You've probably figured it out by now, but I'm not what you would call a "crunchy" Mama.
For those of you not in the loop on such terms ( I wasn't until a few months ago!)
Crunchy is what is used to describe an ‘Attachment’ parenting style. A more natural way of living.
Crunchy is what is used to describe an ‘Attachment’ parenting style. A more natural way of living.
You might also find it grouped along with words like hippie, natural, granola....
Putting me in the category of
Sprinkled with Granola, which is the third lowest on the crunchy scale.
I was crunchy in these areas :
Breastfeeding...which I am a huge advocate for and would have breastfed all my kids until a year at least if I could have
(now...see, this is where the judgmental crunchy Mama's start thinking, "she really could have if she really wanted to, there is always a way....")
Also, the idea of someone else breastfeeding my child or vice verse....yeah, I wouldn't rule that out.
Sleeping with the child in your room, next to you, bringing them into bed when you nurse. (which true crunchy parents will tell you isn't enough, you must sleep in the bed with your child)
Baby-wearing...loved our Moby and sling and Ergo carriers! Love holding my little ones on my chest. HUGE believer in this, I've seen what that can do, especially for early ones.
Cleaning products...I make ours. Because we save a ton of money, and I can use them around the kids without worry!
So, no...I am not crunchy. We use disposable diapers, we vaccinate on schedule, and we don't eat solely organic foods....
I do have several friends who are very crunchy, and I adore them.
See, there are crunchy Mama's, and then there are the pushy, "I'm too good for you and your naive thinking" crunchy Mama's who make you feel like an inferior parent for letting your child
CIO (cry-it-out) and for sometimes eating frozen meals.
They make you feel like they are "enlightened" and know all and we are blinded by the lies.
Those kind of crunchy Mama's rub me the wrong way.
Same as the non-crunchy Mama's who think it's their way or the highway.
We all have our reasons for doing what we do, and for parenting the way we parent.
Hopefully, it's because we've researched and done what we feel is best for our family and not because it's "trendy".
Because, cloth-diapering is pretty trendy right now....
I love that we are not all cookie cutter Mama's who have cookie cutter kids.
Please don't make other Mom's feel bad because they co-sleep and you don't think that's safe.
Please don't make other Mom's feel bad because they don't use cloth diapers....I mean, really?!
My biggest issue, is the vaccination thing.
I am pro-vaccine all the way...on schedule.
I am not going to say anything more on the matter, but that is where I stand.
I am pretty thankful that the crunchy Mama's who I am friends with, are not like those other ones...who either on purpose or without knowing, make you feel like a bad Mom if you are not crunchy.
It's silly really.
I mean, we are all trying to do our best for our kids and our families....we should be supportive and encouraging and understanding in all things.
And I hope to glean wisdom from these crunchy Mamas! Like, my new found interest and purchasing of Coconut Oil! Thank you crunchy friends!
And I hope, that they can learn something from us non-crunchy Mama's too.
Love this post! (-: I'm going to take that quiz and see what it puts me at. I will probably be crunchy, but like you said, it's about doing what is best for our own family. That is totally my philosophy, and I like to see mamas in tune to their babies. I have found ridiculously pushy and annoying moms on both ends of the "crunchy" and "silky" spectrum and I really dislike them. It gives us normal spectrum girls a bad name!
ReplyDeleteOh this quiz is hilarious! I took it and scored a 91, so I'm right in the middle. It's funny to me that not shaving = crunchy. When I don't shave, it's because I'm LAZY. And if I wore sandals all year in Portland, my feet would freeze off. I stop reading blogs that make me feel any sort of guilty. I'm on here for inspiration, ideas and camaraderie, not judgement.
ReplyDeleteWe all have to do this thing the way our hearts and instincts tell us, with lots of prayer, and I am realizing that it is always going to look different for everyone, and that is GOOD. Trying to meet everyone else's expectations is way too tiring of a way to live. Especially when you have a blog :)
I got a 62 haha I'm not much crunchier ;) I think we do a lot of crunchy things to a lesser extreme but we do it because it works for us, cloth diapers, try to make our own cleaning things or use greener products, breastfeed ( Lordy be would I quit if I could haha), buy organic when the budget permits, but you do what you can do that works best for your family and if it means take out in styrofoam containers then so be it ;) I like to share info I get on cool things that work for our family but I don't expect it to work for everyone or for everyone to even care haha
ReplyDeleteha! this test is funny. i'm guessing i'm somewhere in between... i get your breastfeeding thing, i tried and it didn't work. so i pumped instead for almost an entire year both times. talk about torture! but yeah, it saved a lot of money so it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteHa! I'll have to take that quiz. I'm like you, just ever-so-slightly crunchy. But in the exact opposite areas asyour! I didn't co-sleep, only wore my baby when we went to some kind of sporting event.. But I do cloth diaper (mostly to save money!), and we are on an alternate vaccine schedule (I just don't want him getting five all at once - I'd rather spread them out). I enjoyed this post - I can so relate! Some crunchy mamas can be super-judgemental, but I guess some non-crunchy (chewy?) moms can be too. But since I'm not very crunchy I get more judgement from that side. :-/
ReplyDelete62 . . . Wow, more crunchy than I thought! I think it's mostly from homeschooling, cloth diapering, and FAM though, which I wouldn't necessarily consider crunchy . . For me, anyway . :-)
ReplyDeleteHA! That quiz is hilarious! I too am only sprinkled with granola...interestingly enough...in mostly the same areas you are! Breastfeeding, co-sleeping (in the same room), baby wearing...=)
ReplyDeleteI think we absolutely can and should learn from one another! One momma isn't automatically better than the next because she does X instead of Y. I think that's silly!
And I love my crunchy friends too! I learn a lot from them!
i had to take the test after reading this!! :) so funny. i definitely wouldn't consider myself "crunchy" (that's "other" people) but i realized, as i took the quiz, that i do fall in that category for many things.
ReplyDeletei think it's been a gradual process for me: incorporating small changes, new information, new understanding ... all in moderation, though.
(who knew homeschooling was crunchy!? funny, most of my homeschool mama friends are traditional christian mama's. :0))
i got 107!! hee hee
ReplyDeleteI loved this post. I recently blogged about being a partially crunchy mom, but how I thought all moms were unique and should be praised for their individual mommy style. I love that I have friends who are crunchy and friends who aren't, I learn so much from each of them. I struggle with judgmental momma as well and wish we all could be supportive and not judgmental of each other. I have enough mommy guilt as it is without someone else judging me. I think all moms are amazing!
ReplyDeleteYep...I confuse people. I cloth diaper (and I've been doing it for 15 years...long before it was cool), wear my babies, extended breastfeed and sometimes co-sleep...but I vaccinate fully and on schedule, I give birth in hospitals, I use a lot of bleach and we eat meat...lots of it!
ReplyDeleteIn the end, we do what is right for our families. That is what we are called to do!