Too much information
VPGIRL06
member
Anyone else feel like we have "too much" information at our disposal now? We can find "an answer (or two, or three!" to everything!
"Why wont LO nap for longer than 45 minutes?"
"How to get them to sleep through the night"
"Why is my LO's poop this color?"
I'm not saying our moms and grandmas didn't have concern, but they all look like I'm crazy for the things I say regarding LO's sleep cycles (since 6 weeks her naps have gone to 45 minutes without assistance. Typical for this age), regarding wake times, regarding feeding, regarding reflux, etc. In their day, if a baby didn't sleep for longer than 45 minutes than they just didn't sleep for 45 minutes. and if a baby cried for 5-10 minutes, they didn't worry about causing trauma to the baby. Formula was a great invention and made a moms life easier; sleeping through the night wasn't as big of a deal, and reflux wasn't nearly as "common".
I know there is some difference in todays society vs theirs (e.g. reflux is on the rise since back to sleep was introduced, babies wake easier on their backs than on their tummies, and more moms work so sleep is much more precious than to SAHM) but still..they didn't stress about it. If there was a medical issue they called the doctors but I think that was it. But I feel like we all have SO much information at our finger tips that there is an answer to EVERYTHING. And that is driving me crazy trying to figure everything out.
I've decided to day I'm NOT going to google everything about my LO to "find an answer", and unless it's a medical issue, I'm going to just accept it and go with the flow. I'm definitely a person who "needs to fix" everything, so any little thing stopping my LO from being picture perfect drives me crazy. I'm guilty of posting about everything, but I need to get over it.
Little Riley-our first little girl coming March 1st, 2013 (or sometime around there;)
Re: Too much information
I info-overloaded myself by three weeks PP and had a total meltdown. Then I had an epiphany: during LO's first week, I had read nothing (outside of WTE) and just did what I thought was okay and things were fine. Here I was at week 3 and had read three books and countless online articles and boards and was miserable and exhausted and sobbing while I addressed birth announcements. I decided then and there that I was going to trust my gut and go with the flow/not try to control everything. Things have gone much more smoothly for all of us since then.
It is hard, though, when something comes up, to fight that urge to "fix it." Like during sleep regressions...
Yes, we have way too much access to information. There is also an obsession about being a "perfect" mom who ate her placenta and now makes organic home made babyfood and breastfeeds for 3 year and wears the baby 97 hours a day and teachers the baby chinese via homeschooling at age 6...
It's a little out of control..
agreed. I do find it funny that my grandparents see me wearing my baby (mostly because I really love being close to her; she actually naps better in her crib then in my sling) and say they didn't have anything like that when they had babies and I explain that baby wearing is very old and primal even lol. I do love to wear her but when shes only taking 30 minute naps in the thing versus 1 hours in her crib...:(
Yep, I think the internet lets us worry and obsess about every little thing because we have access to all this information. On the one hand, it lets me know that pretty much everything my little guy does is perfectly normal/common. But then again, it lets me compare my baby to others and obsess about milestones and development.
When I am able to just accept that I can't control everything (or anything) that my baby is doing, I have a much better day than when I am obsessing about it and trying to change it.
Truth!!