# What is a cloth diapering mama's profile?



## Lady of Z Lake (Oct 1, 2002)

I haven't seen a thread like this in the Diapering forum (since September, anyway), so hopefully it's not a repeat...

I am curious as to what other natural parenting practices all of us cloth diaperers subscribe to. Please share any other ones you feel are central to your "profile" if I didn't list it!

Disclaimers!









This is not meant to make anyone feel guilty.
There is no right or wrong answer!
My list is by no means all-inclusive, but I tried to hit the biggies.


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## ekblad9 (Nov 21, 2001)

We do most of the above. It all just kind of falls in line with eachother, KWIM?


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## Meli65 (Apr 29, 2002)

I didn't start using cloth diapers until ds was almost one year old -- we had tried a diaper service when he was first born and it was just too difficult. A friend I met online gave me her old AIOs and it was off to the races -- I love using them! I find it much easier to wash and dry my own diapers -- we still use disposables at night though.


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## TwinMom (Dec 27, 2001)

I checked all of the above except for unmedicated birth. That was the plan, but I had an emergency c-section. I always feel defensive saying that 'cause whenever someone *else* says it I automatically think, "But maybe you didn't do everything to avoid a c-section." Only, I did. Bradley, doula, switched OBs at 30 weeks, couldn't get a midwife 'cause I was gestational diabetic VBAC...the list goes on. Did everything I could to avoid a c-section but ended up with one, so obviously was medicated. An unmedicated birth was *planned*, though!


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## Lady of Z Lake (Oct 1, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by TwinMom_
*I checked all of the above except for unmedicated birth. That was the plan, but I had an emergency c-section. I always feel defensive saying that 'cause whenever someone *else* says it I automatically think, "But maybe you didn't do everything to avoid a c-section." Only, I did. Bradley, doula, switched OBs at 30 weeks, couldn't get a midwife 'cause I was gestational diabetic VBAC...the list goes on. Did everything I could to avoid a c-section but ended up with one, so obviously was medicated. An unmedicated birth was *planned*, though!*
I also had an emergency C-section-- with my first (did Bradley, doula, very pro-unmedicated, etc.)... and a successful VBAC w/ my second. You can still believe in/support unmedicated even if it turns out different from what you hoped or planned!!


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## lovingmomto3 (Oct 17, 2002)

I breastfeed, and I cosleep but, that is about it. I don't think these things automatically go hand in hand with cloth diapering. I believe that if you only advertise towards the group of people who do these things then clothdiapering will remain a trend in just a small part of the population. We cloth diaper because, it is cheaper, I worry about my childrens health in the gel beads, and I think they are cute. Honestly, the last thing that I am thinking of at 4 AM is the environment. Not to start a debate. Just being honest.
Janie


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## ekblad9 (Nov 21, 2001)

I guess for me it just all fell in line. Didn't mean to generalize.


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## Trishy (Oct 15, 2002)

I didn't bf ds. I didn't know any better. I had a horrible experience with dd where I was utterly humilated by her doc and made to feel as if I was hurting her by trying to bf. I know a lot better now and my next child will be bf'd if it kills me.

Ds and I did co sleep until he was almost a year old. He sleeps in a crib in my room now but if we stay at MILs or he wakes in the night he sleeps with me.

Ds is circ'd.

I did have an interthecal when I was in labor with ds but it wore off and I was given pitocin so I felt every bit of it when he was born. Now that I know that I can handle the pain and I'm no longer scared I will be trying for unmedicated next time.

I am not ashamed to say we are meat eaters. I like meat. So does dh. Ds doesn't eat so much but he did have some chicken today. Dd does not like much beef but does eat pretty much everything else.

Dd is fully vaccinated and ds was vaccinated until 9 months. I plan on selectively vaccinating at most in the future.

I try to be environmetally concious. There are no recycling facilities in my area but I do my best not to use so much so there is less waste. Dh won't let me ditch paper towels but I try very hard not to use them myself.

Dd lives with her father in South Carolina and attends public school. I'm not postive what I will so with ds but he will probably go to public school also.

I am very strongly for gentle discipline. It is very hard on days where ds is pushing all of the right buttons but I very firmly believe that people of all age deserve respect. That means not yelling and not hitting.


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## TwinMom (Dec 27, 2001)

Oh, yeah, and I didn't start cloth until ds was 1 year old. I did cloth with my twins, though, from birth. It sucked so I didn't want to start with the baby but was convinced by people in my playgroup. MUCH easier now. With the twins I had Gerber prefolds, pins, and Gerber plastic pants. Nothing like what we have now!


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## Marco Esquandolas (Feb 4, 2003)

.


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## casmi (Jan 19, 2003)

If our boy would have lived he would be intact and any future boys we may have will be intact.

We also are limiting the use of plastics in our home - especially in childrens toys.

I wanted to add that I planned on an unmedicated birth (with my last baby) - LOL - but after the third really hard contraction hit, I was begging for an epi, but I went several hours before actually getting it. I'm a wimp - seriously! I have no pain tolerance! LOL


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## Lady of Z Lake (Oct 1, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by lovingmomto3_
*I breastfeed, and I cosleep but, that is about it. I don't think these things automatically go hand in hand with cloth diapering. I believe that if you only advertise towards the group of people who do these things then clothdiapering will remain a trend in just a small part of the population. We cloth diaper because, it is cheaper, I worry about my childrens health in the gel beads, and I think they are cute. Honestly, the last thing that I am thinking of at 4 AM is the environment. Not to start a debate. Just being honest.
Janie







*
Thanks for being honest! That's why I created the poll... I was curious if there's any correlation, and what most (well, here anyway) CD mama's do.


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## Marco Esquandolas (Feb 4, 2003)

.


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## pixiemama (Dec 6, 2002)

We breastfeed/extended breastfeed, co-sleep, use cloth diapers, try to practice gentle discipline and babywear. I have been thinking about becoming Vegan b/c I don't eat much meat or dairy anyway. DS is circed. We do vaccinate but we are delaying DD's. As far as home schooling or unschooling, I'm not sure it's for me, but I don't know what the future holds! Great poll! Edited to add we try to be environmentally conscious as well.


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## Lady of Z Lake (Oct 1, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by CkFromBk_
*We breastfeed/extended breastfeed, co-sleep, use cloth diapers, try to practice gentle discipline and babywear.*
Duh for me!! I can't believe I forgot babywearing as an option!!! (Need an emoticon of me slapping my forehead.) I carried both my kids all the time!

And, as for me, I checked all of the above (AND babywearing







).


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## MammaMel (Jan 8, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF- Yes, dd who is 2.5 hasn't nursed in a little over a week







I guess that's that, I hope ds nurses as long.

Family bed/co-sleep - yes, but he will probably go to his bed around 6 months.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) -yes

Unmedicated childbirth -yes

Vegetarian/vegan diet -we eat meat here.

No-/selective vaccinations -dd was fully vaccinated and I may delay some of ds'.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - I should be better, I try to reuse and recycle when I can.

Homeschooling/unschooling - We will probably do public school.

Gentle discipline -yes


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## HeatherSanders (Jul 20, 2002)

*OKAY, SO I EAT MEAT AND DRINK MILK!* :LOL :LOL


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## pixiemama (Dec 6, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by hlsanders_
*OKAY, SO I EAT MEAT AND DRINK MILK! :LOL :LOL*








_Bad, bad Heather!_ :LOL You can't help it, you're a Texan!


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## LGSW (Dec 12, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF- Yes. BF exclusively till about 8 months, mostly b/c my dd had a strong tongue thrust and I was lazy!

Family bed/co-sleep - yes but weaning her into her own bed at 2.5

Intact sons (for those with boys!) -plan to

Unmedicated childbirth -yes

Vegetarian/vegan diet -no

No-/selective vaccinations -selective

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - not a huge priority but I do what I can

Homeschooling/unschooling - homeschooling most likely for moral reasons

Gentle discipline -probably not, since I spank occasionally


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## HeatherSanders (Jul 20, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by CkFromBk_
*







Bad, bad Heather! :LOL You can't help it, you're a Texan!







*
Yea, you and OPRAH, on my case! What is it with 'you vegetarians?'

Move over soy, bring me a cow!


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## FreeRangeMama (Nov 22, 2001)

I checked all of the above including other. Other being EC (we started with cloth before we knew about EC, and used cloth part time after that). My family always told me I was a freak, I guess now they have proof LOL


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## pixiemama (Dec 6, 2002)

Heather, I'll never be able to become fully vegan. I'll have to be the half assed Vegan b/c I don't think I could give up leather coats and shoes...sad.







:


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## onediaperinmama (Jan 9, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF *Yup*
Family bed/co-sleep *Yup*
Intact sons (for those with boys!) *Nope. DS is circ'd. Future sons won't be.*
Unmedicated childbirth *Nope. Hopefully next birth will be.*
Vegetarian/vegan diet *No way. Hate veggies. Is there such a thing as meatatarian? No, wait, a junkatarian?*
No-/selective vaccinations *Yup*
Environmentally conscious *Uh... not really. I'm frugal first, not filling landfills up is just kind of an added bonus. I don't buy stuff we can do without like paper towels & I love saving money by using cloth pads & cloth diapers. But we don't have a recycling service here and quite honestly, I have no idea where facilities are. Don't know if it would be important enough to focus on for me.*
Homeschooling/unschooling *Yup, plan on it. Or a private school.*
Gentle discipline *Yup*
Other... Please share! *Um... baby sign language & late EC.*


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## JesseMomme (Apr 6, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF -
Well I have breastfed all of our boys so far, which was probably the first "radical" thing I did (at the time, I was litterally the only new mother I knew who breastfed at all, so it was like totally radical)

Family bed/co-sleep -
With baby number three, our bed is finally a "family bed". I bedshared and co-slept (baby next to me in cradle or crib or crib in same room) with my first two.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) -
My first son was circ'ed out of my own ignorance. I immediately regretted it and when I knew I was going to have another boy I looked into circ literature and decided against it. So my second and third son are intact.

Unmedicated childbirth -
First hospital birth- after hours of agonzing back labor I caved and got a shot of nubain. Regret it- Nubain is assoc. with breathing problems in a newborn (my son had pulmonary hypertension) Second hospital birth, although I was aware of risk, I asked for a shot of nubain again and it wore off in 15 minutes (just made me feel "high") in the end I was thankful thats all it did. Third birth, well can't get meds at home







. I am generally pro-unmed.

Vegetarian/vegan diet -
I was a vegetarian for a few years back in high school...

No-/selective vaccinations -
My first is fully vaxxed up to 18 mos, second vaxxed up to 4 mos and my third completely no-vax. I took awhile deciding on that one.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) -
I have recycled for as long as I can remember, literally. I reuse as much I can (like plastic grocery bags for garbage pail liners) and am starting to get an "all cloth" attitude....I have now officailly been out of paper towels for two weeks now, and am going to by some cheapo dishtowels at the grocery store next time we go.

Homeschooling/unschooling-
My youngest is 3 1/2, I have toyed with the idea now and then, and feel well heck I am teaching him things now right? I think I will try public schools (providing I know it is a good one and I planned on being involved as possible) so I didn't click on that one.

Gentle discipline -
A sensitive issue for me. I have to work on a day by day basis to be gentle, constructive, not yell, and not spank. Happy to report I have been doing better.

Other...
Well I wear the baby by hand or sling :LOL I won't use any artificial means of birth control (FAM), pro-homebirth/unassisted birth, hmmmm what else? LOL


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## ksmeadowlark (Jun 17, 2002)

Hey, how about this? I am a native Texan who grew up on our own homegrown beef and that is WHY I am now a no red-meat vegetarian!!! My mom said I used to look up at dinner with the saddest little face at age 6 or so and ask things like, "Mommy, is this Snowball we are eating?"







DS doesn't even like chicken or fish.

We planned an unmedicated childbirth (Bradley) but after 17 hrs of labor (8 stuck in transition) we went with drugs and ended up with a C 37 hrs later.







I hope for a VBAC next time around.

We chose to limit medical interventions very carefully at birth but we do vaccinate. DS is not circed.

I try to believe in and support the public schools so I feel strongly (right now) about sending my son to public.

We try to be environmentally conscious (yes, we gave our dinner guest tonight a Gerber diaper as a napkin, never used for bums though!)

We did LOTS of babywearing and EBF. We just weaned 3 wks ago at 20 months. We still co-sleep.

Edited to add that we also practice gentle discipline. I have been trying to use the Love and Logic approach.

Lisa


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## pixiemama (Dec 6, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by ksmeadowlark_
*Hey, how about this? I am a native Texan who grew up on our own homegrown beef and that is WHY I am now a no red-meat vegetarian!!! My mom said I used to look up at dinner with the saddest little face at age 6 or so and ask things like, "Mommy, is this Snowball we are eating?"








*








I would probably be a vegetarian too! Poor pet cows. :LOL


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## HeatherSanders (Jul 20, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by ksmeadowlark_
*Hey, how about this? I am a native Texan who grew up on our own homegrown beef and that is WHY I am now a no red-meat vegetarian!!! My mom said I used to look up at dinner with the saddest little face at age 6 or so and ask things like, "Mommy, is this Snowball we are eating?"







DS doesn't even like chicken or fish.
*
I have to admit the first time I sauntered into the freezer at the meat house on my grandparents cattle ranch I was a bit freaked-out. But it became commonplace and well, not to get into it, but I just don't have a problem eating meat philosophically . . . I do understand the benefits health-wise of eating little to none.


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## WendyLouWho (Apr 16, 2002)

I answered yes to most of the questions. We bf and co-sleep (though I'm happy to report that my 6 and 8 year old have been in their own beds for a little over a month







It was getting pretty crowded!) We also wear our babies and practice baby sign language.

Both my boys are circumcised, though and we do eat meat.

All three of my children have been unmedicated births, first in the hospital, last two at home.

My boys were selectively vaccinated but my dd is not vaxed.

We recycle and reuse as much as possible, thankfully, we also have a curbside program here which makes it easy.

We homeschool and also practice gentle discipline to the best of our ability (though lately I've been touchy and downright bitchy since my mom is ill. I've been yelling a lot and feel the best of my ability is pretty crappy right now







I need to get focused on having a calm and loving voice at all times).


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## georgia (Jan 12, 2003)

We do all the above but veggie---was up until my last pregnancy---completely craved red meat! Ah, anemia.....

I am also FRUGAL as all get out.

Home waterbirth, too. No wonder the neighbors think we're from Neptune...

I wanted to say that we're all doing the best that we can in the circumstances that we find ourselves in--and what we hope is best for our families. We are, hopefully, too tired to make judgements. When we know better---we do better!!! But do it *my* way---it's wonderful


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## TigerTail (Dec 22, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF- my dd nursed longer than firemom's! currently tandem the boys

Family bed/co-sleep- yes

Intact sons (for those with boys!)- yes

Unmedicated childbirth- tried two planned unassisted- hell with that, lol, after the last 2 day back-labor fest ending in a c-section, i wanted an epidural last birth & finally got a great birth, vbac. god bless you if you don't want one/need one, but NO guilt here- for me, the hospital was more mellow than home, even with horse trough, candles, & mellow music. back labor sucks- it's like 24 hours+ of how i felt during transition (pre-epidural) in my last labor. no more for this mama. (i'm still bossy enough to demand no episiotomy, etc.- i picked my battles, & am quite happy with how things turned out.)

