Help, please?

I like to read.  Sometimes I get focused on a subject and will buy 3 different books on it and spend hours on the internet reading peoples opinions on the matter.  Does anyone else do this? or just me?  Like when I got obsessed with cupcakes.  Or running.  Or how to paint trees on the wall for the nursery.

I did this a lot with pregnancy too.  Which is probably pretty natural, but I read every single thing I could get my hands on.  Often it'd all be repetitive information, but I didn't care.  I soaked it all up.  I was advised that at some point it'd be wise to switch from pregnancy books to books about what it'll actually be like when the baby comes.  It was a novel idea...of which I'm ashamed I hadn't thought of on my own.

But I'm fully consumed now with babies and motherhood.  I'm not really sure what I'm doing, so I'm absorbing every single slice of information I can get my hands on.  I often read article after article on my iPhone while I'm feeding Maddie.  At 4am.  Any chance I can get really.

I mean I've dreamed of this day of being a stay-at-home mom.  I'm not one of those women that was torn about leaving my job.  I always knew I wanted to not work outside the home and just stay home with the kiddos.  I've even had countless jobs that involved small children in the past.  But that still doesn't mean I have much of a clue about raising a child.

Here is a glimpse into my life right now and what my nightstand looks like where I spend hours of my baby-filled days...

Until two months ago, it was all preggo books...Barnes & Nobles makes a killing off of me.  Because I might as well be well informed as I stumble through this steep learning curve.  I cannot get enough.

And might as well be real with you about my clutter-filled bedroom.  I do try to clean.  Just not nearly as often anymore.  And it's slowly starting to not bother me as much.  I actually just put up a TV tray that I added next to my bed because I couldn't fit anything else on my nightstand...and didn't have time nor the energy to make room.  But let's be honest, a clean house will always make my heart filled with joy.  And I still may have an occasional mental breakdown when the sink is full of dishes.  Again.

...sorry, back to my point...

I especially love it when I come across incredibly encouraging posts such as this one.  Please read it if you are a young mother such as myself.  I love reading blogs.  Because though I'm alone in the house with a small, napping child unable to escape in the 10 feet of snow outside, I can feel as if I'm having coffee with a woman who is just sharing her life with me, and though I don't know her I can feel like we are best friends.  And be encouraged and breath a sigh of relief that what I'm feeling is not completely irrational.

I think one of the most informative resources out there is just talking to other new moms.  They know what the new products are, what's worth trying and what's socially acceptable these days - from the best gas medicine to the newest book on sleep habits to my new love of cloth diapering to feeding in public (all of which I've had in-depth conversations about recently).  As I'm slowly expanding my social network in town to women with kids, I probably come across as wide-eyed and overwhelmed to them.  Of which I probably am.  But I'm ok with that.  I kinda like it that way actually.

Of course I take it all with a grain of salt.  What works for them may not work for me.  But I definitely want to be aware of all my options and go from there.

Because I'm a steward of this baby.  Maddie ultimately belongs to God and He has just entrusted her to me to raise her.  That is a big responsibility I am well aware of.  So bring on the words of wisdom.  Because goodness, I need them.