Blast from the Past ... Chelsea Pomeroy

[fundiewatch]

Eh, I don’t think ANY of the Pomeroy children don’t “count.” I just don’t get that off of them. Lots of privilege but all the kids seem very very celebrated. 

[Baxter]

I think that George does get a little more leeway to explore and get dirty etc. Mostly I think that's because he is a boy. But also, I think Chelsea has loosened up a bit and George is her youngest and possibly her last. The girls may care George gets more leeway or they might not. I never liked getting dirty as a kid. 

I don't read that much into the pictures of just George. He is with Chelsea all the time so she has more opportunity to take his picture. Before Charlotte started school, there were more pictures of the two of them. When Charlotte was a baby, there were quite a few pictures of just her and then quite a few pictures of Charlotte and Jane Claire together. 

Chelsea and I diverge quite a bit in our parenting philosophy but I don't doubt that she loves her kids. I think she does celebrate each kid and appreciates their differences. That's of course easier for her than some other fundies because she only has 5 kids and they are spaced out. 

[ElizaB]

4 hours ago, Baxter said:

I think she does celebrate each kid and appreciates their differences. That's of course easier for her than some other fundies because she only has 5 kids and they are spaced out. 

I think a lot of things are easier for her then others we snark on because she has money so she isn't constantly scraping by She also doesn't homeschool so she isn't responsible for any education and her kids are gone all day. Its almost like having a manageable number of kids that you can afford actually improves your quality of life. 

[anachronistic]

Do Pentecostals celebrate Halloween? Google says some do, some don’t, but I don’t know about their sect. I haven’t seen any pictures though so I doubt it, which is a shame because I feel that Chelsea would be amazing at Halloween. Heck, about half of her kids outfits could pass for Halloween dress ups anyway.
 

I never get what’s satanic about giving a kid dressed like a dragon some M&ms. I wonder if there are parts of the country that are so very religious it isn’t really celebrated though? Or neighborhoods where nobody trick or treats, not because the houses are too far apart or rural but because they don’t do Halloween? I don’t know.

[JermajestyDuggar]

26 minutes ago, anachronistic said:

Do Pentecostals celebrate Halloween? Google says some do, some don’t, but I don’t know about their sect. I haven’t seen any pictures though so I doubt it, which is a shame because I feel that Chelsea would be amazing at Halloween. Heck, about half of her kids outfits could pass for Halloween dress ups anyway.
 

I never get what’s satanic about giving a kid dressed like a dragon some M&ms. I wonder if there are parts of the country that are so very religious it isn’t really celebrated though? Or neighborhoods where nobody trick or treats, not because the houses are too far apart or rural but because they don’t do Halloween? I don’t know.

I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they do a “fall festival.” So many of these religious types who hate on certain holidays, just celebrate anyway with a different name. It’s ridiculous. 

[anachronistic]

I don’t get the fall festival thing either. Fall is from Sept 21-Dec 21. If it’s really a fall or harvest festival and has nothing to do with Halloween then why are they always held on a weekend close to Halloween, and why do they always involve candy?

[JermajestyDuggar]

13 minutes ago, anachronistic said:

I don’t get the fall festival thing either. Fall is from Sept 21-Dec 21. If it’s really a fall or harvest festival and has nothing to do with Halloween then why are they always held on a weekend close to Halloween, and why do they always involve candy?

Because the kids see all the fun trick or treaters and they hate for their kids to be left out of the fun. Fundies want their children to be away from the filthy heathen children but they also don’t want their kids to miss out on fun. So they do their own version of it. The godly version of course. Because they are better than those mainstream kids. 

[indianabones]

Their church held something called an "All Nations Fair" the day before Halloween. Lots of different booths in the parking lot that each represented different countries. White women dressed up in kente cloth, saris, and kimonos. Basically the pentecostal way of dressing up at the same time as everyone else plus being as offensive as possible.

[Caroline]

On 10/31/2022 at 11:40 AM, anachronistic said:

 

I never get what’s satanic about giving a kid dressed like a dragon some M&ms. I wonder if there are parts of the country that are so very religious it isn’t really celebrated though?

I think I read somewhere that some Bible Belt states don't trick or treat if Halloween falls on a Sunday, but just change trick or treating to another day.  Seems silly, but I think I read that.  Anyone from the BB here?

