My Baby is Cuter than Your Baby!

[Aria]

Have you guys ever encountered new mothers who think their baby is OMG ADORABLE? And are very competitive about it?

My first sister has three kids. Her third is the newest, only six months old or so, and he is OMG adorable. He smiles constantly and his cry is not at all piercing, when he's upset. And he knows when people are paying attention to him... he's a little ham, always smiling for the camera. And he has dimples. We think she should enter him in contests.

My other sister just had her first baby, about three months old. She's cute, don't get me wrong. But she's... drooly. Very damp. And she does look like her dad, which, alas, is not that great a look in an infant. But my sister thinks she's BETTER THAN ANY OTHER BABY! If someone compliments my first sister's baby, well, they just didn't see HER BABY! (she said this) And her baby sits up better than that baby, her baby is so well-behaved...

I was talking to my first sister and I was a like, "I know I shouldn't say it to her but your baby is WAY cuter." My first sister was all, "Aw, thanks! But definitely don't say that. Don't poke the dragon."

It's actually kind of funny, actually, hearing my second sister go on about how her baby is perfect...

[mathnerd]

There's an old proverb. I forget exactly how it's phrased or which country it originates it, but paraphrasing as best as I can remember: "There's only one cutest baby in the world. And every mother has him."

We're hardwired to think our own offspring are the best ever. It's part of how nature ensures the survival of the species.

[AnaKhouri]

I tire easily of the competitive moms (and grandmas). Yes, my kids are cute. Yes, they are smart. Yes, they are curious and creative. But they still do stupid shit like try to take off their pants without taking off their shoes, or licking the floor at the library.

I know my kids are awesome. I don't feel the need to brag all over about it. My mom sure does though.

[taxguykarl]

The best comment on babies came from Winston Churchill who supposedly quipped that newborns all look like him.

[April]

So many moms are so competitive about their kids. If it's not the cuteness factor it's everything else. "Oh, your baby started walking at 10 months? MINE started walking at 8 months. Precious is just SO advanced" "Your baby got her first tooth at 4 months? MINE was born with a tooth. She started early. Just like in everything else"

No matter what, their baby is smarter, cuter, and more advanced than every other baby out there. I just avoid those parents. It gets worse when they have mommy causes. Only their way to raise a baby is right. Bottle feeders are disgusting and poisoning their baby. People who start solids before 6 months are awful parents who are making their kids obese. You can only use cloth diapers or else you are horrible. Etc etc etc.

I've tried to opt out of the mommy wars. My kids are alive and healthy. they have their strong traits and their weak traits. Just like all of us. I love them for who they are, not for what brand of diapers I had them in as a kid, or for how "perfect" they can be

[AnaKhouri]

Ugh, I hate the mommy wars. Stay at home, go to work, preschool, no preschool, breastfeed, bottle feed, organic or mac & cheese...I don't give a shit what other parents do short of abuse. If your child survives to adulthood, you're doing well.

And for the 'my baby is the best' people...I like to ask them if Professor Xavier has contacted them about educational opportunities yet. Well, I would if I weren't so chicken, anyway.

[Kogarashi]

I hate the mommy wars. Especially since most topics are really subjective, or not definitively and provably better one way or the other. Most just boil down to personal preference, and it bugs me when I hear certain moms claiming that other moms who disagree with them are actively harming their children.

I know my kids are awesome. I don't feel the need to brag all over about it. My mom sure does though.

I'm with you there. My MIL keeps telling me I should get my girls modeling gigs to pay for their future college education. Sure, they're cute (and I think at least one of them might actually do really well at child modeling). But 1. I'm too lazy, B. I don't want to be that mom or feel like I'm exploiting my children (or allowing others to exploit them), and Third, I try hard to keep my kids untrackable on the internet. I don't need to go shoving their faces out in public after all that work.

The best comment on babies came from Winston Churchill who supposedly quipped that newborns all look like him.

Everything I've found says Edward R Murrow said that. But yeah. It's one of my husband's favorite quotes.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I love this movie scene where the mothers are comparing their children, and the subsequent comment about cavier.

[WishfulSpirit]

Lots of moms sublimate the normal struggles of working (and thus feeling like they aren't there for their kids enough) or not working (and missing having a career) by pouring all their energies into having the BEST kids. It's an ego-defense mechanism against feelings of inadequacy. I feel sorry for those types. If you have to live vicariously through your kids, you obviously don't feel you've accomplished as much as you'd like in your own life. It can also be bad for the kids who have to either live up to being "the best" when they know they aren't the best at everything (nobody is) or who believe their own PR and then turn into EWs.

[Kanalah]

I don't do the mommy wars either. Ugh. Neither of my kids are nuerotypical (autism and ADHD) so I guess I get a pass.

What I hated was the other parents thinking my kids are contagious. Or that they shouldn't be allowed out in public because they're " weird". *sigh* whatever.