any earth mothers out there?

[mummygiraffe]

just wondering what you all do to be an earth mother?

i've looked on google and books-i couldn't find any and i'm quite interested in the things you do as i'm really considering cloth nappies, baby slings, breastfeeding. etc

I also have a toddler-how do thinsg change when the kids get older

 

[eldar]

I co-sleep, use washable nappies, I was BF but have just made the switch to FF (so both counts for feeding lol!), I'm planning BLW, carry my LO everywhere in a variety of slings and don't ever want her to CIO when I can hug her....

so does this make me an earth mother? I hope so as that is a lovely term!

I didn't plan this or read a book -I'm just going with the flow and letting my LO lead me on how she is growing, while trying to be an eco friendly and attachment parent. I tried hard to get this little blessing and I want to raise her with as much love as I can so she can grow into an independent and secure little girl! And all the above things are just how I'm doing it

 

[Rachel_C]

I've never called myself an earth mother, but I would say I follow natural or attachment parenting. I did buy a few baby/parenting books when I was pregnant and found I didn't look at them once she was born, it was more about going with what feels right. If you look on Amazon and search for natural or attachment parenting though, quite a lot comes up :thumbsup:

We use cloth nappies and wipes, feed on demand (FF but very reluctantly), co-sleep in the mornings, cuddle her when she cries, we're doing baby led weaning, baby wear (although we also use a pushchair sometimes) and we try to be as environmentally as possible. When the time comes, we won't be using hard discipline.

 

[FemmeEnceinte]

Earth mother? haha... hmmm, I wouldn't call myself that.

But I probably do qualify. We use cloth nappies, I wear Molly whenever we go out in the Mei Tai, I breastfeed, we co-sleep at night and Molly naps on me during the day. We'll be BLW and with only organic produce. And, as has been said, we're not big on negative reinforcement punishment. We plan to be authoritative and not authoritarian.

It's not stuff that you really have to read about to become... it's usually a very natural and instinctual process and something we fell almost entirely accidentally into. Apart from the cloth and specific intentions of BLW, the rest has been strongly instinctual for me. I also firmly believe it has been the absolute best for Molly! She's happiest when practising all of these things.

 

[littlestar]

^wss^

everything we've done is instinctual to me. although we don't co-sleep at night he does sleep on me during the day. We BF on demand, BLW (just started & going well), Cloth nappies, we do a mix of washable and disposable wipes, and i do but not always babywear (my back couldn't hack it all the time)

as for handling cries etc i've followed my 'motherly' instincts!

 

[Lu28]

I wouldn't call myself anything to be honest but this is what we do:

- breastfeed
- baby led wean
- cloth nappies
- baby wear when out and about (I haven't felt the need to do it in the house)

We never really coslept except during marathon bfing times. I only started venturing into this section a few months ago because I sort of instinctively ended up as this kind of months by following Aisling's lead etc but it was all very gradual - no active decision on my part!

So if that makes me an earth mother then great!

 

[thelilbump]

no i wouldn't call myself an earth mother either! We did what naturally came to us, i;d neevr intended any of the path i took and if you had told me when i was pregnant i;d probably have laughed! Anyhow we BF succesfully for the past 18 months, used cloth nappies for a year now almost, and followed BLW to a fashion. I did babywear but left it a bit late to start tbh wish i'd done it sooner, for some reason I had been scared of doing it! We co slept for a few months too.

 

[lfernie]

I Breastfeed, Co-sleep, Cloth nappy, Babywear, Cuddle it Out, don't really use medicine and try to use alternatives, I will use very gentle discapline. But like above when I was pregnant I didn't intend to be 'natural' so to speak and most of what I do is because it benefits my baby and all the green stuff is an added benefit although it has opened my eyes a lot and now I am a lot more selective with things and I am a lot more aware of the need to recycle etc x

 

[Kit]

I'm probably just being silly but the term "earth mother" makes my toes curl! Maybe it is because I have generally heard it used in a slightly derogatory way, or maybe it is because it makes me feel as though not doing certain things makes someone an "artificial mother"!
I am not really a big fan of labels for types of parenting - maybe because we mix and match to suit us. I breastfed as best I could and moved on to mix-feeding and then formula when it didn't work out. We have made multiple attempts at transferring to cloth nappies without success - they were too big when he was a baby and he screamed blue murder when put in them later. We co-sleep whenever we feel the need - he usually sleeps with us from early morning to getting-up time. We don't do CIO and I generally respond immediately to any complaints at night. I almost exclusively baby-wear and make some of my own carriers. We didn't do BLW, mainly because he went to nursery around the time he was weaning, although he has moved himself fairly naturally to a BLW style of eating. I grow some of our own food and most of my gardening these days is done with him on my back!
So I guess I couldn't really call myself an earth mother - I will just say we do some things in natural way!

