Crunchy. Granola. Hippie. Environmentally friendly.
Has lost her mind.
Whatever you want to call it, that is sort of where I am right now when it comes to thinking about raising another child, things I want to do differently, experiences I hope to change/have, etc. I have had a lot of time to think about this stuff, connected with a lot of other moms, gotten different views/changed my opinion on things, etc. etc. My husband thinks, on pretty much all accounts, I have lost my mind. Or the fertility drugs screwed with me.
Exhibit A: Natural Child Birth
This is the one that has the heads of pretty much everyone who knows me spinning. I am not exactly known for my pain tolerance (although, I swear the older I get the higher it gets) so the idea of pushing a human with a head the size of a bowling ball out of my lady parts with no drugs seems a little out of character. Don’t get me wrong, I was lucky to have a pretty easy induction/labor/delivery last time (if you don’t count that I pushed for 2+ hours) and it was just how I wanted it then. But I felt terrible afterwards. And for a long time. And that sucked.
But I have thought about this whole natural thing for a long long time. And read a lot of stuff. And thought about it some more. And researched some more. And I really really feel that the Bradley Method is something that I can master and rock out sometime in January (hopefully not February). I have no doubt in my mind that sometime during the process I will also be sure I have lost my mind – but I also know that at the end, I will be so proud of myself and it will all be worth it. Also, the pain is temporary – said human with a head the size of a bowling ball HAS to come out eventually!
We finally found someone local who is a trained Bradley instructor (this was really difficult actually) and should be starting our classes in about a month. Mike and I watched The Business of Being Born this weekend – I thought it might help Mike get on board (FAIL!) but he is still willing to go along with my plan. I can only hope that as we go through the classes, he ups his ability to be my cheerleader. I know he will support me no matter what, even if he doesn’t understand why I want to do this.
Exhibit B: Breastfeeding
Okay, so this probably doesn’t fit the modern day definition of crunchy, but for me it does. I had ZERO desire to breastfeed the first time around, and it worked for us. I have no regrets or anything like that – so don’t think that. It’s just another one of those things that I have researched, thought about, and decided I think I want to try it out this time around. Again, I’m not delusional or anything – I’m sure part of me is totally nuts for wanting to give breastfeeding a shot for the first time with a 3 (almost 4) year old in the house. I’m sure that’s only going to up the challenge, but again, I’m willing to give it a shot.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t MORE scared to try this than I was to give birth naturally. Because, I totally am. Maybe because this an ongoing challenge, not just a one-time challenge. I don’t know, but hey! I’m always up for the next bit of crazy in my life.
Exhibit C: Cloth Diapering
One of my closest friends cloth diapers, and I’ve always been intrigued. I for SURE thought she was nuts when she started doing it, but then, the more I was around her – the more I realized it wasn’t a big deal at all. And started figuring out the savings associated. Which got me even more interested. It’s not old school, or whatever you think, cloth diapering is literally EXACTLY THE SAME as using pampers, or huggies, or whatever. (Sure, you can go the old school-type route if you REALLY want to – I don’t) Ya, it’s more laundry – but again, not a huge deal to me. Plus – have you SEEN the cloth diapers out there –they are so freaking cute!
Mike is totally freaked out by this idea, maybe more than any other idea that I have. Which okay, I get it – it’s different and maybe a little out there. And of anything, I’ll budge on this because he IS the one that is home all day. But if I was the one home, I would be hammering a little harder about this! Still – if you’ve gone this route with a more than resistant husband – how did you get him over it?
It’s a whole new world out there – and there’s going to be a whole new world around here too. If you have experience with any or all of these things, I’d gladly accept your story/info/good places to get information/etc. I’m a research junkie, after all!
9 comments:
I love it! If/when we have babies I intend to try all of the above and then some...I'm fairly certain I will drive my family crazy. I'm getting "crunchier" by the day!
EWWWWW breast feeding! I had always admired that about you- you did not breast feed and did not feel the urge to do so... there's just nothing more disgusting than breast milk. Breasts are for SEX not milk... at least in my mind they are :)
(I like all of your other crunchy ideas though!)
