Where are my crunchy granola moms?

[Nanu57v]

-I babywear-- OK I have a slight problem here. I was OK with the older dd.. just a crappy nojo sling which I never used, a bjorn and the I found the Ergo. This time around, I had to have a Moby wrap, Hotsling, Kangaroo Korner fleece pouch, Maya ring sling, Maya Tie, and a water sling from Baby Ette on Etsy (PERFECT for Disney World).

I share your addiction!!!

When pumping, I never got more that about 10cc out of my body

I was an awful pumper too. I tried to pump when I went back to work for my DD, but only got an ounce at a time (not sure how much a CC was). I was super fortunate though...since that didn't work out, and since I worked at my DD's center, I just snagged her and nursed her when she was hungry!




So I'm also semi-crunchy. I cloth diaper during the day/ disposables at night and out of the house. Bf my oldest for 18 months before she weaned her self (at WDW!), and 14 months so far on the youngest. Had a completely med free delivery with the youngest (not even an IV!), but chickened out and got sleepy drugs with the oldest. Try to eat whole foods (bake my own bread and cook mostly from scratch) and some organic (not a lot of options in our town). Our kids always start in their own beds, and end up in ours. Oh, and the aforementioned baby carrier obsession, but I use a stroller for our morning walk. Oh, and we recycle, which is tough around here because it requires driving to a dropoff where they accept the item you want to recycle (we currently have to go to two different sites).

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't know if this is a part of being crunchy, but I'm also a vegetarian. And I want to learn more about vaccinations.

As a vegetarian, seeing some of the things that the cells for vaccines were grown in will absolutely disgust you. (among all the other reasons I am not in favor of messing with the natural immune system and loading the system with injections of nasty chemicals, that's one of the kickers for me)




OP I'm pretty danged crunchy. The only thing I don't qualify with was thanks to a long string of decisions and facts of life that resulted in horrid communication, hiring people who don't deserve the title of midwife, and trusting my Bradley classes for the correct order of things (note for Bradley people...they teach nothing about prodromal and help with not even a bit of a posterior baby...read up on those things so you are prepared for any weirdness that happens!)... But I certainly tried my rear off, until the system got me at the end of it all. Any future babies will be a planned UBAC in Oregon (laws are easier than in WA in case I want a midwife or want to transfer).


I don't fit in at ICAN meetings b/c I reject almost all "my c-s was necessary" stories, I don't fit in at LLL meetings b/c I remember more about nursing than most leaders have experienced (nursed to 4, brothers went to 2, half sis went to 5). And when people find out we've been trying for a second baby (first was a first-try wedding-night baby, which, by the way, I do NOT recommend having a baby until the first year of marriage is done!) since DS was 9 months and we still haven't gone for the various interventions, they just can't comprehend. (turns out its been hubby's body's "fault", in that he has a prolactinoma and that wreaks havoc with a man's hormones, and doctors refused to test his hormone levels despite being asked to do so for THREE YEARS, so in all likelihood all the invasive tests on me would have been pointless)

I fit in almost nowhere. Plus, I'm bad at "agreeing to disagree", have a hard time with "this works for our family", and all those other niceties, so you can see the problem.

And then just when I find someone crunchy enough, they discover that we have a TV AND that DS has been watching Star Wars movies starting at 4, and POTC movies (except for a few certain scenes) at the same age...and then they run away.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

I never did quite fit in with any of the moms groups either. At this point I no longer care

 

[luvmesometigger]

Don't be too quick to jump on this one. This mom may well have PPD and might really be suffering. A lot of women, myself included, have a hard time with even the simple stuff afterward. It is sad, whatever the case may be. Hopefully this mom will get herself together one way or the other.

ETA - this is not meant to sound snarky - more matter-of-fact

I understand what you mean and I am not offended. I realize there are situations that we may not understand. I for one, am one of those types. I strictly breastfed my first 2..no bottles, just milk straight from the tap. I nursed my 3rd baby until 5 weeks...then ended up in the hospital in the ICU for 2 weeks with a post partum DVT that almost killed me. My husband had to FF. I tried to keep my milk in while in the hospital but couldn't. I needed every ounce of energy to stay alive. So I do understand there are things under lying sometimes that change your situation.

However, the OP showing this sling said the mom propped the baby in the car seat with this thing and then typed away on her phone. That really bothers me.

I probably should have been more clear in my feelings.

 

[crazy4cloth]

Don't be too quick to jump on this one. This mom may well have PPD and might really be suffering. A lot of women, myself included, have a hard time with even the simple stuff afterward. It is sad, whatever the case may be. Hopefully this mom will get herself together one way or the other.

