Motrin moms. I know this is not going to earn me any fans, but I have to say it.

Every time I hear about something “controversial” among the mom crowd on the net, I have to be honest,  I  just shake my head. We put so much time and focus into things, especially as Americans, that we are “offended” about, that that is the only time I see the community come together to chat this much about an issue. I sometimes feel like the only person in the world that hates political correctness because I think it creates pansies. Yeah, I said it.

First off, I believe Americans are offended way too easily. Scratch that. Moms are offended to easily. Because moms are in constant fights with EACHOTHER over issues like ’stay at home moms vs working moms,’ and ‘breastfeeding or not’ (or how long), or ‘preschool or not’, or pacis or lovies, or……..get the point?  We  put eachother SO much on the defensive, that we are quick to judge ourselves. And so when someone else, outside the “mom” realm mentions it, its like breaking some kind of code.

Recently Motrin put out an ad on Babywearing. They are doing a series of “if mom spoke what was on her mind, this is what she would say” ads. They are calling them “Mom-alogues” and they premise starts: As a mom you know what its like to have a unique kind of pain that’s often underappreciated. From walking for hours in high heels to staying up all night carrying a feverish child. The MOtrin brand wants you to know we feel your pain.

Here is the text of the ad that people are talking about:

Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion. I mean in theory, its a great idea. There’s the front baby carries, the side baby carries, the sling, the shwing, the wrap, the pouch and who knows what else they have come up with. Wear the baby on your side, the front, go hands free! Supposedly its a real bonding experience. They say babies carried close to the bod tend to cry less then others. But what about me? Do moms that wear their babies cry more than those that dont? I sure do. These things put a ton of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders…did I mention your back? I mean, ill put up with the pain, because its a good kind of pain. Its for my kid..plus it totally makes me look like an official mom. And so, if i look tired and crazy, people will understand why. Motrin: We feel your pain.

Quite frankly, I don’t look at Motrin point any differently then I would look at another mom that mentioned to me. Its THEIR opinion and they are entitled to it. I don’t get offended because they only are reaching a percentage of the population, an ad just will or will not, pertain to me. If you carry your child on your body, or carry your child at ALL, you could potentially have pains from it.

For the record, Charlotte was carried in a baby bjorn. But she weighed 25 pounds when she was 12 months old. She was abnormally HUGE. I weighed 105 and was 5′2″. I have to admit, I got my fair share of ‘aches and pains’. Now she is 42 pounds at 4 years old and I am still 105. I still carry her around if I need to or up the stairs and its like benching at the gym. Think of her percentage of weight against my body weight. Its astronomical.

If you have been following my blog at all, you know that she is having some issues with her legs and we don’t know what is going on. I have a crying child all day during her awake time, for several days in a row. You better believe I am alternating the Tylenol and Motrin. When it comes down to it, am I going to let my child suffer when there is a safe, dr recommended product she can take that can relieve her pain over an AD a company put out? Next time your child comes down with a fever and you cant give Tylenol, you ask yourself that. “Sorry Charlotte, Motrin offended moms over babywearing, so you need to suck it up”. It just doesn’t make sense to me. And all the drug companies are related, so picking generic wont exactly hurt the companies that spread the patents as it is.

“Baby-wearing” wasn’t even a term when she was born that I had ever even heard of. I have to say, it has become more social and popular among moms, a movement in a way. I could care less if someone wants to carry their child around on their body or what product they use to do so. I certainly don’t view it as controversial.

Maybe I’m missing it all, but I just don’t see why this is a big deal. Maybe because I don’t see people twittering, myspacing, and facebooking:

Human Trafficking in Asia

Sex Slavery in Indonesia

Sex Slavery in America

The plight of Women in Afghanistan

Babies born addicted to drugs

Blood Diamonds

Physical and Mental Abuse of 25% of women IN Armenia

I actually saw someone on a blog say that its set BACK babywearing? Wha-wha-what? Is this the Civil Rights movement?  I say, lets utilize social networking to help each other, to bring to light real issues in the world, and if you truly don’t like something, don’t advertise for them. Motrin is laughing all the way to the bank.

Its kinda ironic, isnt it?

~Trisha