Another mother was telling me how when her 4 month old son was having difficulty calming down her great-aunt who has never had children told her to take him for a walk in the garden to help him settle. So she's holding him, bouncing up and down up the garden walk, both she and her son freezing as it starts to rain and suddenly it dawns on her that she has just blindly taken advice of a woman who has not only has no hands-on experience with babies, but made an active choice NOT to have any.
It's incredible how us new moms latch on to whatever advice is thrown at us in the first few months. Some of the advice is good (Vaseline to get rid of cradle cap? Works like a charm) and some is ridiculous (like my mother telling me over skype that Eloise is crying because she doesn't like the sweater she's wearing).
Slowly and surely I'm starting to gain my confidence as a mother and know when to take advice given and when to tell people, thanks and all, but since I spend more time with my baby than I have ever spent with anyone. ever. I think I know what she needs - and a frozen brandy-pop to help with teething is not it. However I will have two.
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