Conflicting Advice/Momma Knows Best

For the first month, all I did was read, read, read. I read books, online articles by pediatricians, blogs by new moms, message boards, etc. Everything I could. I wanted to know how to best take care of my baby. I considered it my job - to take a crash-course in parenting. What are some ways to encourage her growth mentally, physically, socially? How can I establish a sleep routine? What milestones should my daughter be reaching by now? So I devoured all the advice I could. Sometimes I got the answers I needed, but usually I found 1,000,000 answers, each conflicting with the previous. Eventually, I realized they're all wrong if they're not applicable to the specific baby I am inquiring about. Even if a mom raised 100 kids and a pediatrician saw 1,000 patients, their advice is moot if it doesn't match up to my baby's temperaments, desires, patterns, etc. That's why advice should always be taken with a grain of salt. Co-sleeping might work for you; Ferber may be the approach you take. You can swear up and down that your method worked miracles for you. It doesn't mean it'll work for me or my daughter. I will read the advice, counter it against sound medical advice and then apply it as appropriate. And then change my mind later if I think it's appropriate. It's my perogrative. But in the meantime, I'm just grateful that God gives us intuition. I don't even need to read the advice to know what my daughter likes and dislikes. That's the only thing a new mom really needs to know: Read the books, don't read the message boards, listen to your doctor but ultimately go with your gut. It's why God gave it to you.