The best advice I ever got prior to having my first son was that despite all of the information, opinions and suggestions that will enter my brain was: You are the mom and you will somehow know what is right for you and your child. It is easy to agree with this, but oh-so-challenging to apply. This is especially the case for controversial issues, which seems like everything these days, and even more so when things aren't exactly going according to "plan".
Midwife or OB? Epidural? Breastfeed? Pacifier? Co-sleep? Room share? Among a million others. For the life of me, I could never remember, or understand the appropriate infant daily pattern, Eat-Sleep-Play? Play-Sleep-Eat? Or, after engorgement settled, which side to nurse on (despite the hair bands, apps, or thinking, really Leora, how difficult is it to remember...?). Oh, it is.
Social media is advantageous for many reasons, but certainly not for validating the difficulty of never ending questions and decisions we are faced with as moms. At the end of the day, I now consider it a huge accomplishment that I kept my little humans safe and feeling the love.
Dialogue is great, sharing ideas is amazing, and building networks for support is essential. Quadruple guessing ourselves is not. It is exhausting, paralyzing, and completely maladaptive. Do your homework using adequate sources, chat with a few trusted loved ones, and do motherhood, your way. I wish I would have done that more in the early days...
A few of my favorite resources:
St. Luke's Pediatric Sleep Center (FREE PDFs on sleep!)
25 Tips for Preventing Injury in Infant Caregivers
Uplifting the mealtime experience
Do you have any favorite resources?? Please share xo