What is a cloth diapering mama's profile? - Page 3

[girlfactory]

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

Hey I resemble that remark!!!

[PatchyMama]

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

[Tani]

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

[USAmma]

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

[starbright]

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????

[Shanny]

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

[momsgotmilk4two]

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!

[Doodlebugsmom]

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!

[Momof3Girlz]

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!

[daphynmama]

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)

[starbright]

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

[flminivanmama]

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!

[momsgotmilk4two]

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!

[lunar forest]

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.

[sevenkids]

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.

[Bladestar5]

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.

[tnrsmom]

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

[ibusymomto5]

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

[Peppamint]

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.

[rockymtnmama]

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!