Lately I've been thinking about you. Yes, that's right. YOU. All of you cloth-diapering moms who who have "liked" Thirsties on
Facebook and have often commented on my blogs. Ok, ok, I know I am not being PC and I