Old generation vs. new generation

Various relatives have stopped by in recent weeks to visit Noelle and my nephew and we've gotten all sorts of "interesting" advice to do with Noelle. While I know they mean well (at least I hope so), some of their comments smart, infuriate, or just plain don't make any sense.

During the first few weeks when I was going slightly (okay, maybe a lot) insane what with my sleep deprivation and stress over raising a newborn, some relatives oh so helpfully told me over and over that my newborn cried cuz I wasn't feeding her enough. Way to support a new mother who was stressed already about breastfeeding! Whoohoo! To this day, that is still my parent's and relatives' first suggestion if Noelle makes the slightest peep. Hard for them to accept but Rob and I do actually feed our child. =P And we can prove it as she is now in the 60th percentile for her age in weight! It's still a bit annoying to hear.
"Wah!"
"You don't feed her enough! You should feed her now! That's why she cries!"
"You don't say? I thought she was on a monthly feeding schedule like those African elephants who live in the desert!"

Lately, it has come to my relatives' attention that Noelle's hair is sorta funny in the back- it looks like its patchy in certain spots but it's actually just matted down oddly from sleeping on her back. I have noticed it but that doesn't stop them from constantly commenting on it with worried brow and clucks of disapproval. What do they expect me to do? Have her sleep on her face? There! That way her hair won't get mussed up! Bleah.

My personal favorite advice was to do with pigs feet. Yes, pigs feet. In Chinese lore, a recovering new mom should eat plenty of pigs feet cooked in ginger. It reportedly helps with recovery and/or builds up your breastmilk production. Eh, I was willing to try it. And I did. I found out that while I could stomach the meat a bit, I could not get used to the fat. Not my kind of texture. So I politely told the relatives. They kept giving me more. It got to the point where I had to tell them bluntly that the texture unfortunately made me nauseous. Their advice? Just let myself throw up after eating it. ???? Great- promotion of bulimia! Awesome!

Many also do not approve of our having her in her own room. There are many reasons for it but ultimately, that is our decision and I wish they would respect that. Besides, she's in the room RIGHT NEXT TO OURS with both of our doors wide open. Add to that my child's healthy set of lungs and I have no problem whatsoever with hearing her when she wakes at night. We also have a monitor. We still get the disbelieving looks when told she sleeps in her own room. *sigh*

Oh well, all the above advice came from a good place.