Google search + parenting

Before I fully immersed myself into the world of all things mommy and baby, I didn't know much about the important stuff. 1)I liked babies 2) I wanted a baby and 3) I figured the rest would get learned along the way and fall into place--which is exactly how it is! Lol it's a learning process and I really do owe a lot of thanks to Google for that, because if it weren't for this glorious search engine, I would sometimes be lost of living at the doctors office.

Here are a few things I have had to google since the birth of my G Dude.

1) is my baby constipated?

Know why I resorted to google? Because telehealth is useless and won't tell you anything.

What I learned from this is if you think your baby may be constipated, he/she probably is. When your gut is telling you something is wrong, it usually is.

2) how to get rid of cradle cap?

Ok, I knew this was a common thing, I knew NOT to pick it and I knew it would go away on its own eventually, but Garett had a tiny piece on the back of his head and I wanted it gone. I never got the guts to try anything, just made sure we rinsed all the soap off of his head every bath to clean out the follicles. It fell off shortly after.

3) how often should my baby eat?

Garett was not a big eater. He barely ever finished a bottle and he ate small portions. He was sleeping through the night by 6 weeks and this worried me because most people complain of babies not sleeping much. Turns out a baby will tell you when they are hungry and when they are full--this was unnecessary worrying !

4) when do I make my baby start sleeping in his crib?

I did not want to be stuck in the cycle of a baby that can't get used to his own room. I had garett in a Moses basket beside me for a very long time. There are things to look for that let you know baby is ready. I could have figured this out it I had waited another week. When that boy was ready for his crib, it was glaringly obvious lol.

5) why doesn't my baby have teeth yet?

Garett started his teething around 3 months and has yet to cut a tooth. This worried me so much I couldn't trust googles good news and actually asked my doc. She says not to worry, that usually the longer it takes, the healthier the teeth are, which is what I read on google, which is why at 7.5 months (almost), I am not in pic mode about his lack of teeth lol.

6) when do I stop sterilizing bottles? 

This is more of a just stop one day after 4 months, which I struggled with. Even though your baby has milestones, it is the mommy and daddy that struggle with how fast they are growing lol--this is a tiny example. 

7) when will my baby laugh? 

I had no idea that a baby couldn't smile or laugh as soon as they were born (on purpose at least), so imagine my heartbreak when I found out those were just gas smiles. It's so sad to do all this work for little one and not even get the glimpse of a smile on return. However, the waiting was worth it. His smiles and giggles are the most beautiful music to my ears and a feast for my eyes.

8) what temperature is a fever?

Sure, my handy instruction manual for my top of the line thermometer for baby tells me, but I have an obsession with double checking. For the record, my baby has never once had a fever yet, but everytime he feels slightly warm I get scared and check lol.

9) why is my baby being fussy?

For the record, these searches are usual in some attempt to find a secret to teething (which is the only thing that so far causes my boy to fuss). Also...there's lots of home remedies out there, but I refuse to try them, so I don't know why I insist on reading about them even lol.

10) do vaccines cause autism?

This is still a huge scary topic to me because I just read the other day about some actual proven cases where the families are being compensated because the MMR vaccine caused autism in children. I don't want Garett to be autistic and I don't want Garett to die of mumps. It's a rock and a hard place. Lesser of the evils, I guess! He gets his vaccines.

Usually google has the answers--some you're looking for and some you're not. I would never rely on the net for medical advice, but my google searches have calmed me down many times (more than I can count, even). I figure by the next baby, I will be an old pro! Information is power :)