Don't you just love childless friends' theories about childrearing?

[emkana]

Male friend at weekend:
"The secret to having a calm, relaxed baby is not to be so stressed and uptight during pregnancy and early babyhood. Basically, you bring a cry-baby upon yourself."

Most annoying comment EVER came from my husband when dd was already one year old.

He was telling me about an ex-colleague who now works from home and said:
Can you believe, she works at home but she STILL pays for childcare - what does she need childcare for????

Footprint, my father asked that as well!

About working with the baby peacefully sleeping at the side of the desk... that could be me before having DS.

While pregnant I got one travel cot that fitted snuggly by my desk so I could have a good look at DS while I continued working in my dissertation. It was not long before I realised that what I needed was an extension in the lenght of the studies rather than a travel cot!!! specially after he weed on my documents!

I just remember another one: " We are going to get pregnant in XXXX (month) next because we want the baby to be born just before DH's takes his first job out of town after finishing his PhD"

Strong time management skills but clueless about the politics of conception...

Chandra
I once knew a woman whose sole purpose in wanting to fall pregnant was so she could take advanatage of 'free' healthcare on the NHS - depsite her having a huge nest egg saved up - before her husband finished his PhD and had to leave the country.

It had taken her a month to fall pregnant the first time.

This time? She isn't pregnant and running out of time fast.

'We' want to get pregnant. LOL. I'd LOVE it if my husband could fall pregnant - even if he could just share some of it. The weight gain, the aching joints and back, the acid reflux, the skin and hair changes, the mood swings . . .

I agree with your Expat, everytime DH starts the I want a new baby thing I just answer that as long as he carry him through pregnancy is fine with me.

P.S. She planned all that not because she wanted to use the NHS as they were moving within England anyway, but because she thought it would be nice to devote the first 6 months in the new city to take care of the baby while her DH was going out to work (nice time to be alone [sarcastic emoticon])

A childless friend who is a nurse was enquiring after my DS2 (age 3) recently, I was telling her about our latest trip to casualty, he had bumped his head. She said "You really should watch him a bit more closely at his age, just to be safe" , then explained that DS2 bumped his head whilst jumping up and down on his Daddy's knee, he fell forward and DH failed to catch him in time, you can't get much closer supervision than that.