information overload

We re called the information generation. I don t think this is a misnomer. My generation knows that through Wikipedia, imdb.com (internet movie database), weather.com, Zillow, cnn.com, various blogs, youtube, and Google Maps, you can find information about almost anything you could ever want to know.

While sometimes annoying (like how Wikipedia has the last word in every pointless debate my husband and I have), this access to endless amounts of information can actually be enjoyable. While watching the Oscars this weekend, Dan and I had the laptop out and were looking up information that we didn t know as it was referenced ( Who was that guy? , What else was Marissa Tomei in? Is the cast of Slumdog mostly Indian or British? ).

I remember what an invaluable resource the internet was when I was planning our wedding. Dress and flower ideas, etiquette tips, and invitation templates were all found online. So now, with a new major life milestone, I turned to the internet for all sorts of things: pregnancy survival tips, name meanings, nursery design ideas, product recommendations, local birth class listings, even podcasts about all things pregnancy. Unfortunately, unlike with wedding planning, I have decided that all this info is just too much.

Diaper brand X is the best. / Diaper brand X totally leaks and you shouldn t buy them, buy Z brand.

You need at least 2 cup holders and an extra deep storage basket on your stroller. / Forget the extra junk, you want a stroller that is light and portable.

Some official organization gives this bottle design it s Most Innovative award. / Some other organization gave THIS bottle the Ingenious Design award.

This book has all the answers you will need about how to prepare for your baby. / Written by an amazing pediatrician, no other book has more information than THIS one.

I m sure you ve now come to the same realization that we have: they can t all be true. So if some of them aren t true, which ones are true? Am I going to be the lady who needs the extra deep storage basket, or the one who would give anything for portability? And the conundrum continues. For that reason, I would like to make this official declaration:

I give up. I refuse to take to heart one more ounce of internet-based information or advice regarding baby gear, baby development, or pregnancy. It s just too complicated and convoluted. I had started to make lists of things I ve read about (like Brand X diapers= good! ), but then I ve had to amend it far too many times because of opposing information found later. I want to make room for my own preferences and opinions too, and I feel like with all that s out there to read and take as fact, I haven t taken the time to consider what my baby might need and what might work best for my family.

All that to say, if you have experience and information on products, advice, and the like, please share. I m just over the whole totally-contradictory-information-at-the-tip-of-my-fingers-from-people-i ve-never-met thing. It seems like I read in a history book somewhere (or a maybe it was a wiki article) that people used to talk to each other (some prehistoric era before facebook messages and twitter) and pass on information about things they had experienced to younger generations, and I like that idea. As we prepare to welcome our younger generation, I could think of nothing more important.