Which Mom Knows Best: Yours or Your Child's?

I know more about babies than you!!!

There is no more epic battle that a new dad will find himself than an "un-Civil" War between a new mom and her mother-in- law.  Altercations between a new mom and her mother can also be "un-Civil", but the dad won't be caught in the middle.  In fact if he knows what's good for him, he better always stand behind his wife in skirmishes with her mother.  However, when shots are fired between the woman you married and the woman who raised you, it's going to get pretty uncivilized and quick.  No time more so than when it come to how to take care of a newborn baby.

Here's the context:  Grandma has raised at least one child (dad) or more to adulthood and believes she did a pretty good job of it.  Dad survived didn't he?  The problem is Grandma hasn't had to care for a baby for at least 20 years and things have changed. (E.g., newborns shouldn't sleep on their backs or have their skin exposed to sunshine at length, moms have the option to breast feed, use  formula or pump breast milk, etc.) Grandma may be more susceptible to old wives' tales and old world child rearing practices.

Your wife is probably a professional and well educated woman.  She is used to making independent decisions based on the latest medical facts and findings.  She's probably taken (and brought dad along) to several baby preparation classes.  So she may never have raised a baby before, but she has armed herself with latest and best practices and techniques.

Both Mom and Grandma want the best for baby, but have different paradigms and experiences.  If you (dad) are lucky, it is merely a difference of opinion.  If you are not, they may be playing out a power play with you and the baby caught in the middle dodging mortar shells.

I'm not sure have any suggestions to solve this dilemma.  My mom likes my wife more than she likes me, so I've never been caught between the two.

So if you're a dad in this situation, what to do? 
Suggestions?

     -  Clark's Dad