I understand. Kids are fun for a little while, but babies can't have a conversation, and at the age they aren't too concerned about your happiness. It's easy to get bored after awhile.

no prob with that. but u must admit it must have looked pretty strange to her eyes

You might try locking the door. Someday it might be someone other than your MIL who comes in and they may not have good intentions.

I thought it was funny and didn't think for a second that you were being weird or harmful to your kid. And I can't believe people are stupid enough to seriously suggest this would make him "turn gay"... sexuality doesn't work like that guys. That's just as bad as those idiot parents who said Tinky Winky in the Tellytubbies was turning little boys gay because he had a handbag/purse. Ignore the idiots OP. I think you have a cracking sense of humour.

I don't know you at all, but you sound like a great mother who genuinely does know how to look after her child. *nod*

I knew people were going overboard! Thank you for clearing it up, OP. I'm not a parent but people I know who are, are either bored, tired or stressed out from taking care of babies when they're all by themselves. Baby clothes are baby clothes. It's not like you walked out with the baby that way. I think it's messed up when people introduce their babies as the opposite sex. People don't seem to realize you're not hurting the baby's feelings by dressing him in girls clothes.

Some of my cutest photos are when my mother had dressed me up. Didn't make me abnormal in any sense. OP, if you feel like taking photos go ahead and take it, these moments make wonderful memories. Who cares what a bunch of conformists think!

I love babies but they get bored easily and you can't talk to them.

My girlfriend is a nanny and the kid is too young to crawl or sit up on their own. When babies are really young there is only so much you can do to engage with them. I don't see anything weird about dressing him up in a fun outfit just to pass the time, and I hope your MIL sees reason. From your baby's perspective he was just spending time with Mommy while she smiled at him!

***HUGS**** to you, OP! I totally, 100% understand. [that's an understatement if i've ever made one!!] It sounds like a stressful situation. No one else, no one in interweb land OR your MIL, is his momma. Heck my 2 y/o son likes wearing my heels, bracelets and even likes playing w/ my old barbie car. And I let him. He also plays with trains, planes and automobiles. One thing that helped me a ton ton ton when my son was that age was participating in group activities... like with other moms/babies... or going to the park and swinging... maybe see if a local/area library or local parks and rec department offers anything for around that age. Best to you, OP!

boredom is boredom, but maybe you should hit a coffee shop somewhere, no?

If I walked in on someone dressing their baby as the opposite sex I'd just laugh, it's not like nobody has never done it before, and all because you dressed your son in a dress ONCE will not scar him for life. It's fine.

sounds like something I would do if I had a child, I find it ridiculous that people still have the mentality of 'turn gay' you don't turn gay, you're born it you morons.

I put lip gloss on my nephew once because he was with me when I was putting on my makeup. He is 2 and now bugs my sister when she does her makeup. Lucky she thinks its funny, although she does not like the bugging part. No way can your actions now effect your child's sexuality. And you MIL needs to grow some manners.

Seems like an innocent event, I have a child and yeah they are not entertainning 24/7 lol

Luckily I had two years to condition my Mom not to come over without calling :) Now, when the kids arrive, she'll know that there's a good chance my hubby won't have pants on and I might be bra-less in a tank top. neither of which she cares to see.

I see nothing wrong with the dress up fun...but you need to put the brakes on MIL just coming in. I would have my husband make it clear that it's not good manners to just walk in unannounced to YOUR home. The only time I even do something close to that is when my parents have invited us over and are expecting us, never otherwise. It's disrespectful to your privacy!

Ik u haha

It's ridiculous how caught up some people get thinking this is wrong or dangerous. For the record, my earliest memory I was still a crawling baby. :)

109, you must have taken awhile to learn to walk, because scientists have determined that humans don't start forming long-term memories until they're about 2 or 3 years old.

No, I was a few months old. The memory was being scared of a family pet. I think regardless of age extreme emotions stick with you, especially fear.

118 - there are records of people with detailed memory of being in the womb.

I know right? And people are calling the OP crazy... sheesh.

#140 - Not true. Most of those "records", as well as claims of people remembering their birth, were false memories. As in those people THINK they remember or PRETEND to remember, but actually formed the memories afterward. IIRC fetuses' brains are bathed in chemicals that basically act as an anesthetic, and their brains are nowhere near developed enough to form those kinds of memories. I'm not sure about months-old babies, but I suspect that's also a "memory" you formed later, possibly from hearing the story told to you or by having a similar situation happen to you when you were older. Babies don't even have a sense of a concrete universe at a few months old, and they're not sentient until 18 (IIRC) months to 2 years old (again, remembering off the top of my head). It's much more likely to be a false memory. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

As I said before, my memory came from fear. It was never told to me and never happened again. It was one of my cats at the time and she scared me, probably hissing or growling in my face, while I was crawling. Her sister was nicer and my favorite. The image has been ingrained in my head ever since. I love cats so it would be silly to have such a false memory. I could recall this image throughout my childhood knowing it was my earliest memory. I do believe memories from the womb are falsely believed to be real.