Vegetarian/vegan diet- nope, but largely organic, natural, & humanely raised meat. i wish more ethical (as opposed to religious) vegetarians would fight to have meat raised humanely, rather than just abstain- with greater numbers protesting factory farms (and supporting cruelty-free small farms), there might be faster results.

No-/selective vaccinations- yes

Environmentally conscious- to the extent i think there ought to be harsh punishment for litterbugs, yes.

Homeschooling/unschooling- un.
Gentle discipline- yes, but some days more gentle than others.

Other... nfp (with some barrier methods around ovulation if needed), baby-wearing, and gardening to raise my own organic veggies.

Suse


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## Muggins&Doody (Feb 5, 2003)

I BF, co-sleep, ds is circ'd, both my labors I had epidurals, even though dd's was only 3 hrs I'm a total pain wimp! I'm not veggie, but I don't eat red meat (dh, on the other hand, is a "meatatarian"







: ) Ds is fully vaxed, dd will be selectivley vaxed (she hasn't had any so far), I am very enviromentally conscious; I recycle everything, our city has a great recycling program where you just through all the recyclables in a big garbage can and it gets picked on the same day as the garbage. Schooling; If I can do it financially I would do private school. Gentle discipline; Yes! Although it's hard with a 2 year old boy sometimes, especially when he hits his baby sister







That's me, crunchy on the outside with a chewy middle, lol.


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## TwinMom (Dec 27, 2001)

Hey, wait a minute, I'm a Texan and I'm vegetarian! I'm transplanted, but my dh is native (back about 4 generations) and is veggie also, so don't blame Texas!


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## pixiemama (Dec 6, 2002)

:LOL My apologies to all the vegetarian Texans! I'm not a native, I just live here.


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## orangebird (Jun 30, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF - Yep for sure. I'm one of those BF nazis

Family bed/co-sleep - Yep as long as the kid wants to. So far 5 seems to be the magic age.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - Yep

Unmedicated childbirth - Yep, at home

Vegetarian/vegan diet - Yep. As well as organic and we support local farmers. DH eats meat but I make him at least buy organic.

No-/selective vaccinations - delay & selective

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - Yes Yes Yes!!!!

Homeschooling/unschooling - Not yet, we are considering it though.

Gentle discipline- Yes, we try very hard.

Other... Please share! - ?
NFP
cloth mama pads
We use alternative medicine- see a naturopath as well as have a regular ol doc.
Use natural materials in kitchen and for toys- glass, wood, metals. (no glass toys :LOL) in other words we limit plastic use.
Baby wearing until my chiropractor said "no-no"- I have a bad back)
Natural fibers in home like flooring, milk paint, etc
Buy recycled clothing and natural fibers.

We're nuts.

edited because I thought of others


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## Ahleemah (Jan 28, 2002)

- Ecological breastfeeding
- co-sleeping
- no-circ
- support Homebirth (planned HB ended in c/s....sigh....)
(actually I lean more towards UC, unassisted childbirth now)
- vegetarian (except my addiction for Turkey burgers.. about twice a month)
- no vax so far, will vax for tetanus when ds is older
- enviroFREAK (I worked for Greenpeace and practice EC, nuff said)
- Unschooling
- Gentle discipline
- Continuum concept (www.continuum-concept.org)

"Others"
- we use Natural Family Planning
- cloth pads and "The Keeper"
- organic foods
- wooden toys (try for no plastics)
- yoga/meditation/overtoning
- homeopathic & alternative medicine

okay, so I'm as crunchy as they come.... ;-)

Blessings!

Ahleemah


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## ShannonCC (Apr 11, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF - Yes, four years now, tandem for 9 months

Family bed/co-sleep - Four years and two kids now.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - Yes

Unmedicated childbirth - Yes. One in a hospital, one accidental homebirth (next will be a planned homebirth)

Vegetarian/vegan diet - No







I try, I really do, and I feel healthiest when I do eat a vegetarian diet, but I keep going back to the dark side. They yuuuuuumy dark side.

No-/selective vaccinations - DD was fully vaxed til 1 year then nothing. DS has never been. I keep thinking that we are selective and delaying, but I don't know what I'm selecting or how long I'm delaying (never?)

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - I try!

Homeschooling/unschooling - Unschooling

Gentle discipline- Yes, we try very hard too, but it's not always easy.

Other... Does EC count as other?


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## canadiyank (Mar 16, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF - yes

Family bed/co-sleep - "reactive" co-sleeping (i.e., when she wakes during the night she spends the rest of the night with us)

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - plan to, talked with dh and, quite honestly, he didn't care either way

Unmedicated childbirth - wish I did! Induced labour - UGH!!! Want a water birth next time (dh says - like that lady on "Judging Amy" LOL!) but am a little afraid

Vegetarian/vegan diet - no, I wish I were - understand environmental/health benefits etc. We are going more plant-based. I do love bacon, ham, pretty much any pork, lol! We eat pretty much all organic, though, go to farmer's market etc.

No-/selective vaccinations - well...I chose complete vaccination, after studying it and checking the vaccines the nurses used contained no thimerosal. So I guess that's selective...

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - definitely - this is the most important thing to me out of this list (well, bfing may be first...). We do as much as possible - CDing, natural cleansers, recycle everything (literally nine recycling dumpsters within two blocks - how could I not?), reducing consumption, cloth pads/Keeper, hemp/organic clothes etc. etc.

Homeschooling/unschooling - public school (unless my feelings change) - dh is a public school band teacher. My parents are public school teachers but my mom really did a lot of home/unschooling with me pre and in addition to school. She's very Montessori and Waldorf. I suspect (ok - she's told me what books to read, LOL! - I'll do the same)

Gentle discipline - yes, grace-based discipline

Other - babywearing, baby sign language (LOVE it!), our next car will be a Civic Hybrid, learning NFP, do a little environmetal lobbying (easy - write letters and email)


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## Nicke (Dec 26, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF ~ Not with my first three (combo of bad info and lack of help _ no flaming please, I take my fair share of blame/guilt). My last was bf for 6 months.

Family bed/co-sleep ~ My first three slept in the crib/cradle right next to me. My fourth baby sleeps with DH and I most of the time.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) ~ None of them are circ'd. This was at my DH's insistence&#8230;.and he is NOT circ'd.

Unmedicated childbirth ~ First three, yes. The last, no.

Vegetarian/vegan diet ~ Meat eater!

No-/selective vaccinations ~ All are vaccinated

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) ~ We try!









Homeschooling/unschooling ~ Um, I don't even know what unschooling is.







:

Gentle discipline ~ Some days I am better at this than others (huge guilt for the days I am not).

Baby wearing ~ We did not discover this until number four. Now we wear DD everywhere. Boy, I don't miss the sore arms from the first three!

I guess I became a "granola mom wanna be" a bit backwards. I started with CDing and then moved on to BF (I relacted at 6 wks), co sleeping, baby wearing, etc. I will never be able to thank an old friend of mine enough for introducing CDing to me. And to think I rolled my eyes at her when she first said she was going to CD.


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## mamamoo (Apr 29, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF-YES!! I have been nursing for 5 and a half years, tandem for 3 years and 1 month(not all the same kids). My ds1 weaned with a little help on his 4th b-day.

Family bed/co-sleep-Yup, everyone is in the bed, and the little one said roll over, roll over...LOL
Intact sons (for those with boys!)-Yup, 2 of them! This was a fight with the hubby, until the midwife told him his sons would have a more pleasurable sex life when they get older









Unmedicated childbirthI had hospital births and epidurals with the first to kiddos, then a home waterbirth with Sam. HEAVEN!!

Vegetarian/vegan diet-working towards this...

No-/selective vaccinations-ds1 almost fully vac'ed, dd has first set of shots, Sam vac-free.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) Working on this...I do what I can.

Homeschooling/unschooling-want to unschool...I'm a single mom now, and wondering how this will happen. I will find a way.

Gentle discipline-Something I work on daily.


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## Kimber (Dec 24, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF - Yes, ds#1 for 9 months then I weaned him to go back to work







. Ds#2 will nurse until he weans himself.









Family bed/co-sleep - Yes, ds#1 moved into his own bed when he was 5. We bought him a "Brand New Bed", and let him pick it out, so he







ed it! With ds#2, I lay him down in his bed (in our room), and when he wakes up to nurse, I bring him to bed with us. I think we'll do something similar when he is older.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - Yes for ds#2, but no for ds#1







. What can I say, I was a young mother, and when I expressed hesitation, my doctor pressured me into doing it. I cried afterward, and swore Never Again!

Unmedicated childbirth - I didn't check this one because I had a C-birth with ds#2, but I should have because I labored drug free, and was unmedicated for ds#1.

Vegetarian/vegan diet - I am, and so is ds#1, but dh is not. Actually we have been for the last 7+ years, but during my last pregnancy I ate salmon and chicken. I figured if I was craving it, then I probably needed the extra protein. Now I'm excited to be raising a child veg from birth!

No-/selective vaccinations - Ds#1 was fully vaccinated, but we delayed some of them (baised on my doctors recommendations!). We are selectively vaccinating ds#2, and delaying them until he is older as well.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - We try to be, but there is always room for improvment. We have a great recycling program where we live, so that's pretty easy, and I'm cheap enough (or frugal







) to reuse as much as possible, but I'd like to get rid of more disposable things in our everyday lives. So, yeah, I guess this is us.









Homeschooling/unschooling - Started out homeschooling, progressed to unschooling, and now ds#1 is in college, but we will be schooling ds#2 at home too.

Gentle discipline- Yes, Yes, YES!!! We work on this all the time. Discipline is Big in our family, and so is respect, so we try to respect our children in order to promote respect for us!

Other... We sling our baby too, eat organic, baby signing...I guess I'm crunchier than I look!


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## girlfactory (Nov 11, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by CkFromBk_
*







Bad, bad Heather! :LOL You can't help it, you're a Texan!







*
Hey I resemble that remark!!!


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## PatchyMama (Dec 6, 2002)

Breastfeeding... we tried.. but it wasnt very successful and ashamed to say i didnt know better to keep trying







i ended up pumping for 3 months then giving up because of the stress of her not latching and we were moving to a different state and ended up living with dh's parents while we closed on a house...









Family bed/co-sleep -
yep! tho when i sneak to bed i will probably slip kyla into her bed (which is right next to ours) because i want to stretch out tonight and she is a bed hog









Unmedicated childbirth -
for the most part.... when i first got to the hospital they gave me an iv drug that lasted for about an hour to help with the nauseousness cause i wouldnt stop throuwing up... but after that it was all me and damn that stuff wore off quickly, LOL.

Vegetarian/vegan diet -
nope... i like meat.. well not all meat, im very picky.. no chicken/meat on a bone.. ick... i just dont like the thought of bones.

No-/selective vaccinations -
fully vaxed so far

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) -
yep as much as we can!









Homeschooling/unschooling-
undecided..... i think she will go to preschool in the fall because she is really showing signs that she needs to be around other kids... BUT it will be a co op preschool run by parents and ill be there a certain number of days per week to help out.

Gentle discipline -
yes!

Other...
slinging.... dready mama here


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## Tani (Feb 18, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF -- yes, DD1 self-weaned at 2; DD2 will be BF'ed until one of us is ready to quit...

Family bed/co-sleep -- part-time, DD2 is nursed/rocked/walked down to sleep in her crib; then with her first waking (anywhere from midnight to 4 a.m.) she comes back in with us. DD1 was the same until about age 2, but I have an "open-bed" policy for sick/sad/scared kids.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) -- N/A, altho now I'm pretty sure the answer would be "yes" if we had boys. DH would be fine with that too.

Unmedicated childbirth -- philosophically I agree with it, but I know my pain threshold (had horrible experience with DD1 and induced labor with no pain meds). Decided to keep an open mind with DD2 and what do you know, textbook unmedicated labor







My basic stance: IT'S NOT A CRUNCHIER-THAN-THOU CONTEST, OR AT LEAST IT SHOULDN'T BE...

Vegetarian/vegan diet -- No, but we only eat meat/chicken maybe 1x/week -- cheaper and we like veg meals better. Do like meat occasionally, tho.

No-/selective vaccinations -- No. Reading about diphtheria epidemics and how whole families were wiped out less than a century ago was pretty convincing. Vac's were developed for a reason. (Smallpox, anyone?)

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) -- getting much better on that one, as much for frugality as anything else. F'rinstance, we just started CD'ing!!!

Homeschooling/unschooling -- No, we'll go with public or secular charter schools. DD1 has been in a co-op preschool for 2 years and it is GREAT. I think all schools should be co-ops.

Gentle discipline -- Also a bit touchy... agree philosophically but have been at wit's end with DD1's attitude/arguing/defiance. I'm not spanking, but I am yelling WAY too much









Other... slinged (slung? slanged?) both of them constantly as little babies, intermittently as older babies/toddlers. Homemade baby foods, most of the time. Novice tightwaddery







Most kid's things gotten by yard sales/thrift/consignment/swap/hand-me-down. DD1 loves to show off her yard sale treasures


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

Everything but the umedicated childbirth. I don't have a son but if we do he will be intact so I voted for that. As far as drugs at birth, sorry but I enjoyed them. lol!

edited to add that we also vaccinate on schedule. We travel to India a lot and the risk of vaccines is less than risk of contracting polio, etc. in India, esp. the parts where we go.

Darshani the wimp


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## starbright (Jan 17, 2003)

ok, since you want honesty, I'll give ya some!!!









I got into cding originally because of the cost.. I wanted to be a Sahm and I was going to do it no matter what... Then I got into the environmental and health issues and I feel so good putting cloth on my sweetie.

Prior to my son't birth, dh and I read "The Baby Book" by Dr. Sears.. and "THe Birth Book" Dh and I planned an unmedicated birth but things didn't go as planned. I had 4 hours of back labor 1 minute apart, lasting 1 minute, and made NO progress... the nurse (who was awesome and had 7 kids of her own) told dh I wasn't going to make it to push if I kept up this level of pain and exhaustion... the nurse talked to me and I raised my concerns about the epi (based on my research) and she really thought it was the best option and to be honest, I was so out of it at that point I didn't care what they did to me.... Even though I was medicated, I felt myself push him out (which when it came down to it was my biggest concern.. I wanted to feel him come out) and I had the best experience--I loved it.. I will try to do it unmedicated next time.

I had the most support ever for breastfeeding at the hospital and outside the hospital but it was one of the most painful things I've ever done...my son also hardly ever slept, he was wide awake after bfing.. sometimes he would be at the breast for 3 hours straight, couldn't do it anymore-- just couldn't-- so I stopped-- feel guilty but I will try again next time-- the bfing experience was nothing like it was for my friends who loved it and said it didn't hurt. I read "the womanly art of breastfeeding" and my experience was nothing like that either. I'll be prepared for the pain next time-- I was not this time...

