Of being a mom, being fulfilled, but being TIRED!

So, if you haven't been following the Motrin/babywearing controversy (or con-TRO-versy as our friends across the pond would say), you can catch up on most of it through Adventures in Babywearing. Although not as exciting a confab as the breastfeeding wars, it sparked a certain amount of interest in the mommy-blogging community.

Though I can't get TOO worked up about it, it was simply tacky of Motrin. And not well thought out. I think the latter is the worse of the crimes. It seems that if you want to market to mommies, then you need to be more intentional about your market research. But then again, that is nothing new to the marketing community. I have been shockingly appalled at the number of people who lump all "moms" in the same category. Whether it is the 'soccer mom' description, or the idea that all women vote the same. Drives me crazy. And so, it shouldn't surprise me that there is a contingent that is snarky about babywearing.

But it seems like an ad agency and huge corporation would THINK that making a non-snarky commercial, which appeals to all women, would be more effective.

I mean, we might not all agree on the importance of babywearing, etc, but all moms are tired and stretched, whether we are home with the kids full time, working full time or somewhere in between. And we all need a bit of relief. The ONLY reason I don't pop ibuprophen all the time is that I am pregnant. Because, boy, is it a good source of relief for those special aches and pains of daily motherhood.

Anyhow. With all the choices out there, it seems unnecessary to support a company that produces slightly malicious (at worse) and thoughtless (at best) ads. So I won't. And I told them that. And the only reason I am giving it even this much thought is that I needed some fodder for this NaBloPoMo thing.

And someone else made the comment that the reason this minor issue got so much traction is because Motrin made the mistake of singling out potentially the most sleep-deprived, cranky population out there with the ability to express outrage.

Anyhoo, as all of you that are parents know, extended tiredness is a way of life with little kids. Sometimes I am not sure why. It SEEMS easy enough, watching a 2 y.o. How hard can it be? (laughing maniacially....). Sigh. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but there are days when the cut-throat corporate world seems restful in comparison. I mean, you don't have to spend an hour trying to convince your co-workers or competitors that eating lunch is a good idea.

Let's start a REAL controversy. I will make some obnoxious statements and see if people pick up on it and run with it. (Probably not, but I am feeling snarky). Letting your kids watch television means you are a lazy mother. If you don't breastfeed your baby, you are a lazy, thoughtless mother. If you go out for a girls' night out, you are a lazy, thoughtless, and obviously neglectful mother.

There. Those are fightin' words.

Motrin just employees idiots.