# Enough with the baby. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 14, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901 "2008-10-14T17:23:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/41 "2008-10-14T23:20:06Z")
Aw, wookit [the little babies](http://www.purplepen.net/uploaded_images/augustpiggies-732816.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/42 "2008-10-14T23:39:29Z")
Are those bats? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/43 "2008-10-14T23:39:48Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] **rockle** , it never occurred to me before that co-workers would appreciate me not being overly interested in their kids. Thanks for the new perspective. [/QUOTE] Well, I may not necessarily be the best spokesmodel for the organization, either; I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a _strange specimen_. I tend to habitually overshare, so when we were trying to _have_ the baby, everybody knew about the doctors and the specialists and the tests and the collapsed vein and the whatever-the-hell. I was _obsessed_ with having a baby, and _everyone knew it_. I wanted to be able to whip out my First Poop / First Tooth / First Haircut / First Hangnail pictures. But now that we have the baby (we’ve adopted), I feel so … _ignored_. Maybe things would be different if I had given birth, but as it is, I just wish people would recognize that I did not stop being me when I became _mom_-me. _I’m still the same person_. I still have daydreams about pushing my boss down the elevator shaft and photocopying my boobs and licking the mail room guy. _You know?_ That hasn’t changed. So, like I said … maybe I am not the best representative of the co-worker-mom subspecies. It’s not that I don’t adore my daughter; I just want to try to remain professional as much as possible. (Which I why I don’t _actually_ lick the mail room guy, even though he looks _delicious_.) Maybe I already got the annoying part out of my system? ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/44 "2008-10-14T23:56:15Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > Well, I may not necessarily be the best spokesmodel for the organization, either; I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a _strange specimen_. I tend to habitually overshare, so when we were trying to _have_ the baby, everybody knew about the doctors and the specialists and the tests and the collapsed vein and the whatever-the-hell. I was _obsessed_ with having a baby, and _everyone knew it_. I wanted to be able to whip out my First Poop / First Tooth / First Haircut / First Hangnail pictures. yes, fantasies are nice, no? > [@](#): > > But now that we have the baby (we’ve adopted), I feel so … _ignored_. Maybe things would be different if I had given birth, but as it is, I just wish people would recognize that I did not stop being me when I became _mom_-me. _I’m still the same person_. I still have daydreams about pushing my boss down the elevator shaft and photocopying my boobs and licking the mail room guy. _You know?_ That hasn’t changed. Welcome to[del] mother hell[/del] motherhood, dear. You can join all of us on the back benches. We don’t matter, UNTIL said kidlet does something wrong. Their mistakes and sins are all ours, baby. My favorite anecdote re this hell was when #1 son was ill. He was about 18 months old; took him to the doctor; diagnosed an ear infection. #1 son distinguished himself by always getting a high fever with any illness. He was scorching hot while I waited at the pharmacy for his Amoxicillin (with a 3 year old in tow, mind you). #1 son proceeded to throw up all over me–my hair, my coat, my purse etc. (one good thing, I did get to jump the line). When I told my mother this story, her reply was, “oh, poor baby boy! I hope he’s better.” Mother hell. Start hiding your chocolate in the freezer now–someday soon Daughter will want whatever is in your mouth, no matter what it is… Re the pets. God in heaven–spare me the pics of your pets. That’s nice that you have a great dog. I’m happy for you. And your cat brings you sublime joy Wonderful. I am even less interested in non-human companionship than I am in children. And the Pet People are not limited to Pet Threads or emails. No, I get to see pics of Fluffy and Windsor as often as I get pics of Amos and Imogene. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/45 "2008-10-15T00:02:29Z")
OMG, the albums. Somebody forced me to look at their baby’s album recently. I don’t have to, but to remain polite, I try to flip through them as fast as possible before I send them away. In the spring one of our temps brought in her wedding album, even though nobody asked. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/46 "2008-10-15T01:05:45Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Are those bats? :eek: Guinea pigs, I think. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/47 "2008-10-15T01:09:39Z")
Oh, god. I’m so paranoid about this. My little girl is less than a year old, and of course her father and I think every little thing she does is the MOST ADORABLE THING EVAR!!11!! but I constantly have to remind myself that we are truly the only people in the world who feel that way. We do our best to keep the gushing confined to when it’s just the two of us. And the only people who get emailed the occasional picture are the grandparents, the aunt, and the great-grandmother. I don’t even send pics to my girlfriend who had a baby about a month before I did, who is in the same boat I am. But I admit when we do talk, it’s such a relief to let all the “baby-talk” out, since all our other mutual friends are child-free. It’s nice to let the guard down. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/48 "2008-10-15T01:37:03Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > Serious question: I am also a fairly new mom. My parents and in-laws are local to me, but my sisters and both our extended families are “away” (we’re in PA – they’re in Chicago and points west). I have a blog, where I post pictures of the toddler, but I don’t pimp it all the time. It only gets mentioned when people _specifically_ ask for pictures (I do not carry photos of anyone or anything in my purse for fear they will get lost and I will suddenly develop Alzheimer’s and forget who is what). I keep two pics on my desk, and a dozen or so as a screen saver. Is _that_ annoying? > > I am _seriously_ asking because I am desperately trying to avoid becoming **That Parent**. Also: _Will you be my friend_? Because exactly _none_ of my pre-baby friends are still childless, and all they ever want to do is talk about their kids. And … _I sort of sometimes hate other people’s children_. I just want to have a drink and watch the game and let my mother babysit once in a while. > > Sorry to ruin a perfectly good rant with a General Question. You are the Poster Child for Perfect Moms! I too love my kids, but not so much everyone else’s 😃 > [@batsto](#): > > …This is almost as bad as the people here who seem to think we’re interested in pictures of their pets… > [@corkboard](#): > > **batsto** - just so you don’t think this little gem slipped by unnoticed, _word_. > [@Equipoise](#): > > …That’s kinda not fair though, since generally people only post pet pictures in pet threads, and others do ask for them if pictures aren’t provided. Pet threads are easily avoided, as is clicking on the link that leads to the picture, so I don’t know what your problem is. What Equipoise said. I don’t mind pictures of anything. I post my pets sometimes, and the occasional video too. As long as the thread is marked, I don’t understand the little dig… unless it’s random photos inserted in unexpected places? ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/49 "2008-10-15T01:48:08Z")
It’s not like the threads here have embedded pictures. You do have to click links to see any pictures. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/50 "2008-10-15T01:56:34Z")
Thank you all for your sage advice and words of wisdom, _seriously_. I am a paranoid schizophrenic lunatic crazy person, but: _I am not alone._ And, I am not _nearly_ the worst of the bunch, evidently. Which is either reassuring or _horrifying_, I’m not sure which. Huh, psychological help in a Pit thread. Who’d’ve thunk? ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/51 "2008-10-15T02:04:01Z")
Now you just need to start a “Show your kid!” thread. I promise I’ll ask how you, specifically, are doing. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/52 "2008-10-15T02:04:59Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > It’s not like the threads here have embedded pictures. You do have to click links to see any pictures. I don’t think folks here are talking about the Dope–I know I wasn’t. The same linkage stuff applies to baby pics here, afterall. I was talking about at work or standing in line at the grocery etc. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/53 "2008-10-15T02:08:23Z")
That is why this board is worth paying for, **HD** ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/54 "2008-10-15T02:14:36Z")
I avoid all this by just telling people up front that I feel about other people’s kids the same way I feel about other people’s vaginas… my own is okay, but I don’t really want anything to do with anybody else’s. That usually shuts them up. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/55 "2008-10-15T03:11:20Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > Well, I may not necessarily be the best spokesmodel for the organization, either; \ You are in my head now. “I don’t have to pretend to be interested in anyone’s children, because **rockle** says it’s okay.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/56 "2008-10-15T03:22:11Z")
Back in my Dilbert/cubicle days, I had a generic baby photo (the kind that comes in photo frames) taped to a 5" x 5" piece of cardboard. Underneath the photo, I wrote **"Oh, How Cute!!"** I taped it to the end of a chopstick. Whenever any kind of “new baby” antics occurred, I would wave it conspicuously. This was one reason people hated me at work. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/57 "2008-10-15T07:43:45Z")
> [@SkipMagic](#): > > We did that, too; in fact, I keep the site pretty well updated even though I know we’re really the only ones who want to take a peek on a regular basis. Problem was that most people didn’t bother checking; that is, they kept sending e-mails requesting photographs, so I kept telling them the site had been updated, and wouldn’t they like to see it? > > Not a peep. > > Except for a few weeks later when the process started all over again. So, I finally gave up and started e-mailing photos. It seemed much easier. Trust me, it can be done. It has taken me 3 years but I have most everyone on board now. I have two separate photo albums (one general, one family only) and people go see them when they want. Every once in a while someone asks again for pics. I just send the link. My mom is subverting the process a little bit. I know she emails pics to a couple of my aunts, but hey, at least it is not me. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/58 "2008-10-15T10:24:19Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > And so, I am always surprised when, at Christmas time, people send me a pic of the kids. Certainly they must know that I am just going to toss them. Save your kid pic and send it to someone who wants it. Tidbit the First: The Nephew “played” the Baby Jesus in the “living nativity” at Mom’s Parish when he was 3 months old. Slept like a baby through the whole of it, too, very appropiately. Tidbit the Second: every year since he was born, his Proud Parents have sent homemade christmas cards with a pic of the kidlet. The first time, there was much rolling of eyes. The second time, several people remarked “do they think they _really_ gave birth to the _actual_ Baby Jesus, these two?” The third time is, for now, the winner for Most Embarrasing Picture Ever Taken of The Nephew. We await this year’s monster (there is a brand new Niece as well) with bated breath and much trepidation. Will it be even worse than last year’s “angel wearing only wings, covering his parts with his hand and looking like he wants to know what the Bloody Hell is going on”? How sadistic can a parent with a digital camera get? ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/59 "2008-10-15T11:02:42Z")
Stories and pictures of babies are like stories/pictures of vacations. Nobody who isn’t integral gives a flying fuck. You and your annoying family posing in front of Beautiful Locale X are just as fascinating to me as pictures of paint drying. Same thing with pictures of your annoying spawn. Show me one picture. Hell, show me two. Beyond that? Jesus Christ. Does anybody want to see pictures of my dishwasher? No, seriously, it’s awesome…it’s stainless…it does everything…it’s a miracle…I don’t know how I lived without it…I can’t believe I’m so blessed…my life will never be the same… ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2008, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901/60 "2008-10-15T11:29:27Z")
I actually think parents who have kids around 40 are even worse. They expect you- also in the same age group- to be enchanted with them having a child- and will do so for ten years. At that time I was well beyond any interest in children. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/enough-with-the-baby/467901.md?page=4)