Information Overload :: Remembering to Trust Myself

When I was pregnant with my first child, like many new parents I collected all the information I could find on all things baby. Apps for growth and development? I had five. Books about pregnancy? More than could fit on my nightstand. Pinterest boards about what to register for/how to decorate a nursery/what to pack in my hospital bag?  So many I had to start making some “secret”. Once my sweet bundle arrived, I didn’t stop collecting information, either. Any time we hit a milestone or I was worried about something (which, um, was like always), Google became my best friend. I didn’t approach any major moments without consulting all the blogs/boards/apps first. 

Flash forward to a few weeks ago. My daughter is two and she now has a five month old little brother (in other words, we are BUSY). One day in the middle of a diaper change she stood up and bolted to the bathroom saying “I go potty!” Suddenly I realized we were going to start potty training right then and there! As I went to bed that night, feeling so proud of my daughter, it dawned on me that we had an entire afternoon of successful potty trips despite my lack of reading and researching about the topic. My daughter was happy and learning and that whole day I hadn’t stressed out once. I trusted my mama instincts and things actually went pretty well!
 
We are so, so fortunate to live in a time where information is constantly at our fingertips. Raising babies is HARD, and I’m so thankful I never feel completely alone because there is always a website or an app just a click away to help me. However, what I realized on our first day of potty training is that somewhere along the way I forgot to have confidence in myself to figure some of this momming thing out on my own. Let’s face it, we know our little ones better than anyone else. It is OK to trust yourself! 
 
I am fully aware that I probably had a really lucky break on potty training with my oldest child and some moms may need to consult  books/articles/Pinterest boards about the topic, just like I sincerely needed to do when it came to breastfeeding and pumping before returning to work. Blogs can create community, apps can help us quickly access help on development, and Pinterest can inspire us to get creative.  But sometimes I think in our best efforts to be amazing moms, we surround ourselves with so much information it ends up causing us more stress and anxiety than we realize. This clouds over our confidence to trust our abilities. Information is good, but let’s all remember not to overload ourselves to where we forget our own amazing mama instincts. 


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Liz Ewing
Liz lives in West Wichita with her husband, Shane, and their two kiddos, Brynn (October '15) and Beckett (December '17). Liz loves her job as a Kindergarten teacher in the same district she grew up attending as a child herself. When she is not chasing after small children, Liz enjoys her coffee black (bonus points if it's still warm!), her wine red, attending church with her family, long lunches to catch up with her girlfriends, and exploring new restaurants and ice cream spots with her hubby on date nights.

1 COMMENT

  1. My dearest Granddaughter. You write with such wisdom . I read for awhile…then stop, smile and remind myself….this is written by my little “Lizzi. How beautifull you have become! How very proud I am to be your “Grandmother “!!!!

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