As I look back over the last few years of my life, I often wonder, “How did I become this way?” I certainly didn’t start out a “crunchy” person. Right now, I’m baby-wearing, breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and non-vaxing. How did I become this woman? I had high career aspirations, and thought my children (if I ever had them) would be cared for by a nanny while I was off pursuing my carreer goals. I was very “pro-establishment.” Then my son was born, under the care of a midwife. The love I felt for him was unlike any emotion I had ever known. I sobbed for the first few months when I went back to work. He developed terrible skin irritations and infections. He was a very sickly child. We began researching potential causes. We discovered SLS is a major reactive ingredient in almost every typical shampoo and cleanser. We eliminated those products from our home. Potientally, the formula I was feeding him might also have caused problems. I fell victim to “breastfeeding is hard, and formula is just as good,” and after a week of breastfeeding a constantly crying, hungry baby, I gave up. 3 years later, my husband and I decided we wanted another child. How could we afford it? I didn’t want to work full time anymore, and if we wanted another baby, without me working, we needed to make some changes. A friend gave me 3 boxes of cloth diapers, and I found an ebay auction of 70 assorted AIO’s and covers in various sizes. We researched how to clean and sanitize them, and jumped in with both feet into the world of cloth diapering. (to which I am currently addicted). After a picture perfect water birth, my Girlie came into the world. I had been doing more reading and researching, and became determined to breastfeed. My daughter on the other hand was not so determined. She had a weak suck, and a poor latch. With the love and support of my husband, and mother in law, and the help of a fantastic lactation consultant, we succeeded and enjoyed a 14 month nursing relationship. We co-slept. I wore her in a WAHM-made ring sling for hours at a time. For 12 of those 14 months, I was dairy and whey free for her upset tummy problems. I learned tons about alternative foods, and lost 40 pounds. Then surprise; came baby #3! During this pregnancy, I regurly saw a chiropractor, my midwife, and a massage therapist. To date, our 6 month old has had no vaccines, with no plans for them in the future. This amazing journey from career woman to crunchy mama has been a wonderfully complex metamorphosis. I guess the commerical line is true, having a baby really changes everything.
