An Accidental Hippie

I'm not exactly sure when it happened...my slow progression toward more natural living. I can just distinctly remember a conversation with a co-worker about things that had become normal parts of our daily life (breastfeeding, co-sleeping, baby wearing, cloth diapering, natural child birth) and thinking, "Wait a second! I've turned into a hippie!"

A lot of the natural parently stuff wasn't really planned, it just kind of happened. After having laproscopic surgery during infertility treatments that involved two incisions in my abdomen, I knew that I would do just about anything to avoid a c-section. My research about how medical interventions in birth often lead to c-sections cemented my resolve to have Samantha as naturally as possible, although the plan was still to have her at the hospital on post. Reading about some of the hospital's policies (no food during labor, I'd be hooked up to an IV and all kinds of monitoring gadgets, Dad's had to leave recovery at 10:00 pm, and on and on) led me to find a Midwife and birthing center.

When Sammy was born, she would only sleep if Pat or I held her, so she camped out in our bed with us. She also loathed the carseat and the stroller, so we bought a couple of baby carriers to make carrying her around a little easier. I found an awesome cloth diapering site along the way, and I loved that fact that they would save us money and look so darn cute on Sammy.

I guess I'm just trying to say that I didn't intentionally arrive where I am today, it just kind of happened...naturally.

I promise to not totally go over the deep end. I'm still shaving my legs and bathing regularly (more on my love-hate relationship with shampoo later). I'm just making small changes as I can to be a little kinder to my family, friends, and the environment, and I'm kind of starting to embrace this whole Earth Mother thing.

I also in no way want to make anyone feel bad about they way they go about life. I truly believe that, barring any extenuating circumstances like mental illness or substance abuse, people make the best decisions they can with the information they have at that time. Every family is different, and what works for mine won't work for everyone. I just hope to inspire you to sometimes look at things with a different perspective.