 

[Monkeh]

Hmm, don't know about 'earth mother' but this is what I do:

Breastfeed, co-sleep, babywear, blw, use cloth nappies and wipes, and generally just what comes naturally. While pregnant I kinda thought I'd end up this way, as my Mum brought all her kids up in a 'natural parenting' kinda way (mainly just the breastfeeding, co-sleeping and gentle discipline. she now homeschools too). I only switched to cloth in January though Wish I'd done it sooner, and will definitely be doing it from word go with the next one.

 

[BabyHaines]

Im the same as the others. Don't know what I'd be called, but I breastfeed, co-sleep (mostly from early hrs, as he settles in his Moses basket at first) babywear (but not exclusively as have a pram too) and we are now Itti Bitti addicts, so we use cloth nappies now too. We are very 'different' in our approach with many things and are often referred to as 'hippy' by other people, but I just want to do what's best for George and for me personally, that means allowing him to lead xxxx

 

[anothersquish]

Im still laughing too hard at "earth mothers" and having visions of me dancing round with daisy chains on my head in a wood with fairies fluttering about to actually answer seriously

 

[vanessayogini]

so clearly to you the term 'earth mother' refers to a more natural style of parenting. i think we are all earth mothers as we are mothers of the earth!
all of the things we do that classify us as 'natural parents' are just..things that..come naturally! hehehe. breastfeeding, co-sleeping, baby wearing, cloth diapering..things that have gone on as long as there have been people. when she's ready to eat solid foods she'll let us know and she'll eat fruits and veggies from our garden. we don't use products with harmful chemicals (the excuse of 'well i've used this and we're ok' does not sit well with me). we are opened minded and go with the flow of this crazy/awesome/hard/wonderful time that is babyhood and parenthood. i trust my instinct, my gut, my body that grew her body. we are all earth mamas. together, here, on this earth.

 

[vanessayogini]

Im still laughing too hard at "earth mothers" and having visions of me dancing round with daisy chains on my head in a wood with fairies fluttering about to actually answer seriously

i really like your siggy badges!!

 

[Kota]

Im still laughing too hard at "earth mothers" and having visions of me dancing round with daisy chains on my head in a wood with fairies fluttering about to actually answer seriously

i really like your siggy badges!!

+1!!
they made me actually LOL when i saw them,

 

[Rachel_C]

Im still laughing too hard at "earth mothers" and having visions of me dancing round with daisy chains on my head in a wood with fairies fluttering about to actually answer seriously

Hehe when I think of 'earth mothers' I think more of wearing rough old clothes, wooden shacks for houses and, for some reason, earth worms!

 

[Kit]

Im still laughing too hard at "earth mothers" and having visions of me dancing round with daisy chains on my head in a wood with fairies fluttering about to actually answer seriously

Hehe when I think of 'earth mothers' I think more of wearing rough old clothes, wooden shacks for houses and, for some reason, earth worms!

That's kind of what I see - but my earth mothers are wearing flowing skirts with little mirrors in them and big wooden clogs....

 

[thelilbump]

lol @ earth mother descriptions!

 

[princessellie]

Im still laughing too hard at "earth mothers" and having visions of me dancing round with daisy chains on my head in a wood with fairies fluttering about to actually answer seriously

Hehe when I think of 'earth mothers' I think more of wearing rough old clothes, wooden shacks for houses and, for some reason, earth worms!

That's kind of what I see - but my earth mothers are wearing flowing skirts with little mirrors in them and big wooden clogs....

hahahaha so pretty much gippos then?

x

 

[vanessayogini]

i have many flowing skirts and dresses ...and some have little mirrors in them! ahaha they are comfy! i wear other things too though. however, earth worms make me uneasy!