We are so excited to be welcoming our little girl earth side very soon! We are also nervous about it because, well our lives our about to change forever. The thought that keeps coming to mind is how in the world did we survive as children when our parents didn’t have access to social media? I’m kidding but hear me out.
It’s no lie that our phones listen to us and that social media algorithms are watching what we are looking up. It’s safe to say that 90% of the stories, videos, or reels that pop up on my phone are about babies. At first I was watching all of them and either taking notes or sending the videos to myself to look back on. There are sooo many opinions when it comes to: creating a sleep schedule right away, the best bottle/paci, how often you should hold your baby, how bottle-feeding will not give you the bond that breastfeeding does, & all these other shoulds, should nots, & guilt-trips. Honestly it’s exhausting to read/watch all of those things and in today’s society there is so much pressure on making the newborn experience absolutely perfect.
But what happens if not everything is perfect? What happens when your baby is born and has an unexpected stay in the NICU-there goes that sleep schedule. What happens if your baby has to have an NG tube and can’t take a bottle or paci? What happens if your baby just needs some extra cuddles because they just want to know you are close? What happens if breastfeeding is so incredibly painful and difficult for your mental health that bottle-feeding is better for you and for baby? I’ll tell you what happens, it’s going to be okay. In all actuality your baby just needs you present, healthy, and available. & if that social media influencer says you are going to spoil your baby if you hold them too long then keep on scrolling or better yet maybe even take a break from the picture perfect reels you see. That may be their reality or it may be what worked for them but that doesn’t mean it has to or will work for you and your baby. Postpartum is hard enough we don’t need to add to it by having unrealistic expectations of what this journey will look like.
So what can we do instead? Put the phone down & ask the Lord to give you what you need to care for your sweet babe. Mommas we were created for this and we don’t have to succumb to the pressure that social media puts on us. It’ll be hard but it’ll also be beautiful & I believe the two can go hand in hand.
Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
With love,
Laramie