I tried babywearing and I did not feel like the baby was safe in the sling so I just carried without one.

We co slept at first but Evan sleeps better alone

I think that being a good mom means that you read you child's signals and act accordingly whether or not a book or theory agrees with it.. my son hardly ever cries (almost 4 months) and I think it is because dh and I meet his needs before he even knows what he wants.....

We had him circed-- I left it up to dh since he had the equipment
and my son is circed

REDUCE REUSE-- working on that

vaccinations- yes, we looked into it and we found as much info that said vaccing was fine as we did saying it was not

vegetarian- nope, eat meat, love meat

homeschooling- nope I was a school teacher and as much as I hat public school, I won't homeschool. just personal reasons

gentle discipling- yes definitely

ok, am I kicked off the board????


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## Shanny (Sep 4, 2002)

I must be the least like anyone on this board!

We are in the process of adopting my son so we I did not breastfeed. This was a strong desire of mine, but since we could not have our own children it did not work out.

I had no choice over his cirumcision. It was done before we got him. Probably would have done it though.

We had a family bed for a few weeks after ds came to our house. He was 2 days old when we got him. Then we put him in a cradle in our room. By two months we put his cradle in his room. I knew nothing of the family bed/co sleeping, I just wanted him to be near me when we first got him home. We used to put him in bed with us in the early mornong when he woke for a bottle. I really don't know how everyone has there babies in bed with them unless they go to bed at the same time. I would be afraid my baby would fall out, of which he would becasue he is 14 months old now and we have a really high bed.

I try to recycle and use less. Not really diehard about this. I use cloth diapers because I believe it is better for environment and baby. Plus there is something wonderful about folding freshly cleaned diapers.

We try to eat well but that includes meat. Not a vegatarian, but respect people who can eat that way all the time.

I respect everyones choice in how they raise there children. I believe in discipline. I hope to not spank as much as my mother did. I believe in spanking only being an option when all else has failed or when a child has deliberatly disobeyed you. Never in anger. But with my own child I will try to set up other forms of correction, and hopefully will not have to spank.

As for homeschooling- my son will go to preschool but I think I will homeschool for kindergarten. Around here kindergarten is all day long and I just think that is too long. He will probably go to public or private school after that. I just don't know that I am the teacher type!

Well that just about sums it up. So I am not like a lot of you but I do enjoy talking and reading and bonding with other cloth diapering mommas.

Shannon


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## momsgotmilk4two (Sep 24, 2002)

I ebf/tandem nurse, ds #2 is intact, ds #1 is circ'd because I wasn't as educated on it then, we cosleep more often than not with the youngest babe, I babywear, we fully vax, recycle, eat meat and dairy (but the babe doesn't drink milk because he's allergic) , unmedicated hypno/ Bradley births, gentle discipline, not sure about homeschooling yet, but at this point, leaning towards probably not.

I just have to say that one of the comments someone made on her baby not crying because she's a good mom who can anticipate her child's needs rubbed me the wrong way. My first baby was colicky and there was nothing we could do to make him happy a lot of the time. You name it, we tried it. I thought I must have been a horrible mother who couldn't even make my own baby happy







. Then, he got a little older and his true personality showed though. He's a very happy little boy now, and my second baby, thank goodness did not have colic. I am just sensitive about this issue and don't want any new moms we have here with colicky babies to think that they aren't good mommas!


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## Doodlebugsmom (Aug 1, 2002)

EBF-currently ebf my 1 year old dd.
We do the family bed- Me, dh, dd, and our 2 dogs!
Don't have any boys, but if we did we definately would not circ.
I had a wonderful, quick unmedicated birth.
We aren't veg, but when we eat meat it is organic.
Dd is vaccinated so far.
We recycle and reuse--ALOT!
We plan on dd going to public schools, we will teach her at home as well.
Gentle discipline is a must for us!


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## Momof3Girlz (Aug 18, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF Yes, I'm trying to break my record of 2+ yrs, lol

Family bed/co-sleep Yes, but I'm not exactly joyful about this arrangement anymore, it's becoming a PITA to be honest, need to go post in the appropriate forum









Intact sons (for those with boys!) don't have boys but I am pro-intact my dh is completely opposed to this so it's a good thing I don't have boys









Unmedicated childbirth Yes, and I'm DAMN proud of it!!!








Vegetarian/vegan diet um...er...well...I would have to agree with Dee on the half-assed vegan

No-/selective vaccinations DD1 - fully vaxed, DD2 vaxed up till 12 mos. DD3 no vax yet- will vax for tetnus

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) I do my best: 3 Rs, don't flush toilet after every pee (tmi - sorry) turn off lights when not in use etc...

Homeschooling/unschooling: No, I admire those who do though. I will do homepreschool since we won't be able to afford Nursery School (unless Gramma pays, LOL)

Gentle discipline - I don't spank but, I need to improve in this area...

Other... Baby wearing, big big baby wearer hear. And a sling addict might I add









This is one of the coolest polls I've seen here in a while!


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## daphynmama (Jan 6, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF -- I breastfed dd for only 1 month, but I am at 10 months with ds. I am not sure if I will go past a year. I am a believer in EBF, but I really don't enjoy breastfeeding that much.

Family bed/co-sleep -- not at all with dd, about 1 month completely and now occasionally with ds. I have suffered from insomnia my whole life and have a lot of trouble sleeping with children sleeping in my bed.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) -- yes

Unmedicated childbirth -- no with dd, yes with ds partially because I had no time for an epidural

Vegetarian/vegan diet -- no, but I was a vegetarian for 2 years back in my single days.

No-/selective vaccinations -- No. Both my children are/will be fully vaxxed.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) -- Yes, and getting better at it everyday.

Homeschooling/unschooling -- No, my dd will start a 2 day a week pre-school in the fall.

Gentle discipline -- Trying, but I find myself yelling at dd sometimes.

Other... cloth mama pads, the Keeper

Maria
SAHM to Alex (almost 3) and Jackson (10 months)


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## starbright (Jan 17, 2003)

Sorry momsgotmilk4two.. I had no intention of rubbing anyone the wrong way.. I was merely trying to get the point across that even if you don't AP exactly as "The Baby Book" says, you can still anticipate the child's needs and be very attached... of course a colicky child CANNOT be calmed down, my friend had one for the first 3 months and nothing worked.

I can totally understand why my comment rubbed you the wrong way, it's the same way I get rubbed the wrong way when people tell me I didn't try hard enough with bfing-- no one else was experiencing what I did and I made a choice based on the best interests of me, my dh and my child....

Please understand I wasn't trying to make myself out to be the perfect mom ever







and I certainly would never try to upset ANYONE here.. I was writing with a wiggly kid on my lap and obviously wasn't fully able to express myself.. my deepest apologies...
Lisa


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## flminivanmama (Nov 21, 2001)

Breast feed/EBF -yep. Tandem nursing my 3 yo and 1 and a half yo now
Family bed/co-sleep- usually someone sleeping with us.... we have an open bed policy LOL
Intact sons (for those with boys!)- nope - we are Jewish
Unmedicated childbirth- yep 2nd birth was a VBAC waterbirth. birth of my twins was an unavoidable c-section at 29 weeks. twin b would not have survived a vaginal birth.
Vegetarian/vegan diet- no way. I may not be texan but I luuuuurve meat. yum.
No-/selective vaccinations- should have.







but I made the best decision I felt I could make at the time. My mil is handicapped from Polio & my sil is deaf from the mumps and we felt it was the right thing to do. now I feel oneof my sons may be havingproblems from mercury...








Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.)- very
Homeschooling/unschooling- nope
Gentle discipline- trying ... very very hard
Other - love my sling!


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## momsgotmilk4two (Sep 24, 2002)

I completely understand now







. Thanks for clearing it up







. The same thing happens to me when I'm typing fast with ds on my lap!


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## lunar forest (Feb 20, 2003)

All of the above, and more.

We're very passionet about our natural parenting. We are always expanding our harizons. We use as much natural proucts as we can. We try to have natural toys and natural clothes. We use herbs and Homeopathy, and so on and so forth. I hope I don't sound like I'm trying to be more natural than everyone else, I tend to sound that way







:

It's so neat to see what other people are doing.


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## sevenkids (Dec 16, 2002)

I loved how cloth diapers look on a clothesline, so that was my main motivation







That and that's basically all I knew about, my mom cloth diapered, so I figured that's just what you did. I used the bird's eye flat diapers with pins, dry quickly, stains come right out, not a hassle.
Same for breastfeeding, my mom breastfed and I just didn't think about anything else. Of course, now I know all the reasons why the are better for baby, I just did what my mom did then (I was 16) Thank Goddess my mother wasn't a Pamper ing formula feeding type!
Again for home birth...my mom did it, and I just thought it was naturally what everybody did! I even had the same midwife.
My brothers are intact, and so is hubby. The thought never crossed my mind ( I was shocked to learn it's routine!)
Family bed, Of course! We were all family bed sleepers, in Jamaica, everyone co-sleeps, it would have been weird if I didn't!
Not a vegetarian, though hubby is. We do not eat red meat, though, chicken and fish (I swear I'm going to lay eggs soon)
Vaccinating, that's a tough one. I did vaccinate, because my brother nearly died of whooping cough when he was seven (my mom does not believe in vaccinating) so it freaked me out and I chose to have mine vaccinated, although not before their first birthday. Tetanus and TB were a very real threat for us in the country. I have had varicella and hep B waived, because I don't think an infant is likely to be having unprotected sex, get a tattoo or share a heroin needle soon, and I always thought chicken pox was good for you! (Not really, but it's better to have it as a child than to be immunized and catch it as an adult.)
Very environmentally concious, if I buy something packaged, the container need to be paper or reusable!
Homeschooling, No. I do not have that kind of patience, it would be unfair to my poor kids.
Gentle discipline Very difficult to overcome the traditions of my youth. My mom is not a hitter (although she hit me more than my brothers, but I was a very difficult child. Looking back, I am very thankful she didn't put me out of my misery) but Jamaica is a very Christian, Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child society, so it is very difficult for me to not run and get the switch. I have slapped a hand or a butt on occasion when nothing else seemed to work, although I often have nightmares about it afterwards. Tremendous guilt there.


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## Bladestar5 (Jan 5, 2003)

Animals taste yummy so we eat meat.
I breastfeed.
I unfortunately had my boy circ'd but would not do it again.
I need to work on the gently discipline.
We share our bed, although I would rather not. I am awful to share a bed with. I sleep at weird angles, and I am a blanket hog.
I try to recycle, but we need a better recycling bin, for sure. There isn't much room for recyclables, and it is really yucky outside.
We vaccinate. I have scars from chickenpox. My fil had polio as a baby.
I will probably send the kids to public school.
I had 1 medicated 1 unmedicated chilbirth.


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## tnrsmom (Apr 8, 2002)

I just want to say that not only is this a great thread but I have never seen everyone be so respectful of each others choices. People have been offended by others statements and the original poster has come right back and explained or apologized. We have such a wonderful community here, it is so nice to see everyone so loving towards each other.









Breast feed/EBF Yes, my first was only nursed for 8mos but the others have been 3, 3 and still going strong and 1, obviously still nursing. I allow my children to choose when they want to wean. I am hoping that Rachel will wean before the baby comes, but if not, oh well.

Family bed/co-sleep - Yes.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) No, I didn't know any better when I had my boys. I probably will still circ if this is a boy cuz dh is as are the others. Wouldn't want this one to feel odd, KWIM? Maybe not the best reason, but...

Unmedicated childbirth - Yes, planning a HB this time

Vegetarian - No we like our meat

No-/selective vaccinations - First is fully vaxed, the rest are delayed and selective.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc) - Yes, we recycle more than we throw away each week

Homeschooling/unschooling: Not yet, working on dh. Hopefully in the fall we will start. Right now ds is in PS

Gentle discipline Yes

Other... We babywear


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## ibusymomto5 (Jan 29, 2003)

Breastfeed/EBF - Yes! I totally believe mama's milk is the very best for babies, and I practice child led weaning which has been anywhere from 1 1/2yr to 2 1/2yr for my kiddos so far.

Family Bed - Yes! We're currently co-sleeping with 5 month old dd#5

Intact/No Circ - My son is not circed.

Unmedicated Birth - I've had 2 c/sec & 3 unmedicated homebirths in that order. My homebirths were all beautiful & healthy & attended by gentle & loving midwives. I laugh now, because the doc told me after c/sec #2 that I would never be able to birth more than a 5lbs baby due to small pelvis.







My homebirth babies were 8lbs-10oz, 8lbs-3oz, and 8lbs-2oz, I never had any tearing/episiotomies, my last 2 labors were 3 hours or less, and one of those was a face up footling breech. Give me an unmedicated, midwife attended birth anyday over a hospital one!

Vegetarian - Nope, I've tried it in the past but eventually went back to meat. I love veggies though.

Vaccinations - First dd is fully vaxed, second dd is partially, and last three kids are vax free.

Environmentally Conscious - Although I do recycle by using cloth diapers, I don't really do it for environmental reasons. I do it primarily for health & comfort. I do reuse plastic grocery bags too, and I'm looking into mama cloth...but again for comfort & health reasons.

Homeschooling - Yes! We've hs'ed since our oldest was pre-k. Homeschooling does seem like a natural extension of AP to me. We're really enjoying the closeness & reaping the benefits that homeschooling has allowed.

Gentle Discipline - For the most part, yes, but I do believe it's crucial to set limits & be consistent.

Other - Babywearing, NFP


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## Peppamint (Oct 19, 2002)

*Breast feed/EBF -* I bf dd for 20 months, she weaned 2 months after I got preggo. Never a drop of formula and won't drink milk either! :LOL

*Family bed/co-sleep-* we've done both. For awhile she always slept with us, then liked her crib, now sleeps with us but occassionally sleeps in her toddler bed. She likes our queen size bed better of course!







:

*Intact sons (for those with boys!)-* as of this moment, ds will not be circ'd because dh has refused to read information on both sides. If he decides to be open to either option, THEN we will decide. This is a stressful issue for me, so I'm trying not to think about it right now. Dh may just change his mind when he sees his son in flesh and blood and imagines a knife on his wee-wee, KWIM?

*Unmedicated childbirth-* I had a shot of Nubain after being induced, but no other pain relief. The Nubain did nothing but make me drunk. The contractions still hurt! Having a homebirth this time, so water will be my only pain relief!







inky

*Vegetarian/vegan diet-* we don't eat much meat. Maybe 2-3 times/week. We don't drink milk, but we love cheese and yogurt.

*No-/selective vaccinations-* dd is totally vax'd, but ds will be selectively vax'd. I will be refusing several vaccinations because they contain fetal tissue (live and learn I guess!) and delaying the others.

*Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.)-* we are able to recycle almost anything. They give us a little plastic box to put it in and pick it up every other week on the alley next to our house. Needless to say, we have more recycling than that so we fill up a kitchen trash can too.







