With alllllllllllll that being said, I do have a bone to pick with a few Bitter Betties in the nursery at the YMCA where I work out. Every damn time I take Christian to the nursery at the Y, they have something to say about the way I parent him or his behavior. It would be different if he was a horribly behaved toddler who ran through the nursery stealing toys and boppin' other kids upside the head. BUT HE'S NOT! HE'S A BABY!
Here are a list of different incedences:
1) I was informed that, "We don't try to hold the babies unless we have to..." "Really? Why?", I asked (thinking it might have something to do with a liability issue...) "Because we don't want to spoil them", was the reply I received. My thoughts? It is YOUR JOB to spoil my kid for AN HOUR AND A HALF or LESS so that I can work off this baby weight which YOU have so obviously NOT worked off! (Even though your kids are 45...)
2) One day I received several snide looks when Christian was dressed in a onsie that said "I am boob man". When I told the nursery woman that it was ok to give him milk if he got hungry, she asked, "When was the last time he ate?" "It really doesn't matter. He's not on a feeding schedule since he nurses", I answered. "Oh. (humph) That's why he's wearing that shirt..." My thoughts? Why the hell else would he be wearing that shirt???? Are you dense? Do you think that I dress my kid in a onsie that says, "I am boob man" because he has a sexual attraction to women with large breasts???? HE'S A BABY, YOU WEIRDO! Ugh...
3) Christian likes to squeal. He just does. Ever since he found his vocal cords (at birth), he likes to exercise them. He's not unhappy when he squeals...he's excited! When he plays with a toy that is highly amusing, he squeals at it! It's what he does. HE'S A BABY! So when I come in to pick him up from the nursery, the last thing I want to hear is how "Next time we're gonna bring our ear plugs..." My thoughts? Maybe you should remove your earplugs from your (I'll let you fill in the blank. It'll be like Mad Libs...)
4) Apparently no child is equipped for life without a dadgum paci. Except you wanna know what my kid does with a paci????? He spits it out. But according to the nursery women, my child would fare much better with a paci. So "next time you need to bring a paci"...GUESS WHAT? NOT ALL BABIES LIKE PACIS! MAYBE just MAYBE if you'd PICK HIM UP AND PLAY WITH HIM, HE WOULDN'T CRY! Just a suggestion...
5) Even Ken has gone in there to make sure I wasn't exaggerating...hey! I've been known to exaggerate every now and again...shocking, right? And do you know what they said to him? They said, "You must spoil your baby." To which he replied, "Yes. Yes, I do. It's my honor and privilege to spoil and love and hold that baby every chance I get. And if you don't want to spoil my kid for an hour, you're in the wrong business."
With all these incedents, I'm sure you're wondering if I've said anything to management. And yes. Yes, I have. But it doesn't do a lick of good! Nothing changes...
These horribly bitter old ladies remind me of the mean ole' elephants in Dumbo...remember how mean they were? They were mean because they were jealous or scared or intimidated. And I think the ladies in the nursery are just plain old bitter.
I had issues with a nursery (at a church) when Cooper was a baby, but my problem was the opposite. I formula fed Coop and kept him on a pretty tight schedule. I would feed him right before we left for church and then tell the nursery workers that, yes, there is formula in his bag, but please don't feed him. He just ate and I know he's not hungry. He did take a paci, but I guess that didn't matter to them. We would pick him up and they would say, "Oh, he was a little fussy so we made him a bottle but he wouldn't eat it." It would make me so mad because formula is expensive and the bottle had been sitting out too long to save. Furthermore, all they had to do if he was fussy was actually pick him up for a minute. Or give him his paci. Anything but just leave him laying there in a crib or whatever. So annoying. I did speak to someone about that and the problem was eventually fixed. But not before I overheard a nursery working saying about my semi-fussy baby, "Oh, his mom won't let us feed him, so I guess he'll just have to cry" in a snotty voice. Makes me mad thinking about it now all these years later. I guess that no matter what the situation, sometimes in life you just encounter people like that :-( Hope you can work everything out...or find a new gym soon!
ReplyDeleteUgh I don't even have a baby and this pisses me off. I would demand a refund on my membership and go elsewhere. They are there to sit while the parent has 'free' time, not nag and nit pick. What has this world come to? I agree....they remind me of the mean elephants in Dumbo too. Stupid ole' ladies. Sorry you have to experience that.
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