Spit-up On My Shoulder

In a previous post I wrote about my frustration with the unrealistic pictures of mothers with babies that we see in the media. These moms usually look put together (and often wear white), well-rested, and thin.

Have you seen a recent magazine ad by the cotton industry - you know, the fabric of our lives? The ad doesn’t look like any real mom’s life I know.

The scene is a spotless white kitchen except for the baby’s high chair. The baby is squatting on the chair seat. He (I’m pretty sure it’s a boy) has orange baby food all down his front, squished under his feet on the seat of the chair, spilled on the tray, and you can see drips of food have splattered down to the bottom rungs of the high chair. It’s pretty gross.

The mom is grinning broadly as she holds a spoonful of food to give the baby. She is wearing a blindingly white dress shirt with splotches of the orange food down the sleeves and front. Oh, and she’s skinny, has had time to do her hair and makeup, and doesn’t have undereye circles.

What is this woman grinning about? She obviously is very concerned about how clean she keeps things considering the state of the kitchen. Yet she’s happy that her child has spit or thrown food all over a shirt that I’m sure she had to iron? I guess it’s her own fault for thinking she could wear white around a baby, but I sure don’t remember ever being thrilled to clean up a mess or have food flung at me.