Baby Cruelty???

A Dollar’s Worth

By Alisa Dollar

In the last several months I’ve helped with baby showers. During this time I realized my two were mistreated as newborns.

The most newfangled thing I used with son was an absolutely amazing creation called disposable diapers. Wear, wet, dispose!

They were expensive, but I’d figured out to the penny I saved by not having to use hot water, bleach; wash again and rinse in smell good stuff; then the dryer.

<Whew> makes me tired even now to think about that.

I had baby showers given me and received many useful items.

It seems to be a trend these days to find the best, creative and (I think) most outrageous gifts.

You know you’re a nana when you ask “And this is......” hesitating just long enough for another younger mom to squeal “I got one of those and my little darling just loved it!”

If pregnant mom hadn’t declared she was having a boy and this ‘thing’ was pink rather than blue, I’d have sworn it was a re-gift. I would’ve on the grounds it was ugly, looked evil enough for baby to have nightmares, and it squeaked way too loudly.  I turned it all around and upside down and decided pacifiers should still be in style.

If that wasn’t interesting enough, new mom-to-be opened a water pail in several graduated layers of primary colors. My first thought was this baby isn’t even born and couldn’t play in sand until next summer.

Before I could ask, another new mommy clapped her hands while in a sing-song voice said “You’ll love that!”

I for one was hanging on her every word. I wanted to know what it was.

Finally she added baby’s head would be so much easier to wash and rinse because of all the storage areas to release at a given time.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or feel guilty and I remembered I must have been before my time because I used a set of primary color cups lined side by side. I could’ve invented that bucket!

There’s all sorts of new swings, rattles, and bottles. I think my favorite is the potty in pink or blue that sings if something is released to the potty. It sings different songs for the different releases.

I can just hear these kids in school years later hollering “It won’t sing and I’m done!”

What’s wrong with the old ways?