[JermajestyDuggar]

Just now, Caroline said:

I think I read somewhere that some Bible Belt states don't trick or treat if Halloween falls on a Sunday, but just change trick or treating to another day.  Seems silly, but I think I read that.  Anyone from the BB here?

Where I live trick or treat is never on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. It’s annoying but I guess I’ve gotten used to it over the years. The argument is always that traffic and partying on weekends is a problem. I think it’s a very weak argument since trick or treat starts at 5:30. And if it was on a Saturday or Sunday, they could make it slightly earlier so it isn’t dark at all by the time it’s over. Trick or treat was on Halloween for the first time in like 3 years this year. 

[imokit]

To be fair Christmas is when it is, not because it was Jesus's actual birthday. Scholars don't actually know when it was.  But because pagans had a big festival in Winter when it was dark and miserable.  Christians couldn't come along and say stop your happy event to keep people's mood up in winter, without offering a comparable alternative.

[Smee]

Chelsea went away and her children found more comfortable clothes to wear. I bet they loved it.

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

Good for them. They are kids. Not dolls. 

[anachronistic]

I know lots of kids who wake up at night, but he’s 3 and still waking up and requiring his mom 3 times a night, every night? Most kids I know only wake their parents at that age when they need something, like help in the bathroom or a drink or safety. That’s a bit much in my opinion, I hope they’re getting help so it doesn’t continue.

[postscript]

So glad to hear the kids have minds of their own and don’t dress like Chelsea’s perfect little dolls while she’s away. It’s hard to tell from the post whether she’s miffed, amused, or both. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, anachronistic said:

I know lots of kids who wake up at night, but he’s 3 and still waking up and requiring his mom 3 times a night, every night? Most kids I know only wake their parents at that age when they need something, like help in the bathroom or a drink or safety. That’s a bit much in my opinion, I hope they’re getting help so it doesn’t continue.

Mine woke up 3 or more times a night until I night weaned him. Best decision ever. Wish I had done it earlier. I wouldn’t have been so extremely sleep deprived for 2 years straight. 

Edited December 16, 2022 by JermajestyDuggar

[Baxter]

2 hours ago, anachronistic said:

I know lots of kids who wake up at night, but he’s 3 and still waking up and requiring his mom 3 times a night, every night? Most kids I know only wake their parents at that age when they need something, like help in the bathroom or a drink or safety. That’s a bit much in my opinion, I hope they’re getting help so it doesn’t continue.

Some kids are just not great sleepers. I was sleeping through the night by one. But my mom said my sister didn't sleep through the night until she was six. Neither of my kids were great at sleeping through the night. I started bringing them into bed typically after their first wake up just so I could get better sleep. Otherwise I would have been up several times a night. 

My son mostly slept through the night in his own bed around 3 and a half. My daughter is 3 and she is getting better at sleeping and there are more days now where she sleeps until 5 or 6 in her own room. But there are still many nights where she comes in around midnight or 1. 

At least Chelsea doesn't seem to use harsh sleep training methods with her kids. 

[Expectopatronus]

3 hours ago, anachronistic said:

I know lots of kids who wake up at night, but he’s 3 and still waking up and requiring his mom 3 times a night, every night? Most kids I know only wake their parents at that age when they need something, like help in the bathroom or a drink or safety. That’s a bit much in my opinion, I hope they’re getting help so it doesn’t continue.

My daughter just turned three and is up three to five times a night. She demands a bottle to go back to sleep. It is hard and we have paid for sleep consultants to work with us but they weren’t able to get her to sleep either. Waiting to see a specialist at Children’s hospital but it is a lot wait (12-18 months). Some kids just don’t sleep. 

[Caroline]

9 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Mine woke up 3 or more times a night until I night weaned him. Best decision ever. Wish I had done it earlier. I wouldn’t have been so extremely sleep deprived for 2 years straight. 

My husband and I only raised one child. I didn't want to nurse for a variety of reasons, so my husband and I bottle fed our baby formula.  I went back to work after three months and a friend I worked with was returning to work from maternity leave at the same time.  She was miserable because she was feeding her baby every few hours and it seemed to take so much time. She was constantly pumping at work (in a dirty school at a time when it wasn't popular to provide women comfortable spaces for pumping.)  She was definitely sleep-deprived compared to me.

