Google Is Not a Pediatrician
And other things I learned as a new mom
“Can you fall asleep while standing up?”
“Reasons why my baby won’t nap.”
“How much should a three-month-old be eating?”
I was sitting at my desk in our home office, Googling questions while my baby slept in the next room. I stared back at my own reflection in the window. A reading lamp just barely illuminated my hunched shoulders. I met my own gaze, hoping to see a part of myself I recognized, a familiar lightness. But there was no denying it: I was in rough shape.
All of the “advice” and blog posts I had consumed that day ambiently floated through my head, and with them, an unmistakable doubt crept in. I reviewed the day’s intake of information from my most recent Google searches, recalling random bloggers and websites who claimed to be sleep consultants yet still pushed their “miracle” sleep products. The authors’ words echoed in my head. Things like:
“A baby that nurses for less than five minutes is not getting their nutrition.”
And:
“If your child is only napping half-hour increments, they will not get the sleep they need to be healthy.”
And on, and on.