ETA - this is not meant to sound snarky - more matter-of-fact

I suffered severe postpartum with my last. To the point that I almost took my life. Which is one she was my last. In the middle of all that crazy **** going on I knew what was best for my baby and did it. Believe me I know its hard. I couldn't function at all. My depression was crazy, my anxiety was over the top. Folding laundry would set me into a full blown attach. My sister in law and mother had to practical live with me. Not trying to judge but it's just sad.

 

[crazy4cloth]

What about extended rear facing in the car? Is that considered crunchy? If so, than I totally succeed at one crunchy thing! We knew we wanted to RF as long as possible, but because of the way the Element is set up, it would have been nearly impossible to get her in and out of a RFing convertible seat when she outgrew the bucket, so we even spent the $300+ on a Combi Zeus 360 seat so that we could keep her facing backward for as long as possible. It swivels forward facing to put her in and get her out, and the spins around and locks into the RFing position for when we're moving. This seat has been worth every penny for us and DD is still RFing at 18 months old with no plans to turn her any time soon

Yes. Mine were rear facing until past the age of 2. People looked at me like I was crazy. lol. She didn't care nor did she know she could be facing the other way.

 

[mum2simon]

I've been labeled that. lol. I guess if you homebirth, breastfed, cloth diaper, co-sleep, wear your baby etc. you are considered crunchy. Anyways, who else falls under this category?

That's me!! Two wonderful homebirths, tandem nursing my 3.5 and18mo scared1, cloth diaper, co-sleep, babywearing and we are vegan!

We also don't circmcumcise or vaccinate don't send the authorities after me!

 

[crl]

I'm right there in the middle of too crunchy for those in this area and to soggy for others who are really into it.

We could not have natural home births since my labor stalls at 4-5 cm and I could be stuck there for days without help.
We do however co-sleep, breastfeed, cloth diaper, babywear, homeschool, and do not circumcise.

 

[mum2simon]

Yes. Mine were rear facing until past the age of 2. People looked at me like I was crazy. lol. She didn't care nor did she know she could be facing the other way.

We are driving down to WDW next week and are considering flipping our 3y9m old DS to RFing again for the drive. /our seat goes to 35lbs. RFing and he is about 34 and change (and very tall). We just flipped his seat to FF when he was 3 and about 3 months. He loved facing that way, the only reason we did it was because my DH is really tall and was having a hard time driving with his seat RFing behind him (this happened once we had two RFing)

 

[sweetsusannah]

My dad calls me a greenie weenie. It's an affectionate term. We cloth diaper, breastfed, and co-sleep. I make all babyfood homemade and organic. We buy local grassfed meats and are part of a CSA for our vegetables. I make all of our household cleaners and my husband uses an electric lawnmower. We only buy BPA-free and mainly just use glass. All health and beauty products in our home are paraben and sulfate free. Perhaps we'd be kicked out of the club since I did have a scheduled c-section with my first and looks like with this upcoming one too, but hey I'd say we are pretty granola-ie.

 

[sweetsusannah]

That's me!! Two wonderful homebirths, tandem nursing my 3.5 and18mo scared1, cloth diaper, co-sleep, babywearing and we are vegan!

We also don't circmcumcise or vaccinate don't send the authorities after me!

Just curious here, please pardon my ignorance, but don't your kids need to have vaccines to go to school or social activities? My DD does go to pre-school a couple mornings a week and I know she wouldn't be allowed in without them. Also, she goes to the daycare at my gym while I workout and they require it too. We have always requested and gotten an altered shot schedule but never even thought of not giving them to her due to the above.

 

[mum2simon]

Just curious here, please pardon my ignorance, but don't your kids need to have vaccines to go to school or social activities? My DD does go to pre-school a couple mornings a week and I know she wouldn't be allowed in without them. Also, she goes to the daycare at my gym while I workout and they require it too. We have always requested and gotten an altered shot schedule but never even thought of not giving them to her due to the above.

Depending on what state you are in, there are medical, religious and philisophical exemptions. We are planning on homeschooling, but anywhere that has asked for our records, I just let them know that we do not vax and haven't run into any problems. As I mentioned we are vegans, and we are also Catholic, many of the vaccines are grown in or come from animal cells/aborted fetuses...so we are opposed to using them. There is also a history of adverse reactions in our family so there is also a medical reason that we don't vax. There are more and more families researching vaccinations these day, and there are options (delayed vax, alternate schedule, no vax, etc.) that many are not aware of. That being said, it is a VERY heated topic in much of the online community, and not all pediatricians are on board with delay, select or no vax). But I have done my research (extensively) and feel very confident with our decision

 

[tartemis]

Yes. Mine were rear facing until past the age of 2. People looked at me like I was crazy. lol. She didn't care nor did she know she could be facing the other way.