We also use homemade cleaners except for our dish soap and my Bon Ami. We don't buy toxic items like bug killer, carpet cleaner etc.

*Homeschooling/unschooling-* I was mostly homeschooled (except grades 1-3 and 9) and am planning to homeschool my children.

*Gentle discipline-* I do what works for us, I guess it's gentle discipline. I try my best not to yell and just use a firm voice.







: I'm not too knowledgeable about gd, I've just done what works for my dd as I know every child is different.

*Homebirthing-* we're looking forward to our first homebirth in April!









*Slinging-* I didn't sling dd a whole lot because I worked p/t, but she was held a *lot* whether it was me, dh or my parents.







Never been to a daycare.

*ETC-* I use the Keeper and cloth pads, I prefer homeopathy, herbal and chiropractic care over medical care, I buy as much natural/Organic food as I can afford and I use homemade/vegetarian baby food for babies until they are ready for table food.


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## rockymtnmama (Dec 7, 2001)

Well I think I checked them all, except for home/unschooling. I haven't decided on that one yet. My two cuties are home/water birthed, intact, unvaccinated, tandem-nursing, vegetarian (except occasional fish or poultry) cosleepers! We're pretty good about recycling and being environmentally conscious, but we do use tp and a modest amount of paper towels. Gentle discipline is always my goal, but some days it comes easier than others! I think I do pretty well at it more often than not.

I am so pleased with the diversity and respectfulness thereof in this thread! It is interesting to see what we have in common besides cloth!


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## Karen1974 (Jan 20, 2003)

I agree with someone else who said CDing really doesn't mean you have to go along with this other stuff, but here are my answers:

Breast feed/EBF *Yes*
Family bed/co-sleep *Yes*
Intact sons (for those with boys!)*Don't have any boys, but if we have one, we don't plan to circ*
Unmedicated childbirth *I checked this one because I believe in it, and I intend to try again next time, but after 40 hrs of labor, 4 hrs of it in transition and 2.5 of it stuck at 8-8.5 cm, I opted for the epidural.*
Vegetarian/vegan diet *No, we definitely like meat around here.*
No-/selective vaccinations *Selective and delayed here*
Environmentally conscious *Yes, though we don't have much access around here to recycling, unfortunately. We try not to be wasteful though.*
Homeschooling/unschooling *Not planning on it, didn't check it, but I certainly support it.*
Gentle discipline *With a 4 month old, I haven't had to deal with this yet, but I intend to try as hard as I can with her. It will be a bit of a challenge since neither DH nor I was raised in a very "gentle discipline" environment.*
Other... Please share! *Didn't check it, but we are ECing, and I carry/hold DD 90% of the time.*


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## bunnybartlett (Aug 27, 2002)

BF-I am still BF 13 month old DD.se seems to nurse some days more than ever. I will let her decide when she wants to stop.

Cosleeping.....we reacive cosleep meaning she starts out in her bed till she wakes up to nurse.She also naps in her crib most days...sometimes mommy and her nap together.

Unmedicated birth.==I had intended this.After 3 days of back labor,I was in transtion and the doc offered an epidural I said " I'll take anything you've got!!!!"
When it came time to push the midwife said I couldn't feel so she turned it off.In other words I felt the WHOLE thing...by the way I hated the pitocin it makes the contractions come way too fast.No time to rest.

Intact/Circ>>> we are undecided.

Vegetarian-NEVER(I love a good steak)

Homeshooling<<<we plan to...leaning toward unschooling.

Gentle discipline...yes with natural consequences and lots of praise.

Recycle,Reuse.....hmm I am working on this.We cloth diaper full time and I use cloth mama pads.I just started making my own cleaners. My biggest accomplishment is no more paper plates!!!

Other]]]]]]]
We babywear..DH loves his sling as much as I love mine.

We are learning sign language.

We plan on limiting television and we have plastic toys and noisy toys but really are stressing playthings which require some imagination.

Linda

oohh..I forgot Vacciations..we are doingn them on a delayed schedule.


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## canadiyank (Mar 16, 2002)

"but Jamaica is a very Christian, Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child society..."

sevenkids - I hope I do not offend you here, I just wanted to share with everyone that many Christian mamas interpret the "rod" verses as meaning a rod that is for guidance and protection, not for hitting. For more info: www.gentlemothering.com


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## Dovesong (Nov 30, 2001)

I am disappointed that the percentages are not showing what the numbers really mean. Can that be fixed?
I checked most of the items withh the following exceptions: We eat meat. We will not homeschool dd#1. I am open to it, but she is not. I checked gentle discipline, but we do yell. I can no longer be repressed. (that would make for an interesting discussion elsewhere). For other, we homebirth and sling, although sliinging did not last long with ds because he was so freaking heavy!


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## Cathi (Mar 19, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF ~Yes
Family bed/co-sleep ~Yes
Intact sons (for those with boys!) ~Yes
Unmedicated childbirth ~I firmly believe in it and always have, ds had other plans and refused to descend. But we're planning an HBAC!
Vegetarian/vegan diet ~Vegetarian, not vegan
No-/selective vaccinations ~Yes
Environmentally conscious ~Yes, we use cloth for everything except toilet paper, that is dh's rule. We recycle, compost, etc.
Homeschooling/unschooling ~Yes
Gentle discipline ~Most definitely!
Other... Please share~ babywearing, signing, EC part-time, no plastic toys (just started this one, but we have a ton of wooden/metal/playsilks, etc), alternative medicine/chiropractic care, I'm sure there's more!
Good thread!


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## Pam_and_Abigail (Dec 2, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF - DD has been on only breastmilk until yesterday 
Family bed/co-sleep- I've read that having baby in a crib in your room is a sort of pseudo-coslleping. That's what we do

Intact sons (for those with boys!)- We will not circ any sons we have
Unmedicated childbirth - I had to be induced, don't know if that counts. My water broke, and no contrax. I didn't have anything for pain though.

Vegetarian/vegan diet- Here's one I have a *beef* about (sorry, bad pun). We are not vegetarians. I respect those who are, but I feel our species is designed to eat meat. I wish I could eat only free range organic, but I can't afford to. My opinions of this are probably based on allergies I have. I can't eat soy, raw fruits and vegetables, certain cooked veggies, nuts, and fish.

No-/selective vaccinations- We have been vaccinating. I have only looked into this a bit. My doc has told me canadian ones are safe, and none contain mercury. I am not aware of any other concerns with them...
Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.)- We have composting and recycling pickup. They provide the compost bins. We have one bag of actual garbage per month, which is no where near the limit, which I feel is too high (10 bags per 2 weeks). I am constantly trying to cut this down even further. It's mostly styrofoam packagaing from meat, and packaging from things like cookies...

Homeschooling/unschooling- I am considering this, haven't decided yet
Gentle discipline- This is the plan
Homebirthing- I hope to as well, though it's not legal to use a midwife here...
Slinging- I just got my sling. Still working on positions. That said, dd is usually near me, we spend most of our time sitting on the floor together, playing, cuddling and talking.

ETC- Cloth pads, trying to buy more organic stuff, buy 100% post-consumer t.p. and paper towels, use cloth napkins at table.


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## chrissy (Jun 5, 2002)

Here's us:

*breast feed/ ebf-* yep, Noah's 15 months and still going strong

*family bed/ co-sleep-* yep,

*intact sons-* yep,

*unmedicated childbirth-* really really wanted it, but with an induction, then 30 hours of back to back contractions i couldn't handle it anymore and got an epidural. next time i will avoid induction unless really necessary for my or baby's health and will hopefully go au naturale at a birth center,

*vegetarian or vegan diet-* um, no. i just can't do it.

*no or selective vaccinations-* delayed and selective.

*environmentally conscious-* we're pretty good, but not great. we cd, recycle and reuse. use cloth napkins and rags, mostly.

*homeschooling/unschooling-* probably not but we'll see,

*gentle discipline-* of course,

*other-* lotsa babywearing, trying to use more homeopathic and herbal remedies instead of whatever the ped says, will use the keeper and/or cloth pads whenever i have another period,


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## PosieMama (Mar 6, 2002)

LOL...all but veagan!

We do eat meat, sparingly but we do eat it.









Fun poll!

~Tiffany Burch


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## BrooklynDoula (Oct 23, 2002)

Other- Babywearing, Organic Food, Part-time EC (almost all the poop!),

Most of the above, but my boy has vacs and will go to school.

M


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## mamaluvs3girls (Oct 22, 2002)

OK...I just wanted to say that I voted and was at the end of answering each question individually when dd#3 walked up, well stumbled up, banged on my keyboard and lost everything I typed and I don't have the energy to do it again.


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## ryansmom02 (Jan 8, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF--- with my DD i was 17 and i didnt know any better so she was formula fed.. with my DS he is a 100% titty baby








Family bed/co-sleep with DD every now and then..... with DS always........
Intact sons (for those with boys!) Ryan is circ'd DH wouldnt budge on this.......








Unmedicated childbirth with DD again i was 17 so it was an epi for me...... with DS a very quick unmedicated birth and 2 very fast short pushes and a cord prolapse and he was born..
Vegetarian/vegan diet we dont eat alot of red me but we cluck in my house we eat so much chicken....
No-/selective vaccinations DD is vac'ed except pertussis DS is selectively vaced
Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) we are working on this issue
Homeschooling/unschooling i have no paitents with my DD so she goes to public school...........
Gentle discipline not so easy with a mouthy 8 yr old i yell more then i like and with ryan very gentle,..................
we also baby wear and sign with Ryan......


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## JuneMama (Aug 10, 2002)

Well, the only thing I could check off was "other". LOL

Breast feed/EBF - FF for medical reasons

Family bed/co-sleep- Reactive co-sleep. Ds has always slept in his crib in his room, but if he woke up, brought him into bed with me. When he was around 15 mos, he refused to sleep in his crib, so he co-slept with me til we got him a big boy bed and he sleeps great in there. If he cries in the night, either I or dh go get in his bed with him.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) No, ds is circ'd and I don't feel guilty for it.

Unmedicated childbirth- Kinda. My first labor with ds at 37 weeks I was induced due to medical problems. 2 days of pitocin induced back labor and they refused to give me the epidural cause I was only 1 cm dilated. They did give me some demoral, but it didnt help much. After 2 days of that, and not dilating, I went home still pg.








My water broke on it's own a week & 1/2 later and after going hours with contractions that werent doing much, got more pitocin. They took pity on me and gave me the epidural at same time as pitocin. I slept from about 2 or 3 am til 7 am when I woke up and the epidural stopped working as I went from 2 cm to 10 in an hour and 15 minutes. Anesthesiologist gave me 3 bolices and nothing happened. So I had drugs, but not during any critical stages of labor and delivery! I felt everything, even my OB sewing up my episiotomy. I don't think he realized I wasnt numb down there!









Vegetarian/vegan diet- nope, I love meat!

No-/selective vaccinations - ds had all vacc's up to 12 mos except Prevnar. I've delayed his MMR til he's 2.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) Except for cloth dipes, cloth mama pads and the Keeper and using mostly natural products like vinegar and baking soda to clean with, I can't say I fit this category.

Homeschooling/unschooling- No, ds will be going to Catholic School

Gentle discipline - Not really. I don't spank and probably only will if ds does something life threatening. But I do yell more often than I'd like to, and I also believe in discipline. My ds gets put in time out for 1 minute when he does bad stuff that could result in injury.

Other... Please share!- I use cloth dipes, cloth mama pads, The Keeper, I buy as much organic as we can afford, use natural products to clean as much as possible, and use some homeopathic/herbal/natural remedies.

Edited to add that although I never used a sling, ds was pretty much held his whole first year due to colic for 5 mos and being very high needs! So I babycarried rather than babywear! LOL


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## samuelsmom (Nov 27, 2002)

Whew! I was beginning to feel a little too mainstream for this board--glad to know that not everyone here does all these things (though admirable they are)!

I'm still bfing Sam at 11 months and have no plans to wean any time soon.

We co-sleep half-time (when ds wakes up he comes to our bed).

Ds is circ'd, no bad feelings there, really.

We eat meat, but not very often, working on eating a better diet here.

I had nubain and an epidural during delivery, though our "plan" was for a drug-free one. After FOUR DAYS of prodromal labor with only 2cm dilatation and regular cont. every 5-10 minutes, I gladly accepted the epi and slept for the first time in 4 days, well enough to really enjoy his quiet, midwife assisted birth.

Ds has all his vacs. It's a decision we made, not just going along with the docs and crowds.

Home schooling, etc. In our thoughts, but no decisions on that yet.

Environmentally conscious--yes. We recycle everything. We're students, so there's not money to upsize, so I guess we live in a downsized world!

Gentle discipline works for us!

Great poll!


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## williamsmommy2002 (Feb 25, 2003)

We do most. We BF, co-sleep, are vegetarian, will use gentle discipline, are no longer vaxing and try to recycle. DS is circ'ed and I tried to go unmed during birth but had one shot of demerol after hours of back labor with no progress. Next time i will refuse to be induced until absolutely medically necessary.


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## mamaluvs3girls (Oct 22, 2002)

OK. I'm ready to try this again. :LOL

breast feed/ ebf- dd#3 was the only one who was successfully bf. She just weaned herself at 9 months though.









family bed/ co-sleep- dd #3 co-slept while she nursed. Since then, dd#2 has taken her spot in our bed. I guess we have family bed on demand. Some times we wake up in the morning with three kids and two dogs all piled up. :LOL

intact sons- N/A, mama's got girls but I think if we had boys, they would be circ'ed since dh is and call it crazy but we feel it would be important for our ds to look the same as daddy. KWIM?

unmedicated childbirth- I received and epi w dd #1 & #2. I wanted to go natural both times. With dd #1, I got scared with the pain. #2 was delivered breech and again was scared of the pain of her coming out backwards and was also advised to take the epi in case an emergency c-section was necessary. #3 was natural. She was born an hour after arriving at the hospital. There was no time even if I wanted one.

vegetarian or vegan diet- We eat meat.

no or selective vaccinations- We vaccinate.

environmentally conscious- We participate in our areas recycling program, reuse as much as possible, and now that I'm not working, will be reducing dramatically.

homeschooling/unschooling- I honestly do not have the patience for this.

gentle discipline- I feel that we are gentle yet firm and dicipline fairly.


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## Pam_and_Abigail (Dec 2, 2002)

I was considering this idea yesterday after I posted, and I was thinking about the reason for some of the correlations. Things that are often practised by those who cloth diaper are things with similar benefits, I think. For example, cloth diapers have economic, health, and environmental benefits. Bf'ing shares all of these, but not circumsising only saves on health and money. The more benefits an aspect has in common with the benefits of cd'ing, the more likely it is that it is seen in families who cd. Am I off my rocker?

Breast feed/EBF
Family bed/co-sleep
Intact sons (for those with boys!)
Unmedicated childbirth
Vegetarian
No-/selective vaccinations
Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc)
Homeschooling/unschooling
Gentle discipline
Babywearing


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## Very Snoofly (Jan 13, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF -- Mallory is almost 15 months old and still nursing. I did have to supplement some with formula when I went back to work.

