Crunchy Mom?

So I'd never heard this term until recently and when I first did I didn't even know what it meant. So I googled it. Of course I can't find the blog that I looked up now but it had a list of things that might make you a "crunchy mom." I don't want to offend all the true crunchy moms out there so I'll say I'm semi-crucnhy. :] I also just want to put a disclaimer out there that I don't think you're a bad parent if you don't do these things. I've just done the research and discovered what I think it best for me and Levi and these things fall under that catagory. That doesn't mean I think everyone needs to do them. You know yourself and your child better then anyone.

Anyway this women had a list of items on her blog that would categorize you as a crunchy parent and honestly, most of the things I have done stemmed from wanting to save money. The other things I've decided to do come from the fact that I want to be healthier and I want to start Levi being healthier also. These are the ones I've decided to do or done:

-Using non-toxic cleaning products. This falls under saving money and being healthier (but mostly saving money.) To clean the house I use vinegar and baking soda and it has saved us a TON of money in the past few months. I use them for everything and I love that I can clean the kitchen counters and spray the fruits and veggies and I don't have to worry about getting cleaning products on them. I also have a safe laundry detergent that I use for all the laundry (including Levi's) which costs about $15 to make for a YEAR'S worth of detergent. I love it, plus who wants to buy that ridiculously expensive baby detergent?!

- I'm breastfeeding.  At least for the first year which has been a little tough on my health but we're managing and I'm so glad that I can do it for Levi. I feel blessed that I'm able to and I'm so sorry for all you women out there who can't and I definitely don't think it makes you a bad parent if you don't or if you don't like it. I was a formula baby for health reasons and I turned out ok... I think. :]

- Not using rice cereal. I'm not sure using not using rice cereal is part of the "crunchy parent" persona but I was doing research on it and I don't see the need to give it to Levi. The more research I did the more I realized rice cereal is pretty much straight sugar (which makes sense.) It can have good effects but none of the good things that come from giving your babies rice cereal effect Levi so why give it to him?.

-Making my own baby food. Jarom and I got a Ninja for Christmas. I can't believe how much baby food costs! Ridiculous! I decided to make my own which will also be healthier to keep out all that extra processed sugar. I haven't started doing it yet as Levi is still to little but I hope I'll be able to stick with it. :] This also doesn't mean Levi will never have fast food or dessert. I just believe in moderation.

-No Vaccines. It's not that I think all vaccines are bad and I think many of them are beneficial but I don't trust these companies who are pumping them out and I don't feel good about giving my baby a ton of medicine all at once. If there were just a few vaccines I wouldn't mind but it is ridiculous how many vaccines are recommended AND how much money they make off of them. Don't get me wrong I LOVE modern medicine. It's the only reason I'm still alive and able to have children. But because I've been on it my entire life I also know how harmful it can be for us. I mean there is no medicine out there that doesn't have a warning label a mile long and just because we may not receive any of the symptoms when we take those medications, that doesn't mean it's still not affecting out bodies in a negative way. Some of the meds I'm on are actually killing me, they're just killing me slower then the CF. So yes I love modern medicine but I believe if you can do things holistically you should and I don't see the need for ALL those vaccinines. But again I completely understand if you do those things and I'm not trying to say you're a bad parent if you do. I was scared to make the decision to not vaccinate Levi. There are pro's and con's to both sides of the spectrum but for myself and Levi, I personally feel there are more cons.

-Cloth diapers. I haven't totally decided on this one and it really is just to save money. I mean helping the earth is great but it's not really my number one priority. I just haven't decided if it would be cheaper or not. I think the route I'd want to take would be the disposable inserts and I don't feel like those would save you much money.

Anyway like I said I'm not a full on crunchy parent or even a half crunchy parent. Maybe a quarter crunchy. :] But I think that those who are, are great and those who are not, are also great! :] Whatever works best for you, your baby, and your family is what you need to do!

Things that make me a non crunchy parent:

- I didn't have a natural birth although I'd still love to do one. I had an epidural and as nice as it is to not feel pain, it wasn't a great experience either. I'd still love to try doing one if we ever have #2. I just need to come in more prepared and now that I know what my body does and what I need to do to get through the pain (even when nurses are telling me not to do those things) I'm hoping I'll be able to.

- We circumcised Levi. I didn't do to much research on this and really left it up to Jarom since he is a guy. I don't know if I'd want to be circumcised. I mean on the pain scale I'd think no but Jarom said he is really glad that he was so we did.

- I didn't co-sleep or even have him in our room for more then a week. I just couldn't do it. I need my own room and I need sleep and that wasn't happening with Levi in the room. I would also do this again with #2 as Levi is a great sleeper. Not that doing what we did made him a great sleeper but it may have helped.

- I eat non-oragnic foods. Mainly because non-organic foods are cheaper. I just wash them really well. :]

- I let Levi watch TV. It's not that I put him in front of his own TV shows but if I have a show on and he's really fussy, yes I let him watch it. But really Levi just isn't that fussy. I normally play and talk to him. I've done this maybe 3 times in the last 2 months. It usually happens when he wakes up and wants to eat but he hasn't made it to 3 hours. When I let him eat earlier then 3 hours his entire schedule gets thrown off and before I know it I'm feeding every hour!! Don't worry I don't starve him. If I can't console him I do feed him.