Ughh, I'm jealous. I think we are making the plunge and putting our 13 month old (yes 13 month old) forward facing after she again became sick in the car last night. I would love to keep her rear facing for longer, but she keeps getting car sick and I'm virtually certain it is because she is rear-facing. We had to switch my first DD (now 3 years old) to forward-facing around the same time -- she would throw up often in the car (especially if it was a drive with a lot of turns like a parking ramp), and then once we turned her forward we never had the problem again.

It is the oddest thing -- as infants they never had a problem; but it seems like once they hit the 1 year mark, my girls can't handle being rear-facing. At least they are big kids, which makes me feel better, but I really would like to keep her rear-facing.

It's also funny how standards differ throughout communities -- many in my circle call me a hippy for breastfeeding past a year and for co-sleeping; but I would fall waaay short in comparision to those on this thread!

 

[crazy4cloth]

My dad calls me a greenie weenie. It's an affectionate term. We cloth diaper, breastfed, and co-sleep. I make all babyfood homemade and organic. We buy local grassfed meats and are part of a CSA for our vegetables. I make all of our household cleaners and my husband uses an electric lawnmower. We only buy BPA-free and mainly just use glass. All health and beauty products in our home are paraben and sulfate free. Perhaps we'd be kicked out of the club since I did have a scheduled c-section with my first and looks like with this upcoming one too, but hey I'd say we are pretty granola-ie.

Greenie Weenie I love it. We didn't circumcise either.

 

[crazy4cloth]

Just curious here, please pardon my ignorance, but don't your kids need to have vaccines to go to school or social activities? My DD does go to pre-school a couple mornings a week and I know she wouldn't be allowed in without them. Also, she goes to the daycare at my gym while I workout and they require it too. We have always requested and gotten an altered shot schedule but never even thought of not giving them to her due to the above.

We can do a religious exemption for vaccines although it pisses me off because I should be able to decide what I want to put in my childs body and not have to claim it's due to a religion.

Ughh, I'm jealous. I think we are making the plunge and putting our 13 month old (yes 13 month old) forward facing after she again became sick in the car last night. I would love to keep her rear facing for longer, but she keeps getting car sick and I'm virtually certain it is because she is rear-facing. We had to switch my first DD (now 3 years old) to forward-facing around the same time -- she would throw up often in the car (especially if it was a drive with a lot of turns like a parking ramp), and then once we turned her forward we never had the problem again.

It is the oddest thing -- as infants they never had a problem; but it seems like once they hit the 1 year mark, my girls can't handle being rear-facing. At least they are big kids, which makes me feel better, but I really would like to keep her rear-facing.

It's also funny how standards differ throughout communities -- many in my circle call me a hippy for breastfeeding past a year and for co-sleeping; but I would fall waaay short in comparision to those on this thread!

Oh car sick babies isn't good. I won't want to clean that up after every car ride.

 

[PaulaSue]

Hmm. I might be semi-crunch. Is that possible?

Ditto, I EN, co-sleept and was a babywearer when they were not a big as me.

 

[sweetsusannah]

Greenie Weenie I love it. We didn't circumcise either.

I am laughing so hard right now! That isn't why he calls me greenie weenie, it's just a name he came up with but when we find out the sex of our current baby (in utero currently) I will have to change the context! I can see my dad's face now!

 

[epcotprincess]

I'm a mostly-crunchy momma!

We cloth diaper, co-slept, breastfed. DD has been in the Moby Wrap since she was 2 weeks old, and she LOVES it. I make all her food in the Beaba Babycook, which I love. She's on an alternate vax schedule. I use all green cleaning products, or make my own.

I didn't have a homebirth, but I had a completely unmedicated birth and labored entirely in water, with the assistance of a doula (and DH of course )

I don't think we will homeschool, but I am a SAHM.

ETA: She will be rear-facing as long as possible, even though she is larger than the average baby.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Can I ask about alternate/delayed vaccination schedules? How are you crunchy mommas choosing to vaccinate?

My little one is only 6 weeks old and we have already chosen to delay his Hep B vaccinations (because I'm not convinced vaccinating for something he has no risk of catching at birth is a good idea, and it even seems to go against the WHO guidelines on Hep B vax), but his 2 month vaccinations are coming up in a couple weeks and I'm starting to research just exactly how I feel about all that. I think I will do all the recommended vaccinations then, but I'm curious how other moms are choosing to vaccinate at this stage.

 

[Nanu57v]

Yes. Mine were rear facing until past the age of 2. People looked at me like I was crazy. lol. She didn't care nor did she know she could be facing the other way.

I once saw a dad at the park putting his child (at least age 2) in the car rear facing. I gave him props for staying ERF. Then he said it was because the car seat required it until she was 35 pounds and that they have her FFing in the other car because that car seat allowed it. I didn't correct him.