In the UK Breastfeeding rates are really very low in comparison to the rest of the world. When I was pregnant with my first I decided I would give breastfeeding a try then no biggie if I switched to formula. Yet here I am with a 2 year old and a 4 week old baby feeding both. It wasn't something I planned to do but I could not find a good time to 'wean' my toddler. I kept thinking she would wean when I was pregnant but she didn't then after her sister was born she still did not wean. There are many benefits to breastfeeding past infancy so I decided to just run with it. As it happens its a very useful tool, booby cures many a thing from thirst to hurt fingers.
Wow its hard work with a newborn and a 2 year old. When you have a double buggy in town people look at you like you have two heads and most babies are not actually that happy about being put in a pram, especially when tiny. I started with a normal baby carrier with my first and could only handle her in it for about 10 minutes before my back ached but this time I decided to try a Moby wrap and I have to say it is amazing! With this long piece of fabric I can hoover, peg the washing out, do my hair & makeup and even play games with my toddler and it is so incredibly comfortable. I can even feed my baby in it and no one is any the wiser (great for trips around the supermarket...) so although there are loads of benefits of babywearing I have to admit, for me its pure convenience!
I do this for 3 main reasons; 1. I find I have hardly any leaks compared to disposables 2. It saves me shed loads of money 3. My girls have sensitive skin and they are less red in cloth nappies. I also blogged about this in another post in more detail. I now have 2 in cloth nappies, yes I have to do a nappy wash every other day which may be a bit of extra work but I would hazard a guess that two in disposables would cost me around £40-£50 a month which doesn't include the cost of disposable wet wipes - I would rather spend that on nice things for
4. I chose to have a home birthMy first birth did not go to plan so when I fell pregnant again last year I decided to research as much as I could regarding the complications in my last pregnancy, the birth itself and other options and what happened after my daughter was born. When I looked at the bigger picture and the statistics in my area regarding care in my local hospital I decided that staying at home to have my baby was far safer than going to my consultant led delivery unit. This decision resulted in my perfect second birth.
5. I bring my baby into my bed at night to feed her
Yep the taboo of parenting. I sleep with my baby even though apparently the safest place for her is a cot next to my bed...why? Because if I don't lie down and sleep whilst I feed her I am likely to fall asleep on a sofa or chair which is far more dangerous than feeding her laid down in my bed. When I bring her into bed with me I follow the safe co sleeping guidelines as recommended by UNICEF. As a bonus I also tend to get a little more shut eye throughout feeding so function better in the day. I must admit, I do also put her in the moses basket until she wakes for a feed purely for my own comfort than anything else but I do feel that safe co-sleeping is far safer than feeding baby out of bed when very tired.
Whether its stress, teething, labour pains or even a cold you can bet your bottom dollar that there is a homeopathic remedy to help. When I first heard about homeopathy it was chamomilla for my daughter's teething. I was shocked at how well it worked, it seemed to really calm her. Then when I was told it would help me in labour I must admit I was skeptical but actually it really worked!! I now swear by it and wish I had discovered this years ago.
Yup, three years ago if you asked me how I unwind after a busy day I would probably say with the best part of a bottle of Pinot Grigio and 10 cigarettes. This then led me to feel like crap the following day and was really damaging my long term health. When I fell pregnant I had to give up alcohol and cigarettes and I was determined not to take my filthy habits back up once the baby arrived (another motivation to keep the nasty habits at bay was breastfeeding as I didn't want my baby to have the toxins via my milk) so I had to find another way to unwind and deal with stress and that's where I came across meditation. As quite a highly strung person, meditation is what keeps me in check (and most probably sane) on a day to day basis. Its free and I can do it almost anywhere.
Research shows that children who are physically punished have more chance of becoming violent themselves - hmmm, hardly any wonder if their main role model hits them when they do not do as they are told. Instead I am a huge believer in trying to find out the reason why a child has done x,y or z then deal with the cause. With children under 3 its mainly through frustration in learning about the world. I do believe children need to learn right from wrong but I believe that can be achieved more effectively with positive reinforcement rather than through fear in ones caregivers.
Where I live the black bins are only collected once a fortnight so with a family of 5 it is really important we recycle. I also care about things clogging up the countryside in landfill. I try to reuse things rather than chuck them whether that is to make things out of bottles/yoghurt pots/boxes with the kids, cut up old clothes for dusters or pass on childrens clothes to friends it all helps. I tend to buy second hand where possible mainly to save money.
If I make it at home in my bread maker not only do I know what my children are eating but also it tastes yummy, smells yummy and well, you really cannot beat home made bread :)
Great post. I also do those things. :-)
ReplyDeleteexcept for the bread I'm just as much of hippy! Who knew?
ReplyDeleteI must be a hippy too. I am doing most of these with a couple exceptions. 1. nursing only one child. 2. 2nd son born at home, 3rd in the back of the Ford while my husband was speeding to the hospital. Our healthy baby boy was a month early... 3. We co-sleep with both our small children in our Cali-King size bed. and last but not least I used to do yoga to relax. My son thought that meant it was time for him to crawl all over me. So now I have been thinking meditation would be a great alternative!
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog and I am liking it!
A hippie? I think you sound pretty normal! I may be biased though...:) keep up the good work mama!!
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad how women and mothers are being labelled for doing things that should be the norm / completely natural. Although I call myself a hippy sometimes, I actually find it offensive in some cases. It's sad that very normal things like baby wearing and cloth diapers make you a "hippy" lol.
ReplyDelete