Whoa!! Just how many people want to come and visit Google Baby?? Don’t get me wrong, sharing our bundle of joy with family and friends is great and some of the guests are actually angels in disguise. You know, the ones that make their own cups of tea, turn up with lunch, do the dishes, tell you Google Baby is the cutest baby they’ve ever seen.
And then there’s the other type of visitor. The ones that are crippled with bone idleness and overflowing with thoughtlessness. Annoying just doesn’t quite describe it.
So, how do you handle these Guest Pests? Google, give me an answer before I spread Google Baby poop on their sandwiches.
First up from Google is Dr Spock. He says limit guests to people who will really help you, and limit the time for visits from guests whom you might feel a need to entertain.
Next, Babble suggests:
- Put a clear time limit up front to avoid extended stays.
- Don't feel obliged to let anyone hold the baby unless you want them to.
- Don't feel compelled to schedule visits before you are ready.
- Don't dress for visitors. (Some even suggest staying in your PJs/robe.)
- Keep refreshments to a bare minimum.
Great advice, but, from my experience, most people turn up uninvited and if you then tell them that you don’t want them to hold the baby or change back into you your PJs, the Guest Pests will start to give each other knowing looks, followed by the whisper of ‘I don’t think she’s coping’.
I’m afraid that you are expected to be the all singing and dancing version of yourself, without exception. Anything less and you’ll firmly take your place in family history as ‘the one who got depression’.
So, what is the answer?
After some thought, I realized that Google had come up with the right answers but what it didn’t suggest was that you need someone else to implement them. Someone bossy, someone like an old hospital Ward Sister…..someone like Google Grannie. Let her protect the baby from clumsy relatives, let her take people’s cups of tea away when they’re still half full, let here tell everyone it’s time for them to leave.
The Guest Pests will look at you in horror but all you need do is shrug your shoulders and then smile sweetly as you wave them off.
Just don’t forget to say thanks to your Google Grannie..
First up from Google is Dr Spock. He says limit guests to people who will really help you, and limit the time for visits from guests whom you might feel a need to entertain.
Next, Babble suggests:
- Put a clear time limit up front to avoid extended stays.
- Don't feel obliged to let anyone hold the baby unless you want them to.
- Don't feel compelled to schedule visits before you are ready.
- Don't dress for visitors. (Some even suggest staying in your PJs/robe.)
- Keep refreshments to a bare minimum.
Great advice, but, from my experience, most people turn up uninvited and if you then tell them that you don’t want them to hold the baby or change back into you your PJs, the Guest Pests will start to give each other knowing looks, followed by the whisper of ‘I don’t think she’s coping’.
I’m afraid that you are expected to be the all singing and dancing version of yourself, without exception. Anything less and you’ll firmly take your place in family history as ‘the one who got depression’.
So, what is the answer?
After some thought, I realized that Google had come up with the right answers but what it didn’t suggest was that you need someone else to implement them. Someone bossy, someone like an old hospital Ward Sister…..someone like Google Grannie. Let her protect the baby from clumsy relatives, let her take people’s cups of tea away when they’re still half full, let here tell everyone it’s time for them to leave.
The Guest Pests will look at you in horror but all you need do is shrug your shoulders and then smile sweetly as you wave them off.
Just don’t forget to say thanks to your Google Grannie..
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