Nutty American Mother

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned yet how incredibly attentive Korean parents are to their babies. They are wonderful, doting parents who follow what would be considered in the states as “attachment parenting” ideas. It is highly unusual to see a mother pushing a stroller; instead they wear their babies attached to their backs with wraps. I also haven’t noticed any formula in any of the Korean grocery stores; I think for the most part they nurse their infants. In fact, I was asked by a Korean recently how I take care of my second baby while I’m nursing the first. In the states it has always seemed to me that people just assume I would bottle feed them since there are two of them. And I think a number of people clothe diaper their babies here. I’ve noticed lots of clothe diapers hanging on drying lines. I imagine I’m somewhat of an irresponsible mother in their eyes for the number of Pampers I go through!

Recently I was wearing Sterling in the Bijorn carrier, and had to run down to the car to get something. When I went outside, I met another mother from our building, who had her baby boy, who looked to be about 2 months old, wrapped to her. We didn’t speak each other’s language, but we managed to coo over each other’s baby. Well, as most people know, Sterling has horrible acid reflux, and is a spitty baby. So, we always have a cloth diaper on hand acting as a burp cloth. This day I had a cloth diaper tucked into the front of the Bijorn carrier. This Korean mother kept questioningly picking at the burp cloth tucked under Sterling’s chin, and then I realized she had cloth diapers drying on her clothes line. She probably thought I was the craziest American mother she had ever seen! Who puts the diaper under their child’s chin? It would be like if we saw some mother walking through the mall with a Pampers stuck to the front of her baby. I’m sure I provided her with some interesting dinner conversation that night. Nutty American’s!