Crunchy mom (n): a mom who practices natural living.
What’s less-than-crunchy? Not mushy. Crunchy-ish? Crispy? Chewy? Ok, now I’m getting hungry. I’m sure there’s a technical term for it, but to keep things simple, I am sometimes crunchy.
I started out pretty crunchy…
Breastfeeding: Well, I didn’t plan to breastfeed, but it somehow worked out. We made it to the one-year mark (yay!) thanks to the help of supplemental formula feeding (double yay!).
Baby-wearing: This kept my sanity. I strapped my son to me so I could have both hands free to throw things in washer/dryer/crockpot, work on grad school homework, and click the “Continue Watching” button while simultaneously shoving chocolate chip cookies in my mouth. Honestly, I loved wearing my baby.
Co-sleeping: Again, we didn’t plan to co-sleep; it just happened (I hope you’re picking up on a trend here). I blame the convenience of not having to walk my little squishy baby all the way to his bedroom each time we finished feeding.
Making homemade, organic baby food: My Baby Bullet was ready to go as soon as it was time for my son to eat solids. I chopped, steamed, and pureed it all — rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, applesauce. I had plans to GROW my own food, but the dead plant on my kitchen counter served as a reminder that I have a not-so-green thumb.
Now, not so much…
A request for a “snuggle cuddle” will stop me dead in my tracks. However, I am not a jungle gym. I do not enjoy being climbed on, up, or over. Sometimes mom needs a don’t-touch-me break which means baby-wearing lasted until he could walk at a reasonable speed.
Having my son co-sleep wasn’t that big of a deal. We were tired, and he was a night owl, so it made sense to get him to sleep as quickly and easily as possible. Now that he’s taller and can somehow take up 90% of the bed, our co-sleeping days are over. Without going into the gory details, I’ll say that he stays in bed with a good bit of kicking and screaming.
Once we moved past the baby food stage, I really thought my son would eat what we ate for dinner. Turns out, he does not care for everything I cook. Full disclosure: my child currently lives on a turkey sandwich and Oreos diet. Ah, how the mighty have fallen.
At the end of the day, do what works best for you.
When I first had my son, it was HARD. Every decision that I make is in his best interest, and sometimes that means it’s a not-so-crunchy way of doing things. Yes, I breastfed and made homemade baby food. I’ve also fed him dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets. The phrase “I did what I had to do to survive!!!” comes to mind. So, to all my crunchy moms – hats off to you. I tried, I failed, I’m owning it. To all other moms – solidarity, sisters. We are all doing a pretty awesome job.