Family bed/co-sleep -- Apparently I'm a "reactive" co-sleeper. She slept in my arms on the couch for the first four weeks, and then in a bassinet by our bed for the next few months. After I started back to work (at 4 months) her night-waking increased dramatically, so I started bringing her to bed with me. Now she starts the night in her crib and I bring her into my bed when she wakes up, sometime between 11 and 1 every night.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) -- If we ever have a son, I'd like to avoid circumcision. This would be a huge fight with my husband and his family, though. Makes me hope that our next one is a girl too!

Unmedicated childbirth -- No, had an epidural and no regrets!

Vegetarian -- No. Was laughing about the Texas comments a few pages back...my dad raises cattle in the Texas panhandle.

No-/selective vaccinations -- Mallory's received everything on schedule so far; I'm thinking about delaying the MMR a while longer. I've been slow to educate myself on this one, but may do things differently with our next baby.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc) -- As much as possible. Using cloth diapers has made me much more aware of how much we throw away in general, and I'm working on it.

Homeschooling/unschooling -- Doubtful; I'll probably still have to work when she reaches that age.

Gentle discipline -- Hasn't come up yet (she's an angel!), but it seems the best way to go.

Babywearing -- Didn't get a sling 'til she was 9 months old, but I love it now.

--Krista


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## Kerlowyn (Mar 15, 2002)

Ok..here is my little family!

BF-yes, doing so now and BF my other till he was 2 1/2
Co-sleep- yes, have baby DS in the bed with us now, older DS left when he was 6 (when I met DH...DS was sorta kicked out..LOL..but he was OK with that because he got his own bedroom)

Both sons are intact

2 unmedicated births....first took 4 days the second 2 hours

Not vegitarians, DH loves his red meat!

Vacs- first DS: did waht was required 10 years ago, but did not start till he was 6 months. New DS, I will wait till 6 months again, and I am educating myself now to decide what to do

We reuse, recycle and reduce as much as possible and put a lot of thought into this, but there is always room for improvement

DS goes to public school

Gentle Disipline- not really, but then again I am not a very assertive disiplinarian (sp?)

Baby wearing: wore DS1 50% of the time till he was 4 months old, DS2 hates the sling, but loves to be held and carried....I do my best with that, but is my back sore!!

And I love, love my CD's!!


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## 3miraclebabies (Oct 5, 2002)

These may be out of order, but I'm too lazy to keep scrolling down since I have a nursing baby on my lap









Breastfeed - Yep, I'm very pro-boob.

Vegetarian/Vegan - Nope, I grew up on the grain fed beef that my dad raised. Dh was raised vegetarian, though.

Co-Sleep - Yes, and am desperately hoping for a king sized bed with tax returns, lol! Usually by morning there are 5 of us in our queen sized bed.

Vaccinate - Yes. All of my children are fully vaccinated. I feel that the benefits outweigh the risks, although I know others may not agree.

Medicated births - My first 2 were, #3 was au naturel.

Circ - Our ds is circ'd. My dh was adamant about it.

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle - As much as we can with the nearest recycling facility being 2 hrs away! We live in bfe and I do cart my milk jugs and as much else as I can to recycle once a month. I try to be environmentally conscious and use natural cleaners, etc.

Homeschool/Unschool - Dd is now in public kindergarten, which I monitor very closely. We plan on sending our kids to a private Christian school when we move back to civilization.

Gentle Discipline - We don't spank and I parent knowing that my children are a gift from God and that He entrusted me with the precious job of raising and nurturing them. Don't get me wrong, though, I certainly am not perfect and have much learning to do along the way!

Hm, I think that was all of the questions. Great thread!


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## thepeanutone (Dec 5, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF - Still bfing at 1 year, no plans to stop anytime soon

Family bed/co-sleep - Not anymore, although we do still nap together sometimes. Ds is just too wiggly, and our bed is too far off the REALLY hard floor. Ironically, we bought the bed right before he was born so that there would be room for all of us. Oh well, he's always welcome to come join us, we just don't want his little head cracked open.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - We circumcised him. I didn't want to, but in the end dh's argument that we didn't want him to be "the weird kid" in the locker room, combined with the doctor's comment that EVERY boy he had ever delivered was circumcised, convinced me to go ahead and do it. If he ever decides to become Jewish, he'll be one step ahead of the game! LOL!

Unmedicated childbirth - Sadly, no. I had high hopes, but wimped out. I'm going to try again next time - and next time I'm going to prepare!

Vegetarian/vegan diet - yes

No-/selective vaccinations - No way! I think vaccinations are one of modern medicines greatest achievements! (no this is not a flame or flame invite, JMHO)

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - Yes, although it's hard around here - you have to PAY to recycle! And I don't mean curbside, I mean ANYWHERE!

Homeschooling/unschooling - No. It's tempting, but again there is the argument of not wanting our kid to be the weird one. It would be different if dh and I were actually socially normal and had a hope of rearing a socially apt child. Since we aren't and don't, we're hoping school will do the trick for us!

Gentle discipline - Yes

I'm actually very surprised that there are so few vegetarians in this group. I would think that vegetarianism would be the most closely aligned with cding - better for health, environment and money. Don't get me wrong, I firmly believe that we were designed to eat meat. However, we are privileged to live in a time that allows us to have a nutritious diet without eating animals (See Romans 14:2,3 for the basis of my "Eat and let eat" argument).

Interesting!


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## sohj (Jan 14, 2003)

would have loved to check unmedicated and HOME birth. My midwife abandoned me after my water broke and I felt I had to go to the hospital and then, as it was by then twenty four hours after the water broke and my labor stopped from all the stress and I was a walk-in(!) and treated like a car on the assembly line and then it was back labor and they had me hooked up to all this s**t and I couldn't get off my back and I gave in and agreed to demerol. It slowed everything down and I wish I had stayed at home and had him just with my girfriends even if there was no "professional".










Family bed all the time until 4.5 - 5 mos. We are inconsistent about the co-sleeping now. He's 10.5 mos. and seems to sleep better on his own if he's not teething. He likes to S P R A W L and he has his papa's loooong body so it is a tight squeeze in a queen size bed.







The other night, though, he was peacefully asleep in his own crib (about twenty feet away from us) and I got up and brought him into bed after waking with a horrible feeling of unspecific dread about him alone. I have NO clue what that was about and haven't had it happen before. He seemed fine with being brought in to bed. Didn't wake up or squirm or anything. Who knows?!?!! I figure if you got an instinct, you might as well follow it...it might be right.

On Vaccinations: We are postponing until at least two and have a very amenable paediatrician who is also a homeopath and has a different than average philosophy.

No to the homeschooling at the moment. I wanted to when I was little, but only after I had experienced school and was thoroughly bored. I really wanted a private tutor who taught me math in latin, just like issac newton (OK, so I was a little wierd). My mother wanted me to be a "creative" type...and she doesn't think that scientists or mechanical tinkerers are creative. We'll see what type of person our pixie is when he's older, then decide for sure.

Not vegetarian, his first solid food was venison stew. Store bought factory meat is not allowed in our bodies or home.

Of Course BF!!!!

Uncircumsized

Of course Gentle Discipline the other kind doesn't work.









Very environmentally conscious. You don't want me to get on that soap box, now do you?









Other: Am planning on getting my little one hockey skates and a leather jacket with an angel painted on it for him when he starts walking! No television in the house. LOTS of books and music. Papa plays guitar (bass and Spanish classical) and I sing and used to be a drummer and we both noodle on a harmonica. I get greasy under the hood of the car(s) ...but no SUV's... and we use vegetable oil for fuel in the car. I'm an engineer who can recite chunks of Paradise Lost and Papa studied physics (optics) and now does stained glass.


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## mama_kass (Jan 11, 2003)

Besides some of the other practices, I also practice yoga and Reiki. I am very big on Mind Body Spirit healing because it works. I do yoga with my oldest ds and will when the little one is old enough. I had reiki with both pregnancies and give both kids reiki. Touch is so important.


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## sohj (Jan 14, 2003)

I've met a lot of people from Jamaica and it seems like a very sensible society for families. Your replies to all these many specific issues just spelled it out clearly.









Just wanted to say that...sorry for interrupting.


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## Francy (Feb 26, 2003)

Most of these don't apply to me.

I nursed the first year, but wouldn't have been comfortable going beyond that.

I could never co-sleep. I am light sleeper, and a lifelong insomniac. I can't even sleep with DH in the bed. I am always begging for Dick VanDyke beds!! I need a squishy mattress, a lot of space, and no other living creature moving a muscle (which will wake me up, and then I'll be up for an hour or so).

Although I have some conflicted feelings about circumcision, I am Jewish, and I feel very strongly about tribal identity. We had a Bris in our home (no guests--just DH, myself, MIL, Mohel, and the guest of honor. I held and kissed his head (and gave him the traditonal drops of wine) the whole time. It was lovely, and inspiring, and awful at the same time. I would prefer not to go through it again, but I have this "feeling" that we will have only boys.

I aspired to an unmedicated childbirth, but I think I screamed "epidural" after about the third contraction. (I had a really dreadful labor support system. Things just didn't go well at all. Personalities clashed. I really want it to be different next time, and will plan my best to make it so)

I was mostly vegetarian (not vegan) from my college years until my son was born. I LOVE meat, and eating meat seems to me to be natural for humans to do. So it was always a struggle for me. But I did my best not to eat it b/c of the treatment of the animals on factory farms. It just kills me to think of what they do to those poor cows and pigs in the slaughterhouse. After I had my son, I craved red meat like mad! So I started eating it again with the provision that it had to be meat from "happy free range cows" (small ranch situation).

Vaccinations: Yikes: this one really scares me. No--not the vaccines, the fact that people aren't getting them. Most of us have not grown up with the diseases that vaccines prevent. Gosh, even good ole Doctor Sears is behind them 100%. Polio was eradicated from the Westrn world because of vaccination. This is one of the great triumphs of modern medicine. There are people all over the world who would crawl 20 miles for the chance to get a vaccine for their babies. And yet we refuse them? Of course, I have been terrified by the vaccine stories I have heard. But most of them are not backed up by hard science. All that said, I am delaying vaccines (we are many months behind), because I am a SAHM (no daycare concerns), and it kills me to give my baby shots. But we will get them--except HepB.

I try to be environmentally conscious (that, and comfort were my reasons for CD). We are so lucky to live in California where we can recycle just about everything at our curb. I try to use cloth everything. DH draws the line at cloth toilet paper though!

I don't know what I will do about schooling. I am a primary level teacher myself, and I have been in wonderful school districts, and I have been in some that would certainly make me homeschool. We'll have to wait and see.

I don't know what "Gentle Discipline" is. I am a very firm disciplinarian, but I would NEVER hit my child. I think spanking is evil. But I expect my child to be respectful of people and animals, and property, courteous, and KIND.

Other: perhaps the most important part of my "profile" is that I am a SAHM. I quit a job that I was passionate about to be a mother. And we will move anywhere, and do whatever we have to do to ensure that I can stay at home.

WHEW! So much for my introduction! Hi everybody, I'm very pleased to meet you!

Francy


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## blazfglori (Dec 17, 2001)

I use cloth for alot of reasons, but the main one is because it's FUN!


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## mama_kass (Jan 11, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by francy_
*

Other: perhaps the most important part of my "profile" is that I am a SAHM. I quit a job that I was passionate about to be a mother. And we will move anywhere, and do whatever we have to do to ensure that I can stay at home.

*
Me too! So many mother's say they wish they could stay at home but can't afford it. Meanwhile they have two cars and cable t.v. A lot of people just don't get priorities.


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## Peppamint (Oct 19, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by mama_kass_
*Me too! So many mother's say they wish they could stay at home but can't afford it. Meanwhile they have two cars and cable t.v. A lot of people just don't get priorities.*
That's true for most people too! I'm the exception to the rule. My dh was out of work for a few months last year and we never got a single penny of unemployment (long story, his former employer screwed us bigtime). We don't have cable and we use MIL's internet access. The only bill we have that isn't a utility/car payment (the 2nd car is paid off)/house payment is my cell phone. BTW, we've never paid for daycare either, dd always stays with my mom. I couldn't afford daycare on my income!







:

It's a very scary thing to cut my income off, but I will be a sahm as of 04/04/03. We're trusting God to take care of us because we both believe it's my place to raise our kids.


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## Glitterbeam (Jul 26, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF- Yes, dd is exclusively bf at almost 6 mo. I plan to do child-led weaning, but if she goes past 3 years, I may encourage her to wean as dh feels that is ridiculously old. But we'll see if I can change his mind.









Family bed/co-sleep- Yes, although at night with dd still waking up every hour/hour and a half, I fantasize about putting her in her crib.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) I don't have a boy, but I already convinced dh that we won't ever circ, and if he backs out on me, there will be hell to pay! Over my dead body will it happen.

Unmedicated childbirth- I am all for this and tried my best with dd, but was induced due to pre-eclampsia and gave in to an epidural at 4 cm, after my water had to be broken and 2 1/2 days without sleep. DD didn't come for another 8 hours and there's no way I would have been able to push by then. I do plan to try again and am trying very unsuccessfully to talk dh into a homebirth.

Vegetarian/vegan diet- No, I am grossed out by meat when I think about it, but I do like it. I don't like soy and am frightened by the stories of children starting puberty at <5 years old b/c of soy formula.

No-/selective vaccinations- I struggle with this mentally almost everyday. DH is adamant about getting every single one and I am so confused and just pray pray and pray when her appointments come.









Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc)- Cloth diapers and wipes are about my only thing. I only have 2-3 periods a year and use disposable pads when I do. I can handle poop and pee, no prob, but menstrual blood... I'm not there yet.









Homeschooling/unschooling- Plan to homeschool until high school for sure. Will probably make individual decisions based on each child's needs/desires to determine if they will go to high school or keep on at home.

Gentle discipline-







DH wants to spank and I don't. He sees how much it means to me and said he'll probably give in just b/c of that but I want him to be in full agreement with me.

Babywearing- DD doesn't like sling, so we carry her around everywhere. Our poor arms.

Other- I am a SAHM.


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## Glitterbeam (Jul 26, 2002)

sohj -

What do you mean about using vegetable oil for fuel? Are you joking? It didn't sound like you were but I might be just dense.


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## abigailvr (May 17, 2002)

Looks like I missed a fun thread while I was away. Here's my responses:

Breast feed/EBF - YEP!

Family bed/co-sleep - We have a sidecar co-sleeper, but DS hardly ever uses it anymore. He was starting the night off in it, but he doesn't want to anymore.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - Yes

Unmedicated childbirth - Yes, and proud of it, as someone else said.







DS was born in a free-standing birthing center, although I labored at home and in a hotel nearby and basically just showed up at the birthing center to push.

Vegetarian/vegan diet - I was moving towards being a totaly vegetarian but DH is a big meat eater and now I'm back to even eating red meat!









