Caught between my mother and the motherboard

As a new parent to the most precious little girl any mother would want, (such a cliché opening but I’ve always wanted to say that so carpe diem!) I have been caught between my mother and the motherboard. To avoid making this a sound like a tech talk, let’s give this some background.

I am a proud millennial, I enjoy all things digital, and I’m blessed to be married to an equally millennial husband.

As soon as we discovered that we were expecting, I obviously downloaded all the apps I could and starting reading every mommy blog I could get my hands on. The daily routine between my husband and I was a mix of links and articles about what to expect when expecting.

It was fast reaching a point where we were fully conversant with all things pregnancy and baby that we would give each other a quick glance in the doctor’s rooms when my gynae appeared to say something contrary to Google. This is not to say my gynae didn’t know what he was talking about, just that we happened to think WebMD and Dr Who knew what was what in this zoo.

I’m sure most of us have faced this challenge, where a few clicks and reviews arm us with such knowledge that we think we could lecture these experts because Google said so!

Side note, I can confidently say, although reading gave me a tonne of useful knowledge, nothing actually fully prepares you for the rollercoaster that is parenting. No blog or article adequately describes those sleep-deprived first weeks where you are both practically walking zombies.

Parenting in this age of the abundance of information has hit the grandparents hardest I think and that is why I say I am caught between my mother and a motherboard.

So, my daughter’s paediatrician prescribed some vitamins to supplement my baby’s vitamin D. As per usual after we go for a check-up, I gave the grandparents a detailed report as to what their grandchild will be taking and immediately Gogo said, you should just take a walk in the early morning sun, it’s good for the baby.

I paused for a minute, listening, and she added, you can Google it! I immediately cracked up at this suggestion and we both enjoyed a hearty laugh, but it got me thinking about how much grannies may actually feel replaced by technology.

Although, on the other hand, let’s face it, having something challenge the infinite parenting knowledge of grannies is priceless! I did get a good kick out of this because as a first-time mom, the world doesn’t believe that you have your baby’s best intentions at heart but WE DO.

Since the beginning of time, our mothers taught parenting 101 but things are changing and so is the role of grannies. I may not know what their new role is or if they should have a new role. Perhaps mine is just to keep listening and double-check on the side, just so they remain feeling priceless.

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Panashe is a first-time mom attempting to figure it all out, if that ever actually happens. Avid, vivid, a tad livid and of course sleep deprived, but that’s a mom for you.