Mustard-seed pillow keeps reappearing under our 5 month old's head on grandma days

ivory_sandal_244931 Jul 2026

My mother has him on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every time I get home there's the rai pillow under his head and a rolled towel on each side 'so he doesn't roll'. I put it away. Next visit, it's back. I'm a paediatrician, which you'd think would settle it. It doesn't. To her I'm the son who still can't fold a shirt, and that pillow raised all her children just fine 😂 How did you get a grandparent to change a sleep habit without turning it into a lecture? I've already tried the lecture.

1 comment

hazel_veranda_851031 Jul 2026
What worked with my mother-in-law was not arguing about the pillow but replacing the job it did for her. She believed it shaped the head, so we gave her something else she could be in charge of: the oil massage before the bath. The pillow went quietly into her cupboard a few weeks later. It may help to work out which worry the pillow answers for your mother: head shape, rolling, or simply habit.
- ivory_sandal_244931 Jul 2026
  Head shape, definitely. She inspects the back of his head every visit like a tailor. She'd love being in charge of the massage. Will try that.