Information Overload

As a new parent, or at least I still consider myself a new parent, I am constantly buying and reading new literature on the greatest and latest "child rearing tecniques". I mean, I knew having kids wouldn't be a walk in the park, but there are days I feel at a complete loss! And I mean COMPLETE! Having written on this subject on a number of occassions, I won't bore you with the gory details, but the reality is that just when I get something under control, something new comes up that throws me for a loop. And so I read. Selah, being my second, is easy. Not that she is an easier baby than Caleb, but I guess it is not foreign territory to me anymore. I have an idea of what to do and it really is easier the second time around. Caleb, on the other hand, constantly has me jumping. There is no rest when I am wondering what happened to my sweet little boy and where this little terrorist has come from! Ahhhh! So, I resort to buying more books. "What to Expect in the Toddler Years," "See how they run," "To train up a child," Child rearing videos, magazines on parenting... etc. And then I ravage them for information on the terrible twos, and eighteen to twenty-four month olds, raising BOYS, whatever I can manage to get my hands on. Is it normal to be completely housbound due to my son's newfound ability to completely humiliate me in public????? Oy vey! And yet, I am learning. Each new book I read, each article I see, gives me new perspective as I constantly re-evaluate my parenting tecniques. The only problem, is that just when I decide on something, I read something else that changes my perspective once again. And I feel guilty, or someone looks at me with judgement in their eyes and I wonder to myself: "am I being too hard, too soft? What am I doing wrong here." And once again, it is back to the drawing board. Oh, the days when he was quiet, and cuddly, and stayed where I put him. Oh well, for now, I survive. One day at a time, one mistake at a time. Trying and trying and trying again until I find some method that works, if only for a time before I am once again forced to go back to the drawing board yet again. Here's to raising toddler boys!