In the Interest of Full Disclosure...Don't Say I Didn't Warn You

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Through my pregnancy with A and discovery of online message boards I learned that sometimes it's just easier to get the controversial stuff out there first. That way, if you don't like it, well, I told you up front and now it's up to you to hang around or not. No apologies. So in the interest of the fact that I can't deal with every controversial issue on the planet, we're going to stick to some of the most popular parenting ones for now. Love me or leave me *cheeky grin*

1. I wear my babies. They are not a piece of jewelry, but it's terribly convenient, they are better adjusted for it, and I don't have to worry that my toddler is going to poke out eyeballs, etc. The Sleepy Wrap is the best thing ever, slightly different than the Moby, it's definitely my first choice!

2. I use cloth diapers. Period. Started out using them just at home and have now gone 100%. It was actually quite liberating to get rid of the last of our disposables. Who cares about the environment, it's just cheaper! Especially since I primarily use Flat Folds!

3. I make my own baby food. No problems per se with jarred food, it's just easier to mash up whatever we're having and doesn't even set precedent of anyone ever having something different from the rest of the family. (Which means when carrots get introduced, the whole family gets re-introduced, haha)

4. I spank. A couple quick smacks on the rear never did me any harm and seems to be very effective with A. He knows what spanking is and how not to get one, it does not require him to cooperate by sitting still in time-out, it's immediate, over with quickly and he and I both can continue with other activities without a huge interruption to our schedule and our day.

5. I vaccinate and strongly support vaccinations. Everyone has an opinion and everyone is biased. The actual medical studies on illnesses and the vaccinations are available if you take the time to find them and then wade through the medical terminology.  Everyone has to make their own decisions. For me, the long and short of it is: some of these may very well be "dead diseases" (that's also up for debate) in the USA, but should I ever take my kids overseas or have any contact or friendships with families newly immigrated to the US or even just visiting, these diseases are most definitely not dead, highly contagious and with complications much more severe than the vaccine might or might not cause.

6. I breastfeed exclusively, on demand, and as long as I or baby feel like it. I am sooo thankful that I am a SAHM and am able to do this!

7. I co-sleep to an extent. We don't always have a baby in the bed, but if they need to be close to us, it's not a problem.

8. I strongly support homebirth, natural, non-medicated births, and VBACs. Induction is not an option as long as the baby and mom are both healthy. C-sections are sometimes necessary, Aedyn would not have survived delivery without one. I regret giving in as quickly as I did with Jaron. I WILL be going for a VBA2C with number 3!  God willing the rest of my children will arrive through successful, non-medicated VBA2Cs and hopefully at home (after this next one, and provided my mom doesn't totally freak out).

9. I don't do Pull-Ups. We go straight to underwear, win or lose, night or day, no turning back. <-- That was me being naive. I did not anticipate things like church nursery, new babies, and roadtrips. Pull-ups DO have a place!

10. The family's life does not revolve around the new baby. Everyone has to give and take, even the newcomer. No one person gets to set the entire family's schedule, outside of their arrival or an illness, we ALL work together from day #2 :)


I think that about covers it, at least off the top of my head. I'm sure more will come up later and sure that I will branch out into other topics. But this give you a taste of what you are getting and whether you want to stick around or not. We might not always agree, but it makes for interesting conversation!