Raising a Baby Today

I was talking to a friend about bringing up babies and the books she has been reading before her bubba is born and it got me thinking. I didn't really read any books before my bubba was born. I didn't really have time. Sometimes I wish I had, while other times it makes me happy because I have no preconceived ideas of how things should be.

Don't get me wrong I read the information that is given to me by the health professionals and google when I run out of ideas or I need some guidance. But mainly I use my instincts when it comes to my son. I started to think about our new age society and if we are better off than our parents and grandparents.

Our parents and mainly our grandparents would usually have family and friends (a small community of people) to help them raise their children. But there were a lot of things not talked about and a lot of things not yet discovered. For example: recently studies have discovered that to help prevent SIDS it is best to have babies sleep on their backs in lieu of their tummy. With this information the percentage of babies dying from SIDS has been shown to fall dramatically. So in the past there wasn't as much information or support, so did families and parents have to rely on instincts and information passed down from generation to generation?

I know times have changed but I started to wonder how much information is out there today. How many books are there? How much of this information is conflicting. And I must tell you there is a lot of information. It must look very daunting to a new mum trying to find answers. After reading a few articles it made me happier that I hadn't read too much and decided to just take things as they come. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people would find these books/information helpful. But my son is not your average bub and I can guarantee he wouldn't be doing things by the book. There is a lot of information out there because times have changed and we aren't the small communities that raise babies together. In fact a lot of people don't have there family and friends around to offer support and help at all. So these books must be a life saver for some people who have nothing else.

This conversation was raise slightly in my mothers group a week ago and I must say the conversation was interesting. Every mother knows their baby is constantly changing, so does that mean that you are constantly looking for additional information? To make things even more interesting one of the ladies in my mothers group spoke about her trip to South Africa and how they don't know, or aren't aware of SID's, don't really use seat belts etc. This point alone makes me feel happy the information is out there and too much information is better than not enough information. Our children are safe, our rules are clear, the guidance is there. If you need it great and if you don't you don't have to read it.

The most important thing I learnt in all of this is that trusting my instincts works best for me and my son. If I need help then I know I can get it, but I'm happy that I am into days society.