Hippie Mom in a Preppy World

Posts Tagged ‘crunchy’

My previous post seemed to have caused quite the shock in some and since comments were disabled I got some comments privately but I just wanted to clarify a misunderstanding that some people seem to have. Yes, I was disappointed I didn’t have him the way it was planned but I knew that plans are made to be broken and the actual birth experience was not traumatic for me. I do not believe that I had an “unnecesarean.”

Speaking of unnecesareans, in my work I come accross many mothers that have the same surgeon that cut me open as their OB, and I started to notice a pattern where they all had cesareans. It became an alarming pattern so for the past 10 days I’ve been keeping an anonymous count of moms that have “delivered” with that doctor and right now the tally stands at 21 cesareans/0 vaginal births, scary huh?  Given that the pattern has been in place for months before I started counting I feel I can safely rule out coincidence as a factor.   

Moving on… no just because he turned one I am not weaning.  That is the answer that I had to give our pediatrician at Shammy’s 1 year appointment.  I really only go to him because I don’t have private insurance to take him to Dr Punger.  He knew to back off when I spoke his language and said “I work as a breastfeeding couselor for the Health Department”, he then knew that there was no point in pressing the matter.  He forgets that the AAP states breastfeeding for 1 year as a MINIMUM and the World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 2 years.

A lot of people seemed surprised that I didn’t do the ritual turning around of the car seat on July 30th.  “But he’s legal to face forward now” they say.  Just because it is legal, it doesn’t mean that it’s safe.  The American Academy of Pedriatics recommends that children remain rear facing until 2 years old.  He doesn’t know what he is missing and I have more peace of mind.

A few weeks ago Shammy got his first haircut, it was a bittersweet experience.  I loved his long hair but it was hard to keep it looking groomed.  We got him a mohawk and boy did he look cool.  For his first experience we took him to a kids salon and it was worth it, they had tons of toys, Spongebob Squarepants was there and he got his hair cut while sitting in a police car.  At the end he got a certificate with some of his hair, a balloon and a sticker.  Aside from the McDonald’s drive thru toy in the waiting area I was very satisfied with them and would recommend them.  I miss his hair but love his new look.

First Haircut Accomplished!

Way back in my college days, I heard the advice to do something each day that scared you. At 18 not enough things had me shaking in my boots to do one each and every day. Besides there was tequila to drink. Flash forward 10 years  to the day I am staring at a positive pregnancy test and I realize life is about to get way more interesting. With way less tequila.

Being a Mama scared me from the day we took our  little bundle of awesomeness out of my womb. He looked so small and the world seemed so large. We soldiered on getting past our first tub bath, conquering the Baby K’Tan sling, and surviving those first few hours away from each other.

I had a huge emotional breakdown with full time work so I chose to stay at home with baby and find part time work.  This was my decision and I was very comfortable with it, but goodness if it didn’t terrify me also. What would my days be like? Who would I be as a parent?  Would I get to shower each day?

I would be able to figure this all out. Our days would take shape around playing, new friends, and smooshy hug fests on the living room floor. Some days I would even shampoo my hair. More importantly though, each day we would do something that would thrill us.

This is a lovely poem that summarizes my feelings about babywearing:

I Will Carry You

I love that I can kiss your head

Just inches away from my lips

Our hearts beat together as I carry you

Perched up high you see my world

Then turn your head in and sleep

Resting on me you are safe

Your body next to mine you are secure

We are in tune in this external womb

In my arms you will be

Until you are ready to venture out

But until then, I promise,

I will carry you.

~ Michelle Abernathy

I believe in miracles.  Ceiling Cat or Santa read my letter from last week’s blog about my wish for a Baby K’Tan Breeze Carrier.  Guess my surprise this morning when I log on to Facebook and discover that I was one of three winners of this carrier at the giveaway that the manufacturer was having on their Facebook page.  Shammy was laughing at me as I did my happy dance, lmao.

So this week  Shammy is in a taste of massive change.  I had been in denial about this for weeks thinking “it’s too soon!” but I can’t ignore the fact that he’s teething!  Oh my goodness.  Once I accepted the fact and did something about ithe is back to happy baby.  I must say that Hyland’s Homeopathic Teething tablets are the bomb,  no Tylenol or Baby Orajel here!  On  a later note, these tablets are now under a voluntary recall, great timing…  So instead I’m now looking to get him an amber teething necklace.

Teething on a rare occasion where his cloth diaper matches his clothes

He’s also entered the massive hair shedding stage.  He has about half of the hair that he had when he was born and he’s got a bald spot on his head.  All I ask is that he maintains enough hair to have his “fiercehawk” for his Blessing ceremony next week.  After that he can go bald for all I care as I know that it’ll grow back in due back.

Bald spot and ducky butt

As much as I love sleeping until I wake up naturally, I must admit that when both of my boys come to wake me because the little boy is ready to eat I just get the best feeling and no desire to press the snooze button.  That’s the best way to wake up in the morning.

