her in any way that doesn't cause her to cry and allows him to continue to do whatever he's doing
Me: will only hold her in cuddly positions, mindful of the placement of her hips, legs, back and neck to avoid future neck/back problems
Hubbs: will hold her with one arm
Me: two arms except when she's in a sling or I'm only taking the arm away for like 2 seconds
Dribble on Baby L's Chin
Hubbs: wipes off with his fingers, which are then wiped on his jeans
Me: "Can you please get me a warm clean washcloth?!?" followed by gentle cleansing of the face and neck
Burping Baby L
Hubbs: will burp her until he's too tired or "it's good enough"
Me: will burp her until her lips move like Homer Simpson's and there is an audible, shockingly loud belch
Hubbs: will smack her back vigorously (my mom-in-law might even say violently) until she burps
Me: will gently pat at her back and bottom with a steady rhythmic motion in hopes of triggering burps
Pacifiers
Hubbs: will use it when she's fussy and doesn't need to eat
Me: avoids it like the plague and will often not even consider it an option, literally forgetting about it
Diaper Changes
Hubbs: will not cringe (and will in fact be sort of proud) when Baby L does a massive gross number 2
Me: will call in reinforcements if I even suspect a poop, grossed out by the nasty yellowy-brown of it
Hubbs: will wipe until there's no visible trace of poop
Me: will wipe until she's clean, and then do two more thorough wipe-downs for good measure
Hubbs: will not wipe Baby L after a pee
Me: will wipe her, front and back, after every diaper change
Hubbs: will boldly change her on the change table bare-assed
Me: will line the change table with paper towel and position a new diaper beneath the old one before attempting the removal of the soiled one
Bathing Baby L
Hubbs: will initiate bathing procedures if Baby L begins to stink
Me: will bathe Baby L every other day (and every day if I can sneak it in)
Changing Baby L's clothes
Hubbs: will change her clothes if she begins to stink or there has been a #1/#2 accident
Me: will change her clothes daily, at minimum
Playing with Baby L
Hubbs: will do whatever amuses him and her
Me: will try to figure out the most stimulating and educational things to do with Baby L (hence the black-white contrast images posted in her playard and on my nursing recliner, and strategically-placed dangly toys on her activity mat)
Hubbs: will utter nonsensical things to Baby L
Me: will try to converse with her in two languages (English and Cantonese), alternating between them as I narrate every activity we're doing together
Hubbs: considers napping with Baby L as play time
Me: does not
And that's just the beginning. We're so different, but I'm so thankful that we bring balance to each other's approaches so that Baby L gets the best of both worlds, though in my humble opinion, mine's probably better by a slight edge ;) !
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