Mommy Snob

The other day I was in line at the grocery store. Behind me was a woman pushing a stroller. In the stroller was a baby, maybe a bit older than Solomon. He was wailing to beat the band. The Mommy repositioned the bottle that was propped up by blankets. Her baby continued to cry while she proceeded to unload her cart. I instantly snapped to judgment. In my head I was telling her to forget the groceries for a moment and pick up her baby. All the while I was thinking, “poor baby”. Then it hit me. I’m a Mommy Snob. Just who do I think I am to tell another Mommy what’s right for her and her baby. It’s hard to give up, being judgmental by nature. If I can take any lesson, it is the one I was about to lay upon my friend mentioned earlier: you have to decide for yourself. I read tons of literature about parenting infants while I was pregnant. There are smart, well-adjusted people out there who believe in letting a baby cry as part of training the child to self-soothe and fit into the parents’ routine. It seems barbaric to me, as I would no sooner let Solomon continue crying while I was capable of providing comfort than I would any other person. Solomon’s only way to tell me he needs help is to cry. As humans, how often do we ignore our loved ones when they are in pain or need? I know I do it more often than I care to admit. For Solomon and me, I believe that there are better ways of teaching. This I say as he has been napping on my lap for the past 45 minutes because I was unable to get him to sleep in his crib.