*Knocks on the door quietly .. can i come in?*

[Kota]

Wss! ^^

 

[aob1013]

Thank you so much Fem. You have really inspired me recently

 

[Jetters]

Well said, Femme!!

Thedailymail, I like your honesty in admitting you've been quick to judge- we all do it but admitting it isn't something that comes easily!!


When my stepson was born (my ex girlfriend is his biological mum, i'm his other parent!) I went along with all of her parenting choices- I was 21 and overwhelmed at becoming a parent and was happy to be led by her as it was her third baby and I didn't know any better. Two years down the line and i'm pregnant with my first child and feel like I have a lot more control now- I learnt a lot of what I DON'T want to do with my son, not in a bad way, just in the way you can only learn through trial and error.

I've always been a bit of a hippy, in a tongue in cheek way- I always try to be green and ethical so my family and friends haven't really been surprised that I want to use real nappies. I started off thinking i'd just use basic two parter sets like mothercare smart nappies but thanks to this section, now have a booming stash of gorgeous fluff that is really quite hard to resist!! It isn't just looks though, the thought of not filling up landfill and not putting chemical filled disposies on my babys bum is what drives me. I've definitely not saved any money though because I do like a pretty nappy!!! And I only intend to use natural chemical free products on his skin, and feed him organic pure foods. *typed while eating a cheeseburger from Maccy Ds!!!*

Natural Parenting is the obvious choice for me but to be honest it's more out of convieniance thinking about it: I intend to do my very very best to breastfeed, mainly because I know it's best for babies but also because I hate messing on with formula!! I'll be co-sleeping, sort of- an Amby hammock next to my bed and then a snugglenest in bed with me after he wakes in the night... because I hate the thought of him being away from me in a cot... and also because I don't want to have to keep getting out of bed in order to feed him!!!

Mind you, saying all of that... there's many aspects of Natural Parenting I don't think i'll be doing (although obviously can't know yet for sure!). I really don't want to attachment parent; I am naturally a routine led person. I'm not entirely sure about BLW yet, I need to research more.

Soooo rant over, but my point is, there will be aspects that work for you and aspects that don't- and that's fine. Not everyone in this section uses cloth nappies, or baby wears, and that's ok. Some people do it for ethical reasons, others for convieniance, it doesn't matter. Doing what feels RIGHT for you and your bab, regardless of what the 'norm' is, is what makes you a Natural Parent.

 

[aob1013]

Thank you Jetters, great post xxx

 

[Kit]

I too have pretty much been feeling my way and ended up doing things in a fairly natural way. Before he was born there were various things I wanted to do, not because I knew I wanted to be a natural parent, but because they all individually seemed to me to be the right thing to do. It is only fairly recently that I have formed any sort of coherent view of my 'style' of parenting. I posted in a recent (heated) thread that I feel that in a lot of ways we in the western world have moved away from the ideal babycare still practiced by some cultures, and that where there is a gap between the ideal and the reality due to the fact that we live in a modern world that is not geared towards very baby centred parenting, it is my job to try to fill that gap. I believe that our scientific knowledge and progress should be used where it improves our ability to care for our children, but a lot of modern practices seem to be at least potentially detrimental. Weaning is one example. Scientific knowledge has helped us to know more about the ideal weaning age and also to identify medical situations where a young baby would benefit from more solid food. However we have also moved well away from what I would imagine was the normal way of feeding a child hundreds of years ago - I can't imagine women sitting around in caves thinking 'I think I'll stick a spoon of mush in the baby's mouth just because I feel like it'. I think it much more likely that food would be introduced when the child was taking it for themselves. I'm not sure if this is making sense! Basically my view is that we should stick as closely to what nature intended and interfere only where the 'modern' practices rises above the natural practice and avoid where possible those modern practices fall below the natural state.

 

[Mrs Muffin]

Hiya welcome It's good to have an open mind which is what I think this section is about. I don't agree with it all necessarily but I love reading about different ways of parenting and having my mind opened to different possibilities and choosing what works for us.

 

[vanessayogini]