Mommy Come Lately

By definition, I'm a mommy blogger. I am a mommy. I have a blog. I post about my children and my experiences as a mommy. But I don't consider myself a Mommy Blogger, one of the connected members of the mommy blogger community who keeps up with happenings and information via other mommy blogs, Twitter, and the like. I read my friends' blogs and I post mine because I like to share experiences with people I know. I'm not dissing the Mommy Blogger community, far from it, I just see myself as outside the main part of it (mainly because of time constraints) while empathetically watching it from a distance.

Which is why I'm only just learning from the NYTimes blog Motherlode about the Mommy-Motrin PR disaster that happened this weekend. Apparently, Motrin ran an ad about babywearing (that's slings, folks) and how it is trendy and can cause back pain. I quote it from the NYTimes here:

"Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion. I mean, in theory it’s a great idea. There’s the front baby carrier, sling, schwing, wrap, pouch. And who knows what else they’ve come up with. Wear your baby on your side, your front, go hands free. Supposedly, it’s a real bonding experience. They say that babies carried close to the body tend to cry less than others. But what about me? Do moms that wear their babies cry more than those who don’t. I sure do! These things put a ton of strain on your back, your neck, your shoulders. Did I mention your back? I mean, I’ll put up with the pain because it’s a good kind of pain; it’s 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."

Well, folks, the Mommy Bloggers went nutso, offended that Motrin would ridicule, in its own attempts to be trendy, the very personal and some would say sacred art of babywearing. What is amazing as blogger Belkin points out is how the companies (I think it was an external creative agency) behind Motrin and the ad were clueless about the maelstrom developing on the internet over the weekend after the ad appeared. Only now have they pulled the ad and apologized for its offensive content. They really must be fools to have thought that ad would fly; someone wasn't doing their homework. Didn't they learn from the Pampers disaster earlier this year, when that company invited Mommy Bloggers to a conference but wanted them to come sans children?? The clout of Mommy Bloggers is intense. I mean, even in my little group, mommy-ord-of-mouth really has an effect. I'm sure moms have always had this kind of local clout, anyway, but with the internet it is fast and national

All I have to say to Motrin's ad execs, if you think wearing a baby causes back pain (and I tried it but could never manage carrying two that way), try pushing a full double stroller around. Mommywork just hurts sometimes.

Besides, I take Advil.