angeline,
i've done wat u did. i attended MAH antenatal class n i had a few GFs who gave birth 2-3mths b4 me so i kinda hv some hands-on experience. watever my son's PD/GP or nurses from polyclinic teach me, i'll share wif my MIL.
after my son's 1st mth, she had lotsa funny ideas (i'll share these stories 1 by 1 later). i always share wif her wat the PD/GP advised. she always diam diam then probably followed my methods of caregiving unwillingly.
when gabe was abt 6mths old, my MIL became smart too. my MIL who came by 2 visit, said tat she watched tv recently n the tv news reported tat it's not gd for bbs 2 sleep face down. it's bad for their lungs, their lungs cant develop well. my MIL then insisted tat since it's reported in e news, i must follow. i scratched my head real hard n cant believe my ears.
a few days later, she bbsat gabe on 2 consecutive days for me cos i had attend some training sessions for my part-time job. on e 1st day, she stopped letting gabe sleep face down (gabe has been sleeping face down since he was 2mths+ so he wont feel frightened by noises). on tat day, gabe had many interrupted naps n was very cranky after i got home. i couldnt figure out e reason y n i called my MIL 2 ask her how did she care for gabe? i suspected she didnt put him 2 sleep face down so i asked her how she let gabe sleep. she said, "face up cos i told u face down not gd for bb's lungs". i wanna faint then.
on e 2nd day, when my MIL came over, b4 i left e hse, i told my MIL 2 let gabe sleep face down cos he sleeps much betta tis way, if not he gets cranky. my MIL nodded her head.
when i returned home, my MIL hung around 2 care for gabe while i prepare dinner. while preparing e dishes, i casually asked my MIL, "how long did he sleep 2day n did he sleep face down?" my MIL said, "he slept face down for abt 1hr+." after a few secs, i asked, "he slept 1hr+ on his back, tat's gd?" guess wat's my MIL response? my MIL happily burst out, "ya lor, he slept on his back, i didnt put him face down. he slept quite long hor..."
i smiled n said nicely 2 my MIL, "i tot u said he slept face down?" my MIL kept quiet n smiled bashfully. she knew i caught her lying AGAIN.
anyway, 2 ease her mind, i asked gabe's PD during his 6mth jab. his PD assured me tat there's no such thing as bb's lungs wont develop well. bb sleeping face down may face SIDS, tat's all. gabe's PD even said tat mayb my MIL heard or misinterpret wrongly.
tis is an example of my MIL lying 2 me numerous times ever since i gave birth. tis is also an example of her trying 2 b smart by quoting some tv reporting n some newspaper article.
another example was she quoting a newspaper article found in e evening gossipy chinese papers tat bbs shldnt bath late at nite. she said bbs who bath after 6pm will kenna feng-shi. i asked my mummy (who reads such papers every nite) if she has seen e article. my mummy said NO but it's true tat we shldnt let bb bath after 6pm. i then asked my MIL 2 produce e article, my MIL's response was "oh...it's a few wks ago, i dunno when liao"
again i scratched my head...i've been bathing gabe after 8pm for abt 2wks then my MIL suddenly said there's an article n e article was printed a few wks ago. if so, y didnt she tell me e moment e article is printed?
my mummy knows i listen 2 e PD/GP very much abt how 2 care of my son (she totally understands tat bbs r different from b4). so whenever she sees an article abt bbs, she'll cut it out for me n let me read, 2 let me xin fu kou fu...
i told my MIL 2 do it but guess wat she then said, "my chinese only up 2 pri3, i not very gd at reading chinese newspapers"
i wanna faint liao lor...if ur chinese not very gd, then how u read abt e article abt bbs getting feng-shi by bathing late?
i suspected tat she told her malaysian siblings tat gabe baths late n those aunties must hv told her tat it's no gd so she only stopped me from doing so after 2wks.
angeline,
u get e picture at wat my MIL is doing? she's following my method by getting advice from "professionals" but she cant get it from elsewhere except from tv reporting and/or newspapers. she knows tat i wont listen 2 her *ridiculous* advices so she has 2 "bluff" abt such things. how childish is she?
i not saying my MIL not gd but she juz seems 2 b rather difficult after i gave birth. b4 i gave birth, my MIL n i had an almost perfect relationship. i respected her, share stories wif her, buy stuff for her. my MIL never infringe into our married lives, cook bird nest for me once in a while. she was like e perfect MIL lor, other than her sarcastic remarks once in a while (which i easily ignored then). after i gave birth, i realised tat she's a hypocrite and a LIAR. how can i trust a liar n a hypocrite 2 care for my son?