Our Parenting Style

Our parenting style comes from a mix of research and what seems to us like good old common sense. I've learned that almost everything in life is on a spectrum and labels don't address that, but if you must label our parenting, I guess you could call it attachment parenting, but I've never read Dr. Sears' book. *shrug*

A brief overview of what believe in doing:

~ Co-sleeping: Not the same thing as bed sharing. We didn't feel comfortable with bed sharing, so we got an ArmsReach Co-sleeper- a bassinet type of thing that attached to the side of the bed- so Babyzilla could be close to us at night for feeding, diapering, general reassurance that Mommy and Daddy are here and everything is okay.

~Breastfeeding: I'm a lactivist. I am all about exclusive breastfeeding. From a health perspective, it's MUCH better for baby and mom. It's also nice for lazy people, like me. No mixing or pouring or waiting for a bottle to heat up. Whip out a boob and you're ready to go. That said, my son is mostly formula fed. I have huge supply issues. (I believe my c-section had a huge part in it) I've tried it all; fenugreek, pumping constantly, oatmeal, Ovaltine, wireless bras. No dice. But that doesn't mean that I think formula's great all of a sudden. I know I'm giving my son something inferior, and it breaks my heart every time I give him a bottle.

~Babywearing: A Moby Wrap is my weapon of choice. The idea behind babywearing is that Mom or Dad (or whomever, really) uses a sling/ wrap/ carying device to hold baby on the person's chest. It's convenient because it makes you hands-free, so you can eat a sandwich or fold laundry. No fighting a stroller and there are health benefits galore! In the interest of full disclosure, we do own a stroller and use it occasionally, but most of the time we're all about the Moby or a sling.



Me wearing Babyzilla in a Moby Wrap.
(I don't know how to rotate pictures on here. Sorry)

~Night Parenting: We don't believe in sleep training/ cry-it-out methods. It's not only unnecessary and unhealthy, but can be down right cruel. We also don't believe in making a baby sleep longer by using rice cereal or other remedies. Babies have needs at night and it is a parent's job to tend to them.

~Gentle discipline: We aren't going to spank our children to teach them right from wrong. We believe it's unnecessary and largely ineffective in the long run.

~ Natural healing methods: We don't believe in running to a doctor for every little thing. Cold washcloths and clove oil work great for teething (rather than Orajel). Breastmilk can clean out a stuffy nose and cure an ear infection without antibiotics. Luckily, we haven't had to test out the breastmilk in the ear yet.

~Cloth diapering: I think this was the start of our slippery slope down into the crunchy canyon. I wish I could tell you that we do it all for the Earth and in the interest of being "green" but that would be a lie. I hate fads with a passion, the "green movement" included. Don't get me wrong, I think God gave humans stewardship over the Earth and we are responsible for taking care of it, but the fad-ness aspect drives me nuts. But that's for a future post. The bottom line is that cloth diapers save us lots of money. They also happen to be cute and healthier for babies.


What's your parenting style?