No-/selective vaccinations - None so far, at 8 months, but we're going to start at a year. We'll see if I keep pushing it back or not.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - Yes, definitely room for improvement, but I try.

Homeschooling/unschooling - I don't think I could do this. I have a great deal of respect for those who can though!

Gentle discipline - I checked this one, but DS is only 8 months old, so I'm not sure he acutally needs discipline yet.

Other... Please share! - I didn't check this, but I am a big fan of babywearing, and I bought some cloth pads to use when AF finally comes back.


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## sohj (Jan 14, 2003)

TOTALLY OFF TOPIC< maybe I should start another thread on this as I've gotten a lot of private messages









If you've got a diesel engine, you can use any (and I mean any) viscous hydrocarbon atom to fuel it. All oils are some kind of a hydrocarbon. Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine and ran his prototype off peanut oil. No sulphur emissions, way less NOx's, no CO, and the glycerine in the oil lubricates the engine well so you need less of all the other fluids. For more info, check out www.veggievan.org

NOW PLEASE BACK TO CLOTH DIAPERING!!! I'm enjoying this thread immensely. Thanks for starting it!


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## Evergreen (Nov 6, 2002)

All of it, but the meat. I can't give it up!!!!


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## mhsa2mom (Sep 6, 2002)

What a fun thread!

Extended Breastfeeding - Yes

Cosleep - Yes

Intact - Regretfully, no









Unmedicated childbirth - Yes

Vegetarian - Yes, except for dairy and fish

We don't vaccinate

Environmentally conscious - Yes

Homeschooling - No, but plan to supplement his schooling with fun homeschooling-type learning activities

Gentle discipline - Yes

Other - we babywear, use natural healing methods, use natural cleaners, play music a lot, and just play a lot


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## hubris (Mar 8, 2003)

*


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## lkblair (Jun 20, 2003)

Breastfeed, co-sleep (w/dd still; ds can't sleep with me







), ds is intact, gentle discipline, baby wear. I'm still undecided about homeschooling. I've had epis with both births; the second time around I felt pressured into it but didn't advocate for myself very well. If we're so blessed, next time will be unmedicated and with a doula. As for environmental consciousness - I recycle because Austin makes it very easy to do so - curbside pickup of almost anything! - but that honestly had nothing to do with my decision to cloth diaper. It's a nice bonus, but I wouldn't have switched if my friend hadn't wanted me to test hers. Now I'm completely sold! And the reading I've done since switching has made me really wish I'd CD'd my daughter and ds from birth. Next baby won't ever see a 'sposie, I hope!


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## SaveTheWild (Mar 14, 2003)

I just wanted to chime in about how the definition of being environmentally conscious has gotten really narrow on this thread to basically mean "do you recycle".

Recycling is great and important, but a very small part of being an environmentlly aware. Some of the biggest ways to help protect the environment (and by obvious extension, ourselves) are lowering use of fossil fuel -- either through gas for vehicles or for energy for homes (electricity and natural gas), decreasing water consumption, not using pesticides or fertilizers (or buying organic produce/meat/dairy which doesn't use chemical fertilizers/pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, etc); reducing use of harsh household chemicals, and not using antibiotic soaps.

Anyway, so, driving less, taking public transit, hanging your clothes on the line instead of putting them in the dryer, using less water (to water your lawn, flush your toilets, take showers), buying organic food, not using antibiotic soaps and sprays, reducing use of chemicals in the home etc. should be taken into consideration too.

Jut a thought ... I guess I can never deny myself a chance at hopping on my soapbox.


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## Mary-Beth (Nov 20, 2001)

I checked most of these...my child isn't school age and I haven't really given enough thought to the school issue yet. (She's only 14 mos!) I don't have a son but I'm 100% sure I would never circ. so I checked that one. We eat meat becasue after being veg. for over 10 years I suddenly craved meat while pregnant and continue to eat meat while nursing. I believe I need the protein and just wasn't getting it on my veg. diet.

Anyway...I'd say I fit the profile sort of spreak but I will add in my neighborhood there are families who cd to save money and would not fit this profile at all. I thought for sure every cd family also bf but even that isn't true!

I come to Mothering.com to find other momma's of this type of parenting style.


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## Peppamint (Oct 19, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by Mary-Beth_
*I thought for sure every cd family also bf but even that isn't true!

I come to Mothering.com to find other momma's of this type of parenting style.*
Ditto! I thought every family that homebirthed breastfed (or at least tried) but I've met some online moms who didn't want to (for various reasons).


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## lifetapestry (Apr 14, 2003)

Of all of those things, I most believe in being environmentally conscious-- I have reduced, reused, and recycled for more years than I care to count. I rarely buy packaged foods (except for my DS, who seems to hate my cooking) and even then, they must be no-preservatives-added, as natural as possible.

I also believe in xBFing-- the research clearly shows that toddlers benefit from continuing to nurse, and I've seen the immediate benefits of it in daily life-- an opportunity for connection and calmness, which goes a long way around here. I do believe in boundaries around nursing, though, and I night weaned DS at 18 months.

We do co-sleep, but I don't really believe in it-- in the sense that you must do it or that it's a "good" thing to do (for me that is; I'm not making a blanket pronoucement). We do it out of self defense, because our bed is where he will sleep through the night. Most of the time, anyway. But if he were happy in his own bed, or if he could be "sleep trained" without crying, he'd be there.

I would have preferred that my son not be circ'd-- we are Jewish, and it was spiritually important to my DH, so I agreed. But I don't see him as less "intact" than a boy who is not circ'd. I also don't see circ'ing within the Jewish tradition as any less natural than not circing-- we used the same ritual prayers and procedure that our people have been using for 5,000 years.

I also believe in gentle discipline, although I did give him a pretty good pinch this morning to try to demonstrate how pinching my breast hurts! Let's just say that I can get extremely bitchy when I'm tired and continually tested for hours. I don't think I'll be repeating that little lesson. I understand the impulse to spank and that's exactly why I don't do it.

I've delayed and selectively vax'd, although I will be catching up his vaxing before he goes to daycare in the fall.

I was a vegetarian for 15 years. Never could do the vegan thing, although I believe that it's best healthwise and earthwise. Now I eat fish and fowl, though not for environmental reasons but because I *love* mammals and can't imagine eating anything that I could have an interpersonal relationship with.

Homeschooling-- no way, not for me. I've worked since my son was a month old (part time), had a nanny for the past 20 months, and will send him to full time daycare in the fall. Then he will go to public school. I have never wanted to be a SAHM.

I believe in unmedicated childbirth, and if I am able to have another child and a VBAC, I will have one.

Interesting to read the perspectives in this thread,
Karla


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## jen and her girls (May 22, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF - Yes. DD #1 for 5 months, DD #2 for 6 months, and DD#3 still nursing at almost 13 months.

Family bed/co-sleep - Yes. I have been sleeping with DD#1 for 2.5 years.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - No boys, but I wouldn't circ.

Unmedicated childbirth - OH HELL NO! I planned on an epidural the whole time. Then I had an emergency c-section with #1, and two repeat c-sections. There was not a single thing about labor and attempted vaginal delivery that I found appealing, or worth experiencing again. I love my c-section experience.

Vegetarian/vegan diet - No.

No-/selective vaccinations - All vaccinations here.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - Definitely.

Homeschooling/unschooling - Not an issue yet, but they will go to public school.

Gentle discipline - As much as humanly possible, though I tend to yell when pushed over the edge. But no spanking - we promised the girls we wouldn't spank them.

Oh, and I just love *my* cloth diapers.

I'm pretty mainstream compared to most mama's here, but it works for me, and it works for my kids. I feel that I am doing a great job as a mom, and I would say that I have a very happy family.


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## blessedmomof3 (May 16, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF - *Yes*

Family bed/co-sleep - *For a few months*

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - *If we ever have a boy he will be circ'd*

Unmedicated childbirth - *Yes. Home/waterbirth with #3 and any future child.*

Vegetarian/vegan diet - *No.*

No-/selective vaccinations - *All dd's are up to date on vax*

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - *Kind of*

Homeschooling/unschooling - *Yes we homeschool.*

Gentle discipline - *Not sure the definition of this so I'm not sure how to answer. For certain misbehaviors we do spank. Usually we do timeout, or other creative discipline things.*


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## LilMamiBella (Nov 13, 2002)

*breast feed/ ebf- We're 100% breastfeeding with Destiny. Romeo was only breastfed 5 months. =(

family bed/ co-sleep- yep all of us except our dog lol

intact sons- Romeo wasn't but I will make sure that the next baby is intact!

unmedicated childbirth- yep not with Romeo but with Destiny it was a waterbirth in a birthing center. next, time I'd lie to do waterbirth at home somewhat unassisted.

vegetarian or vegan diet- Not vegetarian but would like to be someday

no or selective vaccinations- selective/delaying here

environmentally conscious- yes somewhat

homeschooling/unschooling- I'd like to but dh and I argue on this.

gentle discipline- yes

other- I use the keeper and cloth pads,we baby wear,sahm,etc.*


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## Nikki Christina (Mar 27, 2003)

I do Breast feed.. my Daughter is 26 months & we are in the process of weaning
I tried with my son.. but he is disabled & has poor muscle tone (hes severaly disabled now ) I did try VERY hard & pumped for 2 1/2 months untill I NEEDED sleep & just could handle double feeding.. school.. work & his father working out of town mon-thursday

Family bed/co-sleep - we co slept with my son untill he had a trach surgery at almost 4 years old.. then because of all the cords we moved him to a toddler bed
DD still sleeps with us

I did circumsive my son.. didnt know any different.. I dunno what I will do if we had another boy..Id most likely not do it.. depending on my DH's thoughts..
Id read up on it more if I have a boy

Unmedicated childbirth - this one is not for me.. i didnt vote for it,although my 2nd child was all natural.. it wasent by choice.. she came too quick & I thought Id die.. Id rather not have natural again

Vegetarian/vegan diet - nope.. I like meat

No-/selective vaccinations - yup.. we do selective vax

Environmentally conscious - a little bit.. I try

Homeschooling/unschooling - no way.. . I think kids need to be around their peers

Gentle discipline - to a degree.. my daughter does get spanked sometimes.. but thats only when time outs are not working.. she is a VERY active wild kid.. a live wire.. hard headed. determined.. stubborn.. pissy .. whatever you wanna call her..
I gotta make her listen ..she can misbehave so bad..lol


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## mom2tig99Nroo03 (Apr 24, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF
definately! ds weaned while i was pg with dd, but has nursed several times since i delivered her, plus he gets pumped momma milk









Family bed/co-sleep yup

Intact sons (for those with boys!)







ds is circed, no future boys will be though

Unmedicated childbirth
had epidural for ds after they gave pit and i couldnt catch my breath. had beautiful unmedicated birth with dd

Vegetarian/vegan diet
no, we eat *some* meat sometimes ( but it is so darn expensive we dont do much. )

No-/selective vaccinations
ds is fully vaxed through 2 yrs







dd got shots at 2 mos, but we have delayed the rest so far ( am tryin to convince dh they arent a necessary evil....

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.)
yup, as much as possible, but i hafta admit i did throw out a huge bag of recycleable stuff, when i was trying "flylady"

Homeschooling/unschooling-
not yet, but will be most liikely

Gentle discipline-
i try *really hrd* but i have yelled at ds multiple times.





















, and he has been spanked less than a handful of times.

Other... Please share!
the sling is one of my best friends, dont do jarred baby food


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## Mayapapaya (Mar 7, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF:
Yes, I had a breast reduction as a teenager and am very proud to have nearly a full supply this time around with ds. I take tons of herbs and have nursed around the clock to make this happen. I'm a pediatrician and I believe that a lot of public health problems (some of which people claim are from vaccines) are really from not bfing (increased childhood cancer rates, increased asthma/crohn's/colitis, increased Type 1 Diabetes -- these have all been shown to decrease in children who have been bf). Not to mention the 1/7 rate of breast cancer in adult women. This is something I believe in more strongly than anything else listed here.

Family bed/co-sleep:
Dd was not interested in co-sleeping, even as a baby. Ds can't get enough of his mama and her boobs day and night, so yes, he is a cosleeping boy.

Intact sons:
No. Circing ds was something that wasn't a question for me, although it was very difficult. It is one of the most basic practices of Judaism, that demonstrates the covenant of the Jews with God. I did a lot of studying on why it is done within the religion and am satisfied that I have made the right choice for my son. If I weren't Jewish, I wouldn't have done it, most probably (although I do happen to think it looks better cosmetically, LOL, maybe because I'm used to it?)

Unmedicated childbirth:
Ds was homebirthed after a medicated hospital delivery for dd. Once I read the studies and found that homebirth is as safe in low-risk women as hospital birthing, I had to do it. I believe that pain meds are a fair choice for a woman in labor if she needs them, but I think it's criminal how labor and delivery staff push drugs rather than offer support/massage/water/etc. Epidurals are wonderful but carry risk, like any medical procedure (particularly a procedure given while pregnant). What makes me angry is that no one bothers to outline these risks to mothers, so that they can make an educated choice about how to deal with their pain. Anyway, I loved homebirthing, how spiritual, comfortable and non-clinical it was. Particularly in contrast to working in the hospital and going to literally hundreds of drug-laden, induced deliveries, either resuscitating babies depressed
at birth or taking them to the NICU for sepsis work-ups because their mothers had epidural-induced fevers.

Vegetarian/vegan diet:
I was ovo-lacto-vegetarian for 11 years until I got pg for the first time. Started eating meat and haven't really stopped over the past 4 years, although I really want to. It's hard because dh is a certified meat eater, who believes that a meal is not complete unless chicken, fish, or meat is included plus he doesn't like cheese. Making different food for different tastes is a little more than I can handle. Sigh.

No-/selective vaccinations:
We selectively vaccinate and delay those that we do give. I haven't read one study that effectively supports the claims of nonvaxing, although I was desperately looking for something to support my delayed vaxing stance with my dh and my own ped. It was pretty disappointing to find that many of the studies that are widely quoted in the non-vaxing world are really poorly done and misinterpreted at that. The major issue for me in the end is the toxic ingredients used to preserve the vax, which I don't want to give to a small infant with an immature liver.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.):
Yes, but I wish we could do more. It is a challenge, especially since NYC cut the recycling program after 9/11. Hey, but I cd...

Homeschooling/unschooling:
I am not cut out to be a full-time teacher to my children, I'm sad to say. I'd like to start a small charter school for them and a few others, though. It was pretty daunting when I looked into it. I haven't given up yet.

Gentle discipline:
I do yell more than I want to. I do not spank. We use time-out, counting, taking away toys, etc.

Other... Please share!
I wear ds whenever we are out.
Although I am not a SAHM, I am pretty non-traditional in that I have taken a year off after having each child during my medical training. Although we are pretty poor at this point from dh being a resident and my staying home for the year, I believe strongly that it's worth it. I ultimately want to be able to work PT, while my children are at school but have the flexibility to take them to school, pick them up from school and adjust my work so that I can be like a SAHM from their perspective. We can't afford for me to just quit medicine because I have tons of loans, knock-your-socks-off medical school loans.


