what would you do?

Question

this past weekend i had to work a long shift and my fiance was out of town and he usually watches the baby on weekends while im at work but he went out of town to see his mother for the hollidays. on the weekdays my step mother watches him. well, my step mom had to work and get some last minute shopping done so i had to have my fiance's aunt watch my son ( who is 8 1/2 months old). i always pack everything to included breastmilk and soldids and everyone knows that i am very strict with what i give my son. well, i packed some food for my son and while i was at work my fiance returned and picked our son up from his aunts-he didnt tell m e this until the next day but she was giving him CHEETOES. i was so mad by this. i know it wasnt going to kill him but she knows how i am and it's not her baby to be giving junk food not to mention that some dairy gives him diarrhea. it's not good for adults so why on earth wouldd it be good for a baby- he doesnt even have any teeth

ps sorry if this is confusing

i could have had someone else baby sit but then his family complians and practially cries because " i dont trust" them- andd even if it is free baby sitting doesnt mean i should expect anything less than if i paid

Answer 1

Well she isn't baby-sitting again. Sure *some* foods I can see her sharing even if they weren't *approved*. But not CHEETOS! OMG! Just the salt content alone.

Next time someone says "You don't trust me/us" just point out that trust is something that has to be earned. I didn't let my HUSBAND spend any time alone with my son except when I walked the dog until he was almost a year. At some point he realized I didn't trust him and I told him darned right I don't - and listed a bunch of things he does when I am sitting 5ft away, let alone the meltdowns that happen if I tried to take a shower or do laundry.

PS Babies don't need teeth to eat "real" food, nor are they designed to eat pureed food. If human infants required pureed food humans would be designed to regurgitate food for our young -we can't. Letting a baby managed their own food intake is particularly important for those with allergies.
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.html

Answer 2

I completely think that you have the right to be angry, I would be too. 8 1/2 months is far too early for cheetos. You are also right in saying that they are a bad food for babies.
You are in a hard place. You really had no option in leaving your son with her, but she did not have the right to feed him them. What if you needed her to watch him again? If you haven't already, I would simply express your displeasure with the incident to her and then clearly state that what goes into your child is vital to his health. Although she did do this against your wishes, he most likely didn't consume enough to affect him or his health. :)
Sorry that I can't help you more!

Answer 3

I'm sorry about this coming off as rude, but since you are asking what I would do, I would lighten up a bit. You ARE justified in being upset about her not following the diet you have planned for your baby, but it isn't something that is going to cause a big problem in the long run. Did she feed him any of the solids you had packed for him? Did she give him the milk you had pumped? If she was giving him the things that you had, chances are she isn't out to get you because you are strict about your baby's diet. Also, I wouldn't worry about any possible dairy in cheetos. :D

Maybe something you could explain to your aunt (and any other new sitters that your son is going to have) that you appreciate their help and that while you trust them, you would appreciate them being considerate of your desires when considering giving your son anything other than what you have packed for them. This might help them know that you really do trust them, and are okay with them giving him new foods, but that you would like them to keep any different additions to his diet healthy and easy for him to eat.
Best of luck with your baby and your family.

Answer 4

No, they won't harm him in the long run, but she should follow the diet that you have set for him, especially if certain foods irritate his stomach. Tell her that although you appreciate her watching him that unless she can follow the diet you have for him you cannot allow her to watch him again. It IS your child, not hers. I fought for a long time with my mom about giving my son cereal because she wanted to feed it to him at 2 months. Well he was born almost 3 months early so he wasn't ready for cereal until he was 6 months.

Answer 5

I feel your frustration. My boyfriends mom fed our son a whole jar of pears the other day. He's only 5 months and my boyfriend and I both told her not to feed him anything other that cereal yet. She did and then got mad b/c I got onto her. His stomach was messed up for 2 days from that. My boyfriends sister tried feeding him cake icing, mashed potatoes, and pork & beans. She also gets mad when we get onto her and she's my age.

Answer 6

Sounds like you have a reason not to trust them. Especially if your son has had some bad reactions to dairy, that's not something you want to mess around with. Maybe it was a kick for her, but she's not the one that will be left with the consequences.

Answer 7

Ughhh....she sounds like my mom- my mom did this when we left our baby with her for an hour to walk the dogs. She was only 5 months old and hadn't even started solids yet.

I told her not to do it and that if it happened again, I would not be able to leave her with the baby- that simple. That night, our baby had a horrible, horrible tummy ache and not even mylicon cleared it up. It was awful. So, she never did it again.

Answer 8

The cheeto ingredients alone will not hurt him. My kids ate all kinds of stuff since 3 months and up. However soft and healthy foods.

I do agree that could be something to choke on. Live and learn and dont let her babysit unless she respects you.

Answer 9

If you were clear with her about what your rules for the baby are, then she obviously isn't going to listen to you. I wouldn't say anything to her, just don't ask her to watch the baby again.

Answer 10

Honestly? When you've got someone pinch-hitting to babysit your child, it's best to be appreciative.

Should she have fed him Cheetos? Heck, no. I wouldn't eat them myself. But if I had to call in a favor to keep my son cared for while I was at work, I'd suck it up. There's no point arguing after the fact, and this isn't someone you'd regularly ask to watch your child, so there's not much point in bringing it up again.

It might not be her child to feed, but it is was her favor to do. Since dairy is actually a medical issue, I'd gently remind her that "the doctor says he's allergic to dairy" or something like that. But you should let the Cheetos slide.