It's still very unlikely to be a "real" memory, even as true as it seems to be to you. It's just not possible in terms of cognition development of young children. Check it out :)

#213, like the other person said, it's just not possible. If it was never told to you, how do you know it happened? Your love for cats is irrelevant. People have nightmares about things they usually like. And like I said, similar things could have happened later on in your life without you realizing it. I don't think fear would help you remember at such a young age, either-- in fact, you're MORE likely to create false memories or details when you're afraid because your brain keeps trying to create the pathway it made the first time the event happened. :) Fun fact. I suspect a similar event happened to you later, you were afraid, which altered the way you remembered it, and you associated the crawling or knowledge of your cat with a younger age. Just my guess; I'm no psychologist. :)

Same here. My earliest memory was myself, crawling, I don't think I was big enough to walk, on my living room couch. It wasn't a very interesting memory, to tell you the truth, and it only lasts a split second. But I remember the texture of the couch. I was also wearing gloves. Thing is, sometime between then and my normal memories (toddler age) the living room couch moved to the screen room. My parents also separated a few years after. One of the times, I was over there (my dad's house) I commented to my mom about the couch's old placement and being a baby wearing gloves. She was shocked that I could remember that it used to be inside at all or that I had to wear gloves all the time as a baby to combat my severe eczema.

It's not impossible to overhear things, unconsciously use logic to figure things out, or to see photographs of things. It's also easy to exaggerate, especially since you're retelling a memory of a memory. Not to mention confirmation bias. Sorry, I'm just not convinced. It reminds me of claims of psychics: there are so many stories of their scarily accurate predictions, but when you actually look at it objectively or put them to the test, they fail.

How do I know it happened? Because it's a memory. I've told my parents about it and they are somewhat surprised I have this as my earliest memory, but not entirely because I have a very good memory of my life, particularly childhood. Emotions and scents are strongly likely to create memories. The most emotional aspects of my life I remember best, like when I was attacked by fire ants at three years old or the first day of kindergarten crying at the door to be let out. Science never claims absolute certainty. We learn more about the human brain all the time. What we know now is not set in stone. Those cats passed away when I was really little. Any memory of them would have been of me when I was still a baby. I only have this one that lasted a split second.

"Science never claim absolute certainty" That's true, but what saksxalmo is telling you is true as well. I'm a cognitive science student and we actually have courses about memory in general, and how false memories are so easily created, especially memories at an early age. The brain development is not at a stage when it can "record" a memory at the age you mention. It might just be a memory that was entirely created, or a memory from an older age that was deformed each time you had a memory of this memory, or by looking at a pics of those cats, or remembering your parents talking about them. Don't worry, it happens to everyone ^^ You say that science is not set in stone, but know that memory isn't either. It's constantly being modified, some are erased, other changed. (And sorry, english isn't my mother tongue)

It wasn't caused by any outside factors. Instead of dismissing it as a false memory when there are no other causes to be had, whether conscious or unconscious, due to the fact it wasn't discussed except only *as* a memory in my life and never changed or elaborated on (I've never had a different first memory) and pictures have had no effect (different poses of the cat versus the pose in the memory; no fear emotion attached to few photos I've seen of them) then it's most reasonable to assume it's a true memory and then search for how and why it was formed at such an age - as scientists would do. Go through the rigorous process of testing, retesting, and then retesting again, experiment and observe, see if it's supported by data and peer review. To continually and solely rely on old or current information to challenge new concepts is unwise and allows no growth in learning the full potential of the human brain (in this case). In the end, at least for me, this is my first memory. And logically, given the short time these cats were in my life and that I was crawling (I learned to walk at a typical age) and the cat was above me, I couldn't have been more than a year old. If this memory were longer and more complicated I would be inclined to believe/accept there must be another cause as opposed to it having been an actual event and, thus, that I had created a false memory, however mine is very simple - like a snapshot.

My mother asked me what my earliest memory was when I was about 21. I told her I remembered being held by very old woman who was very wrinkled and ugly and it frightened me so bad that all I could do was cry. The woman was cradling me and quickly handed me back to my mom. My mom was puzzled and then figured out it was her great aunt that visited when I was about 6 months old. I believe that fear can make a memory last. Many people say their first memory is of a traumatic event. Just because you have read scientists data on memory, doesn't mean they are 100% correct. The brain is still mostly a mystery.

Anyway, that's my two cents. While memories and false memories are fascinating - how they are physiologically and otherwise formed - I doubt we as humans know or have learned all there is to the brain and its development from birth on and how truly powerful it is.

I believe you, Bekll.

Heh, thanks. What I would love best is if these earliest memories people have could be tested and verified in some way and distinguished from the false ones. (Yours was very interesting, by the way.) Perhaps in the future there will be a way to do so.

Edit to earlier post: conscious or *subconscious* (not unconscious).

They have actually tested a lot of situations like these, but like others have stated, a lot of our brain is still a mystery at this point, so a lot is still conjecture...

You sound pretty narrow minded. Maybe your mother should have let you wear a dress once in a while.

She should be in therapy? For playing dress up with her baby? Maybe you should consider therapy.