For the first year of my son’s life, I didn’t realize that the approach that my husband and I took to parenting had a name. We were following our hearts and raising our son the way that we felt was right. As parenting is nothing if not an exercise in trial and error, as we began to get into a real rhythm with our parenting, I realized that we have a lot in common with the attachment parenting and natural parenting schools of thought.
For more information on Natural Parenting, I highly recommend the following links:
The Natural Parents Network has a good overview of Natural Parenting. If the phrase “natural parenting” is completely foreign to you, this is a good place to start.
Hobo Mama – Lauren is a fantastic blogger who hosts the Carnival of Natural Parenting along with Code Name: Mama. It was through those two blogs, and specifically the Carnival of Natural Parenting, that I began to realize that there are other parents out there like us.
And, to answer some questions that I get a lot:
Why cloth diapers?
My husband will call me a dirty hippie for this, but I really think we as a society are doing a terrible thing to our planet. We have created a disposable society and I do truly believe that we are asking future generations to pay the price. I’m no global warming fearmonger or tree hugger, but I have a strong belief that we should not, pardon my French, crap where we live. Cloth diapering reduces waste. I do it for our planet, and I do it because I want my son to learn that our world is not disposable.
What’s up with the baby necklace?
Again, my husband is going to call me a dirty hippie voodoo queen for this, but I believe in the healing properties of amber. Baltic amber has been known for centuries to have healing properties and an analgesic effect. I believe that Jack has had such an easy time with teething not just because he’s my little tough guy, but also because he’s had his amber necklace to ease the pain. Plus, a baby with a necklace is a darn cute sight to see. We bought Jack’s necklace from Inspired by Finn.
Homemade baby food? What’s wrong with Gerber?
Honestly, there’s probably nothing wrong with Gerber baby food, aside from the ridiculous amount of packaging that has to get tossed away with each serving. But I’ve found that making baby food is easy, fun, and Jack absolutely loves having fresh food. He’ll eat nearly any of the Gerber prepacks, but he gets excited over home cooked squash, zucchini and carrots. And, like with cloth diapering, I want Jack to learn that food comes from the garden, not from a box or a bag.