 Maybe we were just lucky and got a baby who was a good sleeper from the beginning, but nearly every breast-feeding mom I know seems much more tired than I ever was.  I have a much younger friend who just had her first baby at 42.  She's been nursing for 6 months and loves it.  But she's exhausted and her baby is not great at self-soothing and sleeping for any length of time, day or night.  She's going back to work in a few weeks and is very worried about it.  Even her husband can't manage to settle the baby down.  It could be many things, but it makes me not regret not nursing our daughter.  Another anecdote:  The woman I worked with who breast-fed criticized me non-stop for not doing so.  She told me that my child would be doomed to have a lower IQ and allergies.  Ironically, both of her children had and have tremendous problems with allergies and were not stellar students.  My daughter never had a cold till she went to kindergarten and was an excellent student who has consistently achieved academically. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 minutes ago, Caroline said:

My husband and I only raised one child. I didn't want to nurse for a variety of reasons, so my husband and I bottle fed our baby formula.  I went back to work after three months and a friend I worked with was returning to work from maternity leave at the same time.  She was miserable because she was feeding her baby every few hours and it seemed to take so much time. She was constantly pumping at work (in a dirty school at a time when it wasn't popular to provide women comfortable spaces for pumping.)  She was definitely sleep-deprived compared to me.

 Maybe we were just lucky and got a baby who was a good sleeper from the beginning, but nearly every breast-feeding mom I know seems much more tired than I ever was.  I have a much younger friend who just had her first baby at 42.  She's been nursing for 6 months and loves it.  But she's exhausted and her baby is not great at self-soothing and sleeping for any length of time, day or night.  She's going back to work in a few weeks and is very worried about it.  Even her husband can't manage to settle the baby down.  It could be many things, but it makes me not regret not nursing our daughter.  Another anecdote:  The woman I worked with who breast-fed criticized me non-stop for not doing so.  She told me that my child would be doomed to have a lower IQ and allergies.  Ironically, both of her children had and have tremendous problems with allergies and were not stellar students.  My daughter never had a cold till she went to kindergarten and was an excellent student who has consistently achieved academically. 

He also refused bottles with pumped milk and pacifiers. He was my second. I never wanted a third. But if by some crazy chance I had a third, I was going to bottle feed from the start. I’m sure some people have great breastfeeding experiences. Unfortunately I didn’t. 

[Expectopatronus]

I tried so hard to breastfeed and was popping enough domperidone that I needed weekly EKG’s but still only produced drops. Kiddo was primary formula fed and highly specialized formula at that due to allergies. Didn’t help us with self-soothing or staying asleep. I was breastfed as an infant and apparently had the same sleep pattern as my daughter. My sister was a good sleeper though. Kids are all going to decide for themselves whether or not they’ll follow the textbook on sleeping, eating, etc

[anachronistic]

Okay. So I was wrong. I apologize. I hope everyone sleeps well and often this holiday season.
 

I wonder if George ever gets to wear pants? Or if he owns any pants? I thought it got cool enough in Arkansas to need long pants for winter but even his Christmas outfit is shorts and knee socks.

One thing Chelsea does differently than most other people we follow here is she hasn’t broken her kids. Thank goodness. Jane Claire is so cute I can’t even, and I’m not an expert but it doesn’t look fake to me. 

[Hane]

@Expectopatronus, a friend of mine just couldn’t lactate. Turns out her mother couldn’t, either. It made me think of old stories that mentioned people who kept a goat, “for milk for the baby.”

[JermajestyDuggar]

I couldn’t lactate much with my first because I had undiagnosed retained placenta. Which made my body think I was still kind of pregnant. So I lactated, but not a lot. So I tried to nurse my first and supplement with formula. But I eventually gave up and just switched to formula for all feedings. 

[feministxtian]

My youngest didn't "sleep all night" until he was over 3. I knew because I'd find the TV set to Cartoon Network when I got up in the morning. He'd wake up, go downstairs, watch TV until he was sleepy, turn the TV off and go back to bed. I'd find him in the morning face down on his bed with his feet still on the floor. He was and is an odd duck. ADHD and ASD. I honestly think he'd still be living at home if he could. He's a very gentle and sensitive soul which is more than I can say for my older 2.