to ask my sister to back off a little with DD?

[happygilmore]

I think I might be, so would appreciate some advice!

Spent the weekend with my sister who I get on very well with. She loves DD (6months) to bits but spent the whole weekend giving me handy hints about how to look after her. It got pretty annoying after a while, examples included:

• telling me to get her dressed upright as she would be happier
• telling me I'd put tights on her wrong (they were a bit scrunched up)
• telling me she had stomach ache as she'd not pooed today and to hold her upright (she seemed fine)
• telling me off because she didn't have any gloves
• telling me off for blw
• suggesting we give her cake, wotsits and skips (easy to suck you see)
• objecting to using a sling
• horror at fluff in her belly button (it is gross but we can't seem to get it out )
• telling me I need to sit her up on the sofa at home
• telling me I need to feed her baby rice

ad nauseam! All not a big deal on their own but after three days of it constantly I did start to scream a liitle inwardly...

She means really well and is the only relative I have who has helped me with DD, who you can tell she loves to bits. We are in many ways more like mum and daughter than sisters as there's a big age gap and she spent a lot of time looking after me due to absent parents. In the past I've just let her tell me what to do for an easy life, so I suppose it's an extension of that - despite being a mature adult with a responsible job and baby, I think she still thinks I'm 12!

Anyway, I wonder if I should tell her to back off a bit? I don't want to upset her though as she loves DD to bits and really does want to help in any way she can. Any advice please as I can see me losing my temper over something silly which isn't what I want at all.

Thanks all. It's not that all her advice is bad, there's just a lot of it if you know what I mean I've never really thought about how I get her dressed in the morning, just kind of do it without thinking about it to be honest.

happygilmore Wed 01-Dec-10 14:16:08

...For those that say just ignore, what do you say when you get asked "did you do that thing I suggested"? That's the bit I keep getting caught out on..

Now this is where you quote the health visitor/GP. Find something unique about your baby and play on it. For example, my DS couldn't be weaned as early as MIL wanted 'because of his reflux'. We can't give my DD chocolate buttons 'because you never know the after effects of the gestational diabetes'. None of these things were true...well not exactly.

If she's giving out of date advice (like sleeping on their front) then just point out that advice has changed...that way you're not saying she's wrong.

Phrases like, "Yes Gran, I wanted to give him a bottle of sugared water too but the doctor is dead set against it. What can you do, eh?" with a smile and a shrug, worked for me!