My mom says to let the baby cry it out and establish a schedule early. Everything online says newborns are unpredictable and you should just respond to their needs. My pediatrician gave me different advice than my wife's obgyn. We're 3 weeks in with our first and I feel like everyone has a different opinion. How do you guys deal with all the noise and just figure out what works for YOUR baby?
This is the hardest part of being a new dad honestly. Everyone's got an opinion and half of it contradicts the other half. Your instincts are probably better than you think they are.
The early schedule thing sounds good until you realize every baby is different. With my three kids I tried to be strict with the first and it was miserable. By kid two I just went with the flow more and everyone was happier. Don't stress too much about being perfect in those first few months.
This was brutal for me too. Everyone has an opinion when you're a new dad. What helped was I just picked ONE trusted source - our pediatrician - and went with that. Told family I appreciated the advice but we had a plan. Sounds harsh but it saved my sanity.
The cry it out vs responsive parenting debate is rough. At 4 weeks? Your mom's method feels ancient honestly. Every piece of research says newborns need that responsiveness. Trust your gut over the old school advice.
My mom said similar stuff to me. Here's what I learned: you can't spoil a 4 week old by responding to them. Your baby needs you. Do what feels right and ignore the rest.
The internet and your mom are gonna disagree on basically everything. Find like 2-3 sources you trust and stick with them. Ignore the rest of the noise.
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Man, I dealt with this same thing with my first. Mom was all about the crying it out method from day one, but then I'd read something else that made me second guess everything. Here's what I learned: newborns are too young for cry it out. Your mom's heart is in the right place but that's more of a 4-6 month thing. Trust your gut and your pediatrician over the internet noise.