I’m back to work but this time I’m doing it right, gradually.  I’ve landed some part time work that doesn’t keep me away from baby for too long during the day and I’m constantly busy while working unlike at my old job where I had too much time to think about how much I miss him.  It’s not a steady number of hours but it is better than nothing and I’m enjoying it.  I no longer dread working.

I’m still in the process of bringing Bandora’s Lair/Healing Treasures out of hibernation.  The website is up but not finished but at least most of the info is up.  I haven’t started promoting yet because there are a lot of elements that I need to finish and it’s taking me longer than usual because I’m regularly interrupted by a cute baby.  You can check it out at www.soulhealingtreasures.com and pardon the dust let me know of any broken links.

showing off his toes

And interesting side effect of motherhood is the development of selective bionic hearing.  After damaging my hearing by dancing on top of too many giant speakers in my late teens I have trouble understanding what my husband says when standing right next to me but I can clearly hear Shammy sucking his thumb or sighing 2 rooms over.  I don’t need no baby monitor, lol.

I was sitting in a bench outside of the fitting rooms at Walmart nursing my baby while getting a wide array of stares that kept me amused during the whole nursing session.  I’m 100% comfortable with public nursing but many moms are not and many babies like Shammy can’t stand nursing covers so I got to thinking about what could be done to help more moms overcome this obstacle to breastfeeding.

I thought about lobbying commercial interests and potentially government to make access to breastfeeding friendly spaces such as the Mother’s Room at Babies R’ Us, that is when I came across an amazing concept  Mom’s Breastaurant and I was thrilled.  This is a non-profit that sets up a private and quiet place at festivals, concerts and fairs for nursing mothers to breastfeed.  Even somebody like me that doesn’t mind being seen nursing would benefit from this because let’s face it, it can be near impossible to find a place to sit at some events and babies can become distracted.  I love this concept and can’t wait for it to make its way to Florida, perhaps I may have to get involved for this to happen!

Last Saturday we got to use Shammy’s 4th Halloween costume, devil baby.  It was soo cute!  He was sleep deprived and teething leading to a cranky baby whose face color matched his costume but we were able to get a normal looking picture:

As I ate some organic plain granola with yogurt (yummy!) I read the bag it came in “no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors”  and chuckled at how some people call me granola as an insult but the more I look at it, the more I take it as a compliment.

I sometimes refer to myself as a ‘hippie mama’, “offbeat mama” or a ‘crunchy granola mom’. The terms are a sort of short-hand way to tell you something about who I am. For example, I plan to cloth diaper, breastfeed and babywear. I consider myself a feminist and a pacifist. I subscribe to Mothering magazine and my baby listens to a lot of drumming music.

However, when compared to other granola moms I’m merely crispy, not crunchy. I took a “how crunchy are you?” online quiz and got the result- “Super Nutty, Ultra-Crunchy, Granola Earth Mama” but beware that at 139 points this is nowhere near the high score of “WOW!~Crunchier than Grape Nuts!”.

However, one mama can only be so crunchy, you know? So, today, I am going to share with you some of the many ways that I am not such a hippie mama after all.

1. I love camping but I must still have access to a shower, even if just a camping shower bag.

2. I do not own a pair of Birkenstocks, and I never have.

3. I do not enjoy Bob Dylan, although I am sure he has a broad influence and revolutionized music as we know it. Or something.

4. I  shop at Walmart. While I would like to avoid big box stores whenever possible, sometimes they really do have the best prices and selection.

5. Even though I’ve been vegan and vegetarian for years in the past.  I eat meat, and I like it. I also eat wheat and dairy and occasionally consume high-fructose corn syrup. Because sometimes? Mama needs a coke slurpee fix.

6- I have a lot of baby gear such as a crib, bounce chair and stroller, and including the playard, otherwise known as a  baby jail.

7. I am pretty law-abiding, although I have no problem writing a strongly worded letter to an elected official.

8. We live in the suburbs, and have no plans to move back to the land.  I don’t care for the sprawl but I live with it.

9- I have plastic food containers, as much as I strive for BPA free, I admit I still have plenty that came from the dollar store.

10- We recycle and try to be environmentally conscious but I admit that my carbon footprint still has room for shrinkage.

11- We have a TV (although 95% or more of its usage is by hubby I still watch some shows)

Sometimes I  feel judged by people and others make comments that  I am engaged in a one woman game of ‘hippier than thou’. I am not. I do the things I do because I enjoy them. If you don’t enjoy them, it’s fine by me.  I will not agree with it, I will not endorse it or promote it but I will respect it, just know that you will get an earful of my opinion if you open that door but I will never go on an unsolicited sermon (unless you start the subject).  It’s also cool if you’re an organic raw vegan who wears Birkenstocks and loves to primitive camp. As long as we can be tolerant and understanding, we can join together as one happy tribe, I say.