crunchyfamily

We are a crunchy family

2006-05-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm not really sure how it happened, it just makes sense for us...I wanted to breastfeed all my children. I was very young when I had my first son and had zero support and only nursed him for 6 weeks before I thought I wasn't providing enough nutrition for him and switched to formula. BIG MISTAKE. My second son got breastmilk for a year, but never nursed. I pumped and pumped and then pumped some more for him! This baby WILL nurse for at least a year, and longer if he likes.

We also co-sleep during the early months, cloth diaper, and wear our kids. It just feels right and and natural for us.

Cloth diapering was something I always wanted to do, but never thought we could afford. Now, I don't know why we didn't start sooner. DS#2 has only had one diaper rash since CDing started, and that was a yeast infection caused by his antibiotics. As soon as I stopped the meds, the rash went away. That in itself makes the CDing worth it.

I make many of my own cloth diapers now. They are really very easy and I would be happy to point anyone who wants in the right direction for patterns, fabric and other sewing supplies and information if you are interested in making your own cloth diapers!

Breastfeeding is normal!

2006-05-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Breastfeeding is normal!

"Normal" Is A Very Scary Word
copyright Diane Wiessinger, MS, IBCLC 136 Ellis Hollow Creek Road Ithaca, NY 14850

You've probably heard many times that breastfed babies are "healthier". That they have "fewer illnesses." That they have a "special" bond with their mothers. Maybe even that they tend to be "smarter". Some of those reasons may be why you decided to breastfeed.

The scary thing is, none of those statements is really true. Breastfeeding is merely the way human infants are built to eat, just as air is what they are built to breathe, or walking is the way they are built to move when they get older. Breastfeeding is nothing extra or special. Breastfeeding is just... normal.

Fine. So breastfeeding is normal. What's so scary about that? Ah, well if breastfeeding is normal, what happens when a baby is not breastfed? The scary reality is... he's much more likely to get sick, in infancy, in childhood, as an adult. His life expectancy is a little bit shorter and his IQ is a little bit lower. His relationship with his mother is different. In short, he suffers from not having a normal start to life.

You probably know breastfed people who are sicker than many formula-fed people. Breastfeeding is no guarantee. It's like the yeast in bread: every loaf turns out differently, because of different temperature, moisture, timing, kneading. But for any particular loaf, if you leave out some of the yeast it's not going to rise as high as it could.

Here's part of the scary list:

People who were not breastfed tend to have:

poorer vision
a lower IQ
more appendicitis
more breast cancer
more hernias
more diabetes
more childhood cancer
less well-developed nerves
a thymus smaller than normal during infancy
a less effective immune system
more trouble with cholesterol
more emotional problems
more intestinal disorders
more allergies
more risk of crooked teeth or underformed jaws
a higher risk of SIDS

Women who don't breastfeed tend to have:

more premenopausal breast cancer
higher anxiety
lower self-esteem
more osteoporosis
more cervical cancer
less pleasure in early parenting

There are about 13,000 studies showing problems with formula-feeding, so why haven't you heard any of this before? Maybe someone thought it was too scary for you, that you would feel guilty, that you wouldn't be interested, that it doesn't really matter that much. But wouldn't you rather know now, instead of finding out later?

Breastfeeding. It's just plain normal.

First Post

2006-05-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

Decided to start posting our "crunchy" stuff in a new blog....here we go!