This is more of a vent and I guess it isn’t constant but it really feels like it right now.
My MIL is a full blown hippy. She recently told me she likes a mix of eastern and western medicine but I’ve realized it’s more of a DIY method with herbs, then she’ll go to an eastern or homeopathic practitioner, then when that inevitably doesn’t work she sees a doctor. Last weekend she told me she was getting really into medical herbs and she’s making her own dandelion tea from dandelions she picks. I told her I wasn’t really into that and I wasn’t going to consume dandelions from my yard or anywhere I found them because of dog pee 🫠. I’ve also overheard her giving her mom a recipe for homemade antibiotics.
Unfortunately my 6 month old LO has broken out in a full body rash this week (right after MIL left). I’m trying to get to the root cause of it (we think CMPA) but also making adjustments to other possible skin irritants.
Stupid me posted a reel on insta and forgot to select that I didn’t want it on FB. That’s usually my tried and true method of posting if I don’t want MIL commentary. Now my MIL is barraging me with “advice”. She’s sent three different eastern medicine remedies in under 2 hours. Two after I told her our plan. One remedy is not recommended by dermatologist due to no evidence of it being helpful and possible allergic reactions. Another is in his current baby lotion that we’re phasing out because it’s just not cutting it. The third I do not even have the energy to look into.
I swear she lives to give unsolicited advice. When we were struggling with infertility she told us we should use herbs, tinctures, teas, “fertility boosting crystals”, and acupuncture (a specific clinic an hour away from us). I did end up doing acupuncture (closer to our home) and it did absolutely nothing. I even combined it with IVF and at best it did absolutely nothing, at worst it hampered our results. Our ER without acupuncture got more mature eggs and more euploid embryos. I asked my husband to tell her after many messages with “advice” that it was actually causing more mental distress than it was actually helping and she laid off just until I got pregnant. She sent a few “remedies” for me while I was pregnant, but now that LO is here I need it to stop again. I had already asked him to have a talk with her, so he either didn’t talk to her or she ignored him. I specifically remember asking him after she told me I needed to “earth” my baby so he won’t be fussy. My relatively chill little dude who my FIL and step MIL say is such an easy fun loving baby. If your unaware like I was, “earthing” is the practice of transferring the electrons in the earth to your baby with skin to bare earth contact. She suggested this is a December rain storm when LO was two months old and said I should do topless skin to skin with him in just a diaper on the grass in our backyard, that was covered in dog poop. Can’t make this up.
Send me the wacky advice your MIL gives you. I need a laugh after I have yet another talk with my husband and me not wanting to hear medical advice not advised by actual medical professionals.