I breastfed Aly for 9 months exclusively and then a few more months while supplementing formula. I didn't do a ton of research, but just decided to give it a try and see how it worked. It ended up being pretty easy for me, and I thank God for that, but the more I read about it (often times while feeding her) the more I thought, I can make this sacrifice! It wasn't always pleasant, and there were tons of times where I wanted to quit.. and Joe left it up to me and was supportive of whatever I wanted to do, but I just kept telling myself... one more day! (They are still functional for sexy time too, in case that makes you (or Mike) nervous :-))
I'm so proud of myself for doing that (and working full time from 6 weeks!) Invest in a great pump if you're going to stick with it, because in my opinion, it makes all the difference in the world! Good Luck!
Go you! First off, I think anonymous must be a troll in the making and so I am going to choose not respond to their ignorant comment on breastfeeding.
Second...a close friend of mine chose to have her 2nd child au-naturale and she blogged about it. You can check it out at: http://babygutierrez.blogspot.com/p/ezekiels-birth-story.html. I am having a c/s this time around (had one last time as well), and am okay with that, but I completely support and admire this choice!
Third: BF'ing. I bf B for 13 mths. I exclusively bf while I was on maternity leave, then pumped at work and nursed when home. I am also a huge researcher and when I knew I wanted to bf B, I gathered as much info as humanly possible. I can email you the stuff I kept (yes, this involves documents I created, haha), along with links to great information. One thing that I thought was very helpful for me: I gave myself short term goals...bf first 2 weeks, first 6 weeks, first 3 mths, first 6 mths, first year. I believe I lucked out and really didn't have a whole lot of issues. After the first 3 mths I knew I could totally go at least a year. Let me know if you want the info!:)
Fourth: No clue on cloth diapering. I thought it was intriguing (and completely agree with the oh-so-cute designs!!) but my husband completely freaked at the idea. More power to ya, thought!
Last, I think it's good to learn from the past and take in info along the way for the future. I applaud you for doing whatever you can to better your children and your life.
xoxo
Dear Daughter,
Yes, you have totally lost your mind!
As long as you don't turn cray cray "I'm gonna deliver my baby in my bathroom at my house" and refuse to go to the hospital, I support your natural birth!
And I'm going to pretend I didn't read that ignorant comment about breastfeeding being gross...totally support breastfeeding and recommend it to ALL my newborns' parents.
Drug free birth is doable! Really, I did it 3 times. The key is to go in open minded. It's going to hurt. A lot. Just go one step at a time and try not to plan things out completely. Take one contraction at a time then forget it and move on to the next. Also, have some sort of safe word with your husband. So he knows (or whoever is your support person during labor) if/when you've had enough.
Also, breastfeeding is tough. Especially if you're working, but good for you for even wanting to try! Go for it, you know you have great resources if you need anything.
And cloth diapers aren't that bad, my husband deals with them, although I do all the washing. It's a lot cheaper, that's for sure!
J was in daycare full-time from age 3 months, so I really couldn't cloth diaper. I did buy about 20, though, which I used when I was home with him. My husband wouldn't use them. But I probably still saved some money (especially since I'll be able to use those same 20 cloth diapers for baby #2). Washing them wasn't that hard or that gross.
And about breastfeeding - yeah, I don't know what's up with the earlier commenter. That is actually what breasts are for, feeding babies. Aside from the fact that it's healthier for babies, BFing always seemed so much easier to me. No money spent on formula, no worrying about having to pack some with you when you go out, no having to mess with bottles in the middle of the night. Hope it goes well for you!
How exciting!!! It sounds like you've got a lot ahead and I know you'll do beautifully!
I had an epidural both times but the second time I was too far along for it to take. I felt everything but my legs. Not awesome (because I felt more comfy on my knees and could no longer move) but it was do quick. And I felt AWESOME after. Like amazing.
You'll do great with BFing too. It's at least worth trying to see if it works for you. I nursed both for 15 months and pumped at work (which sucks) but I really wanted to. It was a decision that was about me. It benefited them I think but once I got tired I stopped.
No clue on the cloth diapering.
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