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## CajunMama (Jun 24, 2003)

Okay- this is my first post here. I am pregnant and due in December and have been lurking here for a few weeks. I am quite different than most of you, and yet similar ( I know that doesn't make any real sense LOL) Anyway, to answer the original questions...
BF- Heck yes. Not that I don't understand formula, but for gosh sakes- bf seems like the LOGICAL choice, in addition to being healthy, frugal... etc etc.

CoSleeping- not planning on it.

Intact-Non Circ - If we have a son, we will leave him intact. DH feels strongly about this and I don't see any reason to do it. I don't see any reason to do it seeing as how we are Christian, and there is no compelling reasons, medical or otherwise, to have a portion of his penis removed.

vaccinate - We plan on having all children vaccinated.

Drug Free Birth- Hmmmm- I had a section the first time around ( emergenccy) and plan on a VBAC. My massage therapist will be there, but I am keeping all options open. ( this was several years ago- child was given up for adoption)

Home Schooling- will probably send to public school.

Veg- NO- we both eat meat.

EC - Yes. I have been recycling for ages- before we had a ccurbside program. We compost EVERYTHING. Anything that cannot be reused, gets composted, or we don't buy it. As I was growing up, we called that poor, not EC ( LOL ) We started growing our own veggies this year, and really get alot out of reusing and composting. It is fun to think of ways to reuse things ( Okay so I don't have a life








:

Gentle Disc - probably not. but are undecided

Plan on babywearing and cd-ing. I will be a SAHM because I think that raising a child is the most important job a person can have.


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## Taosmama (May 2, 2002)

Great thread!

BF - ds weaned himself at 19 mos. but did get some formula around 11 mos when I got tired of pumping while I was at work. Dd will nurse as long as she wants to.

Co-sleep - yep, currently have 2 family beds - ds got his own bed but needs dh to sleep with him, and me and the babe get the king-size to ourselves!

circ - nope

vax - mostly fully but we're delaying the hep B and aren't doing prevnar

unmedicated birth - sadly, had 2 c/s. Tried with ds but got stuck at just a rim of cervix, and tried everything but finally begged to be transferred from the birth center to the hospital for an epidural. Ds was posterior, his head got wedged and he wouldn't descend. I had a placenta previa with dd so had every medical intervention conceivable, culminating with an emergency c/s at 31 weeks









environmentally conscious - we try but will do better when we're less sleep deprived! No formal recycling in our very rural area, but we reuse, compost, cd, and are very water-conscious

veg - nope, love meat

home-school - probably not just because I WOH so much, but I anticipate being really fed up with the public schools, and if we stay here there's no private school option

gentle discipline - try as much as possible with our wild 2 yr old, but we don't spank

other - I sling and we use a lot of herbal/alternative medicines, despite being mainstream health care workers ourselves.


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## morgan's_mom (Aug 25, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF- Yes. 11 months and just introducing solids.

Family bed/co-sleep - Yes.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - Plan to.

Unmedicated childbirth - Yes, in FSBC.

Vegetarian/vegan diet - No. We're meat-eating Texans! In fact, I saw the greatest bumper sticker the other day (I normally hate them) - it said, I LOVE ANIMALS, then underneath in smaller letters - they are delicious!









No-/selective vaccinations - None (except the first round that I got bullied into - no more for DD and none for future kids).

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - We're working on it.

Homeschooling/unschooling - Homeschooling/unschooling.

Gentle discipline - Yes...no spanking.


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## *~*SewHappyNow*~* (Sep 25, 2002)

Breast feed/EBF -yes- breastfeed or gets bottle of expressed breastmilk while I am at work

Family bed/co-sleep -no, I like to sleep alone! Sometimes dd goes to bed with me or naps with me and then I bring her to bed in the morning, though.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) N/A but if I had a son I probably would want him intact

Unmedicated childbirth -yes

Vegetarian/vegan diet -no, however dh is avoiding meat atm

No-/selective vaccinations -we do not vaccinate

environmentally conscious -not in any extreme manner

Homeschooling/unschooling -considering it seriously

Gentle discipline -yes


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## nancy926 (Mar 10, 2003)

Extended Breastfeeding - Well, DD is only 7 mos right now but I plan to BF until she doesn't want to anymore. She is eating 2-3 small meals of baby food/finger food a day, but her BFing has not slowed much!

Cosleep - Yes

Intact - If she had been a boy, she would not have been circ'ed.

Unmedicated childbirth - Yes. It was easily the hardest thing I've ever done but I'm glad I did it that way, and would do it again.

Vegetarian - No, although we don't eat much meat. We are both children of Midwesterners so we were raised to think "It's not supper if there's no meat!" We eat a lot of Asian and Indian-inspired meals with lots of veggies and sometimes beans, but usually chicken too. And I love milk and the occasional cheeseburger too much to give them up....

Vaccinating: After a lot of reading, we are going ahead and vaccinating DD on the regular schedule. We did do a lot of research first, and asked a lot of questions. We were both biology majors and I'm a medical writer...not sure if that is why we are both leery of doctors though! We find it difficult to find doctors that don't "talk down" to us, even though we try to let them know (gently) that we are both college educated and understand medical terminology. Not that doctors should talk down to ANYONE, but it gets tiring explaining for the 40th time that you DO understand how vaccines work, or at least what we currently know about how they work....(tangent!)

Environmentally conscious - Yes, although we don't toe a hard-and-fast line (I know few who do). We recycle, reuse, try to wear stuff out rather than throw it away, don't buy anything we can't afford (well, except a house!), pick up trash in our neighborhood (which always seems to need it), take care of stray animals, etc. That said, we own an SUV (albeit one with low emissions and 26/21 MPG) and I have been known to toss a can in the trash now and then (horrors!).

Homeschooling - She's a bit too young at the moment but we have talked about home/unschooling. We both had unsatisfying experiences in school (public and Catholic) which I'm sure has something to do with it. we have a few years to decide on this one!

Gentle discipline - Yes, when the time comes.

Other - lots of babywearing and singing!


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## Kai's Mum (May 20, 2003)

DS is Bfed
co-slept with us until about 7-8 months old
is not circ'd
is fully vaccinated
we do eat meat sparingly
we do basic recycling based on the services of our county
I drive a small SUV
we only occasionally eat organic foods
we practice gentle discipline
I had an epidural and will again
we have talked about homeschooling as an option
I work outside the home 3 days a week

If you saw me or met me, you would probably never peg me as a cloth-diapering mom, unless you saw us using the sling perhaps


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## WithHannahsHeart (Apr 22, 2003)

Lets see...
1. EBF til 6-7 mos; still going strong with no plans of stopping at almost one year.
2. Family bed til 3 mos til dd decided that she needed more space, and let us know it!
3. Major baby wearer of my hold me kid (not so much any more)
4. Vaccinations cause I was too tired/lazy to do research about delaying; will probably do differently next time.
5. Will NOT circ when we have a boy; no one in dh's culture circ's; he thinks it's outrageous and unnecessary and I agree.
6. Will probably homeschool (don't know whtat unschooling is anyway), but we'll see...
7. Believe in gentle discipline, as in no yelling no hitting in anger, but do believe in selective spanking; a totally different thing from whopping your kid in frustration. I absolutely refuse to be drawn into argument about this, as it is something I strongly believe in; I also believe there are a variety of other ways to discipline, and that they should be judiciously employed, too.
8. I can't tell you exactly why I started cd. I think originally for the economic factor, bwahahaha! Also I got to thinking about landfills and chemicals and so on, and was grossed out.
9. WE LOOOOVE meat and dairy around here, though we also eat, and feed dd, some soy products.


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## padomi (Dec 28, 2002)

Well, I chose all of them except unmedicated birth - it was unmedicated until the third day of labor and since my blood pressure skyrocketed, they did a c-section and so I had medication. I also chose intact boys even though we have a daughter, because we made it clear to the hospital that if our baby was a boy he was not to be circumsized. Any future boys we have will remain intact. And dh has been a vegetarian for many years, and I was strictly until I got pregnant and I CRAVED (and ate) red meat like crazy (and oddly enough still ended up anaemic.)


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## mlia (Jun 8, 2002)

* I pumped until 5+ months for my daughter (and yes pumping is hard when you daughter isn't able to nurse). I ran our of EBM at 7 months. We had planned to EN. If I have another child we probably won't be dealing with a heart problem so I will nurse and hopefully extended nurse.

* We co-sleep. I didn't think we would enjoy it but both DH and I wouldn't have it any other way.

* We cloth diaper - We started out doing it purely for financial cost saving reasons. We do occasionally use disposables while at the sitter (only at sitter 3 hours a week). I LOVE cloth and my DH is surprisingly in love with it as well (suprisingly cause it took me so long to talk him into trying it). Also - we will probably use disposables on vacations when we can't do laundry.

* Selective/Delayed Vaccinations for the most part.

* Homemade babyfood for the most part.

* I garden and plan to use a lot of those veggies for the babyfood.

* I work part-time and now DH will be home in the morning so Salem doesn't have to go to a sitter. Our ultimate goal is for me to stay at home. But I do work part-time cause of the insurance and with my daughter's heart problems we have to have it. DH is a minister and a landscaper so it's ok for him to be home in the AM with her.

* I plan to homeschool at least through elementary school. We will make a decision about middle school later.

* Babywearing - I LOVE the sling and have a snuggli that DH loves. Just recently Salem has disliked the sling so we have moved up to a Hip Hammock that we both enjoy.

* We don't CIO.

* Circumcision - Hard decision. I don't want to ever do it. DH does. So if we have a boy there will be a lot of talking and discussing.

* Unmedicated birth - I never considered a totally unmedicated birth but always wanted a vaginal birth with less intervention. But I didn't get that wish with the problematic pregnancy I had. I did end up with a csection after 12 hours of labor because my blood pressure wouldn't stay under control.

* I believe in some alternative medicines. I don't have a problem going to the Dr. as I believe God gave my RE (reproductive endocrinologist) the ability to help me conceive and with my daughter's heart problem (hypertropic cardiomyopathy) we need to see a cardiologist. But I do believe in alternative rememedies and will almost always try these first for most cases.

* Vegan/Vegetarian - No we do like meat. We LOVE veggies and try to have a low fat healthy diet but do occasionally get a steak. For the most part meat wise we eat fish and chicken.

Basically we don't let mainstream society or what's popular at the moment make our decisions. We research and pray and read our bibles and do what we feel God is leading us to do.


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## danaalex (Mar 19, 2003)

we have always been enviro conscious, we recycle, reuse everything under the sun!!!!
when i got pg i just knew i would do anything and everything for my children. i couln't imagine having kids and then not doing your absolute best for them.
we breastfeed, cloth diaper, selectively vax, no daycare, co sleep, babywear, gentle discipline, do organic as much as we can......

i love my children more than life itself and i want them to have the very best possible. this way of living and parenting is, for us, the very best!


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## mamaBlue (May 27, 2003)

i also selected 'other' because we had a home birth


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## Tuppy (Oct 18, 2002)

Ok, I'll play...









Breast feed/EBF *yes*

Family bed/co-sleep *kind of...My dh is a light sleeper and is to worried about rolling on ds so he sleeps in our room and I sleep in the guestroom with ds. I'm not thrilled about not sleeping with dh, but I really want to co-sleep with ds. I keep thinking it's only temporary.*

Intact sons (for those with boys!) *YES*

Unmedicated childbirth *No..I've had two c-sections...I hired a doula with my first birth to try to go unmedicated, but ended up having a c-section. I didn't want to attempt a v-bac the second time around.*

Vegetarian/vegan diet *No..We try not to eat too much red meat*
No-/selective vaccinations*We vaccinate..Not comfortable with not vacccinating*

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) *Yes...We recycle*

Homeschooling/unschooling *No kids in school yet..Will be sending them to private Christian school*

Gentle discipline*Yes..I need to do some more reading on this since some things aren't working with my dd.*

I consider myself pretty mainstream...


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## mum2tori (Apr 7, 2003)

Well, we aren't *really* crunchy just a little "al dente". And I know a lot of people that only CD and BF but otherwise are very "mainstream".

Extended Breastfeeding - Yes. DD is still nursing for naps at 27 months. That was NOT the intention at all but she loves her Boppy and it makes her happy. AND it's the only way to get her to nap unless we are driving around in the car.







DS is EBF at 3+ months.

Cosleep - Not intentionally. I don't sleep well with either right next to me. Every twitch wakes me up. But DH can sleep with a body sprawled on him noooo problem.









Intact - Yes

Unmedicated childbirth - No

Vegetarian - No, no possible way in this house. I love beef way too much (have to be able to chew a bone or two







) and DH can't eat cookies or chocolate without milk. :LOL DD doesn't get much milk (it is organic though), but loves cheese and she likes meat.









Vaccinating: we selectively or delay vaccines

Environmentally conscious - try to recycle as much as possible and use enviromentially sound cleaners

Homeschooling - not at this time.

Gentle discipline - it's the goal. But can be very difficult with a willful







2 year old.

Other - Babywearing (now that DS tolerates a pouch otherwise it's in my arms







: )

Baby Sign Language (got to help them communicate! makes a world of difference.







)

Delayed foods. We didn't start DD on solids until after 10+ months. And she doesn't eat nuts at this time. We LOVE peanut butter in this house so we are waiting until after 3yr to give it to her. There are some food allergies on DH's side of the family. So we don't want to deny her peanut butter later in life if we can help it. I swear DH is counting the days until he can sit down and have a PB&J dipping picante sauce (eew! I know







but he loves it) and a glass of milk with DD.


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## Britishmum (Dec 25, 2001)

Yeahhh!!

Until a few months ago I could have answered YES to them all - except

we didn't cloth diaper

Now I can tick YES to them all and

We do cloth diaper

and we love it!! Even dh - who was the reason we didn't in the first place - he was adamant that cds were awful, no more environmentally friendly than disposables, blah blah.

I should have ignored him then - don't know why I didn't - I ignore him over pretty much everything else.







:


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## aboeckman (May 12, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF -- Did a lot of research and reading, but we've decided not to try for fear of making Spike's transition more stressful than it needs to be

Family bed/co-sleep -- Can't wait! Spike's foster family co-sleeps, so we hope doing so will help his transition

Intact sons (for those with boys!) -- Yep

Unmedicated childbirth -- Well, I admit I took some OTC sleep aids over the weekend to try to catch up on some sleep -- I'm so wound up waiting for the call to come to Korea I just can't relax!

Vegetarian/vegan diet -- Not really. We eat a lot of fish and some chicken from time to time.

No-/selective vaccinations -- The initial decision was out of our hands, and we will probably continue once he's home.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) -- as much as we can

Homeschooling/unschooling -- I'm leery of TX public schools, but if wishes were horses . . .

Gentle discipline -- Yep

Other... -- We'll be wearing Spike as much as we can, and the caregivers at our daycare provider look forward to using the sling we've bought too. I can't wait to teach our son yogaWe're also looking forward to bringing Korean recipes, holidays and other customs and traditions into our lives as we celebrate our being a Korean American adoptive family.

We're first-time parents, and we're looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead as we learn what kinds of parents we are.


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## Mizelenius (Mar 22, 2003)

*Breastfeed:* YES . . .no end in sight!
*Co-Sleeping:* YES . . .first few hours in crib until Fiona wakes up and we go to bed.
*Intact:* No son, but planning on it if we have one! (Had to really convince my DH about this one. He isn't convinced, just tired of arguing.)
*Unmedicated Childbirth:* YES, but at a hospital with an OB.
*Vegetarian:* YES, but only me. I do eat cheese and eggs from free range chickens, though. (And chocolate, which has dairy!)
*No/Selective Vaccinations:* NO, we vaccinate.
*Environmentally Conscious:* YES, for the most part. However, we drive a lot.
*Homeschooling:* NO, but our children will attend a (public) school that my own mother started, so it will be OK!
*Gentle Discipline:* YES, but I'd really like to use more TCS methods.


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## LaffNowCryLater (May 2, 2003)

Veggie, co-sleep, gentle discipline, and environmental. Ds's birth was medicated b/c he was induced due to a birth defect called Hydrocephalus. (His head is larger than normal). As it was I did get to wait till 40 wks, and had him 2 days after my due date.


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## mamapup (Jun 25, 2003)

A little note before I get started. I am a new mother. My ds is 4 months old today. I am doing the research necessary (this site was HIGHLY recommended) for getting started with cd.

Breast feed/EBF- Yes, and I plan to nurse until ds weans himself (even if that means going tandem). **I didn't go through all I went through in the first 10 weeks just to quit!** Our next challenge is to keep it going when I go back to work part-time next week.

Family bed/co-sleep - yes - the first 6 weeks in bed with us; up until last week in a cosleeper attached to the bed (dh's insistence), last week started sleeping in the crib in his nursery (we were waking him up constantly when we went to bed and when tossing and turning at night - since he's been in his crib, he's been sleep 6-8 hours each night). When he wakes up in the morning, I bring him to bed to nurse and snuggle until wake time. Will probably end up putting ds to bed when he's older and allowing him in with us when he comes to us.

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - no, I'm Jewish and dh wanted the circ.

Unmedicated childbirth -yes (except for a local for an episiotomy). Ds was born in the hospital, all others will be born at home. Modesto Doula was our doula and absolutely critical to helping me stay unmedicated! (Also my introduction to cd!)

Vegetarian/vegan diet - We eat minimal red meat for health reasons. Otherwise, we aren't vegetarians. I am dairy free.

No-/selective vaccinations - Only vaccinations with no thimerosal and no Hep B or Chicken Pox.

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - I should be better, I try to reuse and recycle when I can. I hardly ever used paper towels until ds and I fought thrush. Now I use them after washing my hands, but will go back to cloth once we emerge victorious!!!

Homeschooling/unschooling - I want public school, dh wants private school.

Gentle discipline -yes, but that's been easy so far.









Other - Baby sign language (although he's not signing back yet), and babywearing (THANK YOU Modesto Doula!!!) - love it!

__________________
-mamapup


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## megtell (Mar 18, 2003)

I love that we are all sooo different!!! I have btdt, my oldest is 11. We EBF, are very enviromentally aware, and would never think of laying a hand on our children. We are in the process of buying an electric car.

The kids sleep in their own beds after about 4 months (but no cio, we are pretty flexible on this one) , we fully vaccinate, we eat meat and it's up to dh if we have a son if he is circumsiced. I would never dream of doing another birth unmedicated.

I totally support every mama here and so long as they believe in their path, that's what matters! Empowered Momming!!!!!


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## Matt's Mom in MT (Apr 18, 2003)

Ok, since you asked.....

We breastfed for a month, then had to stop for medical reasons, didn't co-sleep because none of us slept like that, had ds circumcised, eat meat (though I don't), have all our vaccinations, don't recycle, are planning on public or private school.

Guess we don't fit the cloth diaper "profile" at all, but I sure do love my diapers.


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## MilitaryDoulaMama (Apr 5, 2003)

We...

CD
co-sleep at times
delay vax (with DH in the military I think we should be vaxed)
Paleolithic eating (Raw foods...no dairy or grains)
recyclers








cloth pads


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## ~Tookasmama~ (Jul 23, 2002)

We:

~breastfeed
~co-sleep
~ unmedicated, homebirth with my two boys - dd was born with in a hospital with some medication








~ our boys have their entire penis'
~ we plan to homeschool
~ we reduce, reuse, recycle, as much as possible
~ use gentle discipline
~ and I should have checked other too, as we're EC'ing too.


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## TracyMom2Three (Jul 2, 2003)

Well, I haven't used cd's for all 3 kids and I didn't use them exclusively.

As for the others..let's see:

we co-sleep
my youngest ds in intact (my oldest who's 20yrs is circ'd)
I bf'd all kids...including ebf'ing. (my oldest son to age 3 and my 22 mo is still bf'ing)
we recycle
we plan to home school
use gentle discipline
don't vax
my 2 youngest were born via a c-section
we eat meat and use dairy products

Did I miss anything?


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## stacey31 (Jul 4, 2002)

We practice all of the choices. It all just seems to go together somehow. I have to say that I don't personally know anyone who does it like us so it gets lonely sometimes. Thank goodness for the Mothering boards!!


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## BigBelly03 (Dec 3, 2002)

The only thing I would add to the list is being a SAHM / WAHM often goes hand in hand with being a CD'er. Although a while back when I did day care in my home I had a couple of cd babies in my day care, they used a diaper service though. Although I cd'ed all my babies, the four older ones were born in a hospital and they wore the sposies before coming home.







My son however went straight from the womb into flannel and wool practically with his homebirth--although we didn't put anything on his bum for a few hours...I always think of cd from birth as another advantage of birthing at home


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## JewelsRae (Sep 23, 2002)

I just parent the way that feels right to me.

I have always used cloth diapers, but I don't use mama cloth.

I am not a vegetarian- I like meat and cheese!!









I exclusively breastfed my son till I introduced solids at 6 months, but I am his only milk source still at 15 months.

I am extended breastfeeding and pregnant.

My ds was born unmed hospital birth with midwife and doula, and we are hoping to have this one at home with the midwives.

We co-slept till ds was 5 months old at which point he just would not sleep in our bed anymore and was much happier in his crib. But he is still welcome in our bed if he wakes up in the night.

Ds is NOT circumcised. I don't believe in CIO, I wear him in a sling, and he is completely NON vaccinated.

Man we are sure FREAKING out the inlaws!!!! :LOL


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## penny31 (Jul 21, 2003)

I am not very crunchy at all, but am a lot crunchier than the general population, I think:

Breast feed/EBF - I pumped and gave Eliza expressed breatmilk till she was 5 months old (supplemented with formula). She did finally learn to latch on at 2 months old (not well though), but I had gone back to work by then and so only actually BF'ed her once a day or so, and DH fed her the expressed milk and formula from a bottle. Our many problems with BF'ing are a HUGE sore spot for me








Family bed/co-sleep No, unless Eliza won't go to sleep in her crib for some reason (rarely). I LOVE sleeping with her when the situation warrants it, but DH thinks it is a bad idea







: and I haven't fought that battle yet (I just got him to agree to CDs, so am trying to take it easy on him







)
Intact sons (for those with boys!) I wouldn't have wanted to circumsize Eliza, had she been a boy, but DH would have. I probably could have convinced him not to though...








Unmedicated childbirth Heck, no... I had all the bad stuff, I was induced with cytotec and pitocin (twice! I got sent home the first time and had to come back a week later), had my water broken, got several shots of fentanyl, got an a epidural (that didn't work on half my body) and ended up 23 hours later with a c-section. YUCK. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have let them induce me, but I was a week late and Eliza was 9 lbs., 5 oz. at birth. To be honest, I don't envision trying a VBAC next time, either.







I found labor really horrific and would much prefer a c-section (I know, I know, but OUCH!). Oh, I did have a midwife, though. That is crunchy-ish, right? LOL
Vegetarian/vegan diet No, we eat meat, dairy, whole nine yards
No-/selective vaccinations We have vaccinated on schedule
Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) Much better than the general population, but still not a ton
Homeschooling/unschooling No, Eliza will go to private school, but I am intrigued by the idea and would consider it if I was a SAHM. DH is Eliza's SAHD though, and he would probably just teach her football plays or something, LOL.
Gentle discipline YES, totally.
Other... I make all Eliza's baby food from organic ingredients. DH and I eat organically about 1/4 of the time. I don't use a sling, but did use the Baby Bjorn quite a bit. We try to use cloth as much as possible (napkins, kitchen towels, etc.) Hmmm... I can't think of anything else right now.
XOXO


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## Periwinkle (Feb 27, 2003)

Here are mine:

* Breastfeed -- As much as I can with 1 y.o. twins that is. This well is running dry! Used to be a lot more. They were exclusively BF'd until around 6-7 months, which to you all (and me, before twins! LOL) may sound like a drop in the bucket, but was quite a feat that involved 10+ pumping sessions of 30+ minutes each per day around the clock to maintain supply. We supplemented with formula for a couple of months. Now they're drinking cow's milk. Still BF'ing but I think it's more comfort nursies at this point than sustenance.

* Co-sleep -- No. We couldn't when babies were first brought home from hospital (preemies, apnea monitors, etc., etc.). Probably could have switched after a few months, but babies sleep next to each other and their room adjoins ours, and it works nicely for us. Never CIO.

* Unmedicated birth -- Well it was unmedicated and totally "natural" until ds (Baby B) became transverse after dd was born, so after trying to move him, he came out c-section. Yes ladies, that's right... a vaginal delivery AND a c-section!









* Vax -- We selectively vax and delay/alter the schedule for those vaxes we do choose.

* Circ -- Ds is circ'd. Cultural, and husband's choice. Not sure I'd back that again knowing what I do now, but it is what it is.

* Vegetarian -- No.

* Homeschool - No plans to.

* Reduce, reuse, recycle - As much as we can.

* Gentle discipline - Definitely.

* Other - 1.) Babywearing - in early days, they kangarood right on bare chests - they used to nap like that for a few months. Then Baby Bjorn (which allowed same). Around 6-7 months, we started using a sling instead. Now we do side-carry when out and about in Maya sling. They love it and so do I! 2.) We buy organic or locally grown as much as possible. 3.) Limit use of modern medicine (antibiotics, etc.) unless absolutely necessary. 4.) No TV or videos for dd and ds... ever. 5.) Use only green cleaners for household/laundry. 6.) No CIO. Hmm, there's probably more but I can't think of any!


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## crayon (Aug 24, 2002)

We do pretty much everything- For use it all goes hand in hand. We use cloth, BF, sling or backpack, co-sleep, dont vac, if we ever have a son he will be intact, and are open to homeschool.

We dont do a lot of recycle because it is not offered much around here. And we are not veg/vegan we do eat meat- but we think that is healthy too.

My DP also works from home and I go to my office a few hours a week but other than that I am home too. We made that a priority form day one! It is very important to us that we both watch our children grow up.


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## DecemberSun (Jul 6, 2003)

Wow, so nice to read through and see what choices everyone makes, and what works for your families...









Breastfeed: Yes, and since DS hates bottles, I am soooo lucky to be able to stay at home with him!

Co-sleep: I always thought this was somehow "bad" for kids, like they would turn into spoiled brats just because they're allowed to cuddle up next to Mama and Daddy in their nice warm, soft bed... But now I know I was wrong, and I love co-sleeping! DH wouldn't mind having our bed back, but as soon as DS is nightweaned, we'll talk about moving him into his own bed... LOL.

Unmedicated birth: NO! I had preterm labor probs, and as soon as I got off the prescribed Terbutaline at 36 weeks, active labor began! Only, it took 51 hours to get going... so, I had an epidural!

Vaccs: We vaccinate- having foster kids in the house, we are mandated by the state to have current immunizations, and I agree with that.

Circumcision: DH and DS are intact! (As well as my dad, 3 brothers, father in-law, etc...)

Vegetarian: No... I LOVE eggs, and seafood! Don't drink cow's milk, but DH loves it- yuk...

Homeschool: I was homeschooled and went to public school, so I'll just wait and see what the kids want to do.

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle: YES! This is so important! I was surprised to see how many people on here don't recycle... I'm not judging, but I was definitely shocked!!! We don't have recycling in our area, but we save it all and haul it into town once a month or so. It's a messy job, and it's a pain in the butt, but almost everything we use is recyclable nowadays! Jars, cans, bottles, cereal and cracker boxes, shampoo and lotion bottles, etc... We end up having more recyclables than garbage at the end of the day. OMG- I just recently realized how much packaging is wasted on kids' toys! It's insane!!! And don't even get my started on junk mail...

Gentle discipline: This is a toughy, having 3 small children, LOL! But, we aren't allowed to spank our foster kids, so I'd hate to start spanking DS out of the blue, and not spank the other two...

Other: I've taught a bunch of my friends, DH included, to NOT LITTER! I don't work outside the home, so I hardly ever drive. I use cloth diapers and wipes now, thanks to MDC! I hate disposable products, like plates, cutlery, baggies, etc... I save all my plastic grocery bags and use them for garbage bags. We use natural cleaning products as often as possible- I try not to dump chemicals down my septic tank anyway, since they kill off the natural bacteria and could cause plumbing problems. DS has always hated being alone, so I've used my sling or Maya Wrap or Lil Snuggli or whatever else since day 1. I think thats it, don't want to sound all "high and mighty" here







but we're pretty confident that our natural living choices are going to make a difference (even if it's microscopic) in the future of our planet. We have kids who need to live on this planet for generations to come, and I think about that fact on a daily basis!


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## Jilian (Jun 16, 2003)

I BF, co-sleep, DS in intact, I had a natural birth, I am env. conscious, and plan on using gentle discipline. I also wear DS in a sling and practice AP.







I'm starting to lean more toward organic foods now too.


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## liam's mom (Jun 18, 2003)

Breast feed/EBF - Yes

Family bed/co-sleep - Yes

Intact sons (for those with boys!) - Yes

Unmedicated childbirth - No, but I tried. I planned on delivering at a fsbc and had complications--ended up with a c section.









Vegetarian/vegan diet - No.

No-/selective vaccinations - Yes, we're refusing/delaying

Environmentally conscious (reduce, reuse, recycle, downsizing, etc.) - Not really









Homeschooling/unschooling - Thinking about it (ds is only 3 months)

Gentle discipline - I plan on it.

We also wear ds in a sling and hold him as much as possible, buy organic when we can, and do not believe in CIO under any circumstances.


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## DesireeH (Mar 22, 2003)

I bf, co-sleep, Jev is intact, no vax, gentle discipline, yes.

Natural birth, no......made it 18 hours then panicked and got an epi.

Recycling: yes

Homeschool: Dont know yet. Probably. Definately if we live in this town (bad school system).

And we eat meat. I was a vegetarian for 5 years but when I got married that went out the window!


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