I was chatting with some friends earlier about life as a new mum and mentioned how there’s lots of debate and in-fighting amongst some mums. One friend was really surprised and said he couldn’t imagine what there could possibly be to get so worked up about. So I started to list things to give an example - formula vs breast feeding being the most obvious. It got me thinking, there’s actually lots of points of contention and mums put themselves through a lot of stress trying to juggle sticking to what is absolutely best for the baby, best for them and their family, and pleasing others too.

So let’s see what there is to make such a fuss about:

Breastfeeding vs formula feeding
Using disposable vs reusable nappies
Weaning at 4 months vs 6 months
Strict schedule vs lose routine vs no routine
Using bouncy chairs and swings vs “attachment parenting”
Using jarred food vs home purees vs finger food
Demand feeding vs scheduled feeding
Parent led weaning vs baby led weaning
Rear facing vs forward facing car seats
Using a pram vs using a sling
Sleep suits vs “real clothes”
Co-sleeping vs cot in parents room vs cot in own room
Letting baby never watch TV vs some TV vs using TV as a babysitter
Vaccinations vs no vaccinations
Blankets vs sleeping bags
Never breastfeeding in front of anyone vs sometimes under a blanket vs “you’re seeing boob if you like it or not!”
Sleeping on back vs side vs front
Thumb sucking vs dummy use vs nothing
“Cry it out” vs “controlled crying” vs never letting baby cry
Letting baby sleep where ever vs only in cot

Now to be fair, a lot of these things I’ve written as polar opposites, while actually many parents sit somewhere in the grey area in between. However, in the heat of the moment it feels like you have to defend one or the other - there seems to be no middle ground.

Bear in mind this list only covers the first 6 months of life, doesn’t cover the competitiveness over “developmental milestones” or weight gain, and doesn’t cover birth stories either.

I’m sure there’s more to come of the ‘work vs nursery vs staying home’ variety. Gee, I can’t wait!