My Non-Advice to Mothers Everywhere

I have many young ladies whom I love, whom I have had the privilege of seeing enter into the best profession one can have: Momma. I have a policy about giving other moms advice. I only have one piece of advice. It's this: ignore most all advice you receive about being a mom. I realize that just by continuing this blog, I may go against my own policy, but it needs to be said. To all moms, new, young, expectant, or even those who have been doing this for a while and need fresh perspective:
We are human. Sometimes we need help. We don't know all the answers. However, don't post a FB status asking what the best so and so is. You will get 536 different answers. Think of a few people you know and trust. People that don't look like they're messing it up too horribly. PM or call them. Read. Read. Read. Research for yourself. Pray. A lot. The fact is, there are so many options for moms in every area of parenting, and EVERYONE has an opinion about those options. Even the ones they haven't tried. It's a strange thing, how someone can be the quietest, unassuming person in the world, but once you mention pregnancy or childrearing, they absolutely know it all. For a new mom, this is overwhelming at best, and downright annoying at worst. (Disclaimer: I did post on FB the other day about my baby's reflux, and got some really good answers. Thanks friends. :))
The best thing you can do for your marriage and your parent/child relationships is set boundaries. Know what you believe. Pray for wisdom continually.
If you just got the baby to sleep, and Granny drops in for a visit and asks you to wake the baby...say no.
If you take your child to the doctor, and something inside doesn't feel right about the treatment he/she prescribes...say no.
If your in-laws plan their 3rd Christmas celebration in as many days, you're exhausted and your kids haven't even gotten to play with their new loot...say no.
If your neighbor/friend/coworker/family member (even your mother)/postman says why you should/shouldn't breastfeed/bottle feed, sleep train/cosleep, homeschool/send your kid to public school/send your kid to private school, give them cereal at 6 weeks/hold off on food until 6 months, let them cry it out/attend to them, vaccinate/not vaccinate, spank/not spank, tv/no tv, and the list goes on and on and on....know what you believe. Do the research yourself, ask your trusted (small) inner circle, pray for wisdom and for your steps to be ordered, and be prepared to defend your decisions to the naysayers...but know you don't have to defend them to anyone. Not even to me.