When the boys were babies, I was all about ease and convenience. Looking back now, I would change a few things.
Breastfeeding - I didn't do this. I bottle fed both Bug and Awesome, and nothing short of a life-and-death situation could make me change my mind. I am not comfortable with breastfeeding, and I didn't want my baby misinterpreting my unease. It appears that many pro-booby fans seem to think that those of us who bottle feed just toss a bottle in our baby's mouth and disappear. That's not the case. I held my boys while I fed them, and I could look in their eyes just as well as a booby mom.
Cloth Diapers - Absolutely not. Wet diapers would be okay. Poopy ones would probably just get thrown out.
Baby Wearing - I honestly didn't know about this until Awesome was too big. If I had known about slings and such when the boys were babies, I totally would have "worn" my baby. Maybe not to the bathroom or while driving (yes, I have seen this), but I would have worn the boys around the house, or used a sling in place of a stroller sometimes.
Elimination Communication - I know that some people swear by this, but I just find this idea a bit silly. I think it's the parents that get trained, not the baby.
Homemade Baby Food - This is one thing that I wish I would have done. It's much cheaper and healthier than buying baby food.
I started out not being a granola mom at all. If I had a baby now, I'd be semi-granola. Whether or not you were/are a granola mom, don't let anybody make you feel guilty about your choices. You make your decisions based on what you are comfortable with. If you try to do what everyone else wants you to do, you're just going to be stressed out, and that's just going to cause more tension in your baby's life. A tense baby is an unhappy baby. And, if baby's unhappy, EVERYBODY is unhappy.
Hi. I just stumbled upon your blog while looking for something else. I'm totally with you on the breastfeeding thing. I'm semi-granola. I have a sling and will wear the baby at times, I made my own babyfood but my body would not produce enough milk. I stressed about it the second time for a bit but honestly I was glad. I didn't enjoy breastfeeding when I tried and felt so much more of a bond with my babies. I had a lot of people who were shocked that I felt that way and tried to convince me that I just needed to try harder. In the end, I have two very healthy children.
ReplyDeleteHi Anjeanette! I can't even begin to tell you how angry it makes me when women who want to breastfeed, but can't, are made to feel like they're bad moms. I think that a mom can have a strong bond with her baby whether she nurses or bottle feeds, and I think a lot of it has to do with the mom's stress levels. The less she stresses, the easier it is to have a naturally strong bond.
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