advise on advice

When I became noticeably pregnant, my day-to-day interaction with people completely changed. I really didn't change anything in my behavior, but I suddenly became the target of a barrage of advice on baby care, pregnancy, labor, epidurals, maternity clothes, healthy food consumption, etc. At first I took all of this unsolicited advice in good humor and stride, but as the months of my pregnancy began to wear on, my tolerance for listening to advice began to wear thin. Fortunately, by the last month of my pregnancy I became immune to listening to all of the advice and counsel - a lucky thing, or I never would have survived my last baby shower (guests began to talk louder and louder over each other, trying to make sure that their pieces of counsel could be heard over the din of other advice being given. I had to keep from laughing sometimes - have you ever heard anyone practically shout about the "best" way to diaper or bathe a baby?).

One of the worst sources for unsolicited advice was the women's gym where I work out. I sometimes dreaded going there; I would inevitably have at least one or two women I didn't know start talking to me (even if I was in the middle of a conversation with my friend Ixoj) and giving me more advice...

I thought that all of the advice would stop when Sam was born, but it apparently hasn't. Today during sacrament meeting a woman (ahem, a stranger again - we were attending a ward other than our own) tapped me on the shoulder and suggested that Jeremy and I try rocking Sam on our laps instead of in our arms. I was kind of surprised since Sam wasn't crying or being disruptive to the meeting. I replied, "Oh we tried that. He doesn't like it." I have to admit, this comment wasn't completely true. Sometimes Sam doesn't mind when he is rocked on our laps. I just am so tired of receiving advice from a stranger than I didn't want to appear too...receptive.

Sometimes I do like getting advice. While pregnant, I really liked getting advice from my friend Shauna who had a baby a few months before me. For one thing, I would ask Shauna for advice, which automatically made me more open to what she said. Furthermore, Shauna would give advice in a really personal way, prefacing her statements with, "What really worked for me was XYZ," or "I found out that such-and-such doesn't work too well," etc. I appreciated hearing advice this way, instead of definitive statements like, "Don't do this!" and "Do that!"

Is it wrong/rude to give unsolicited advice? When are people more susceptible to accepting advice - does it depend on the situation or one's relationship with the advice-giver? Have I just gotten tired of hearing advice because it's been served to me in such large portions? Do people accept small amounts of advice better? Being so tired of hearing advice has made me wonder about my own tact and advice-giving tactics (ironically, the name "Monica" means "advisor").

What do you think?

addendum: I recognize that people mean well when they give advice. I should keep this more in mind. Sometimes I just have difficulty accepting and receiving advice that I wasn't looking for - perhaps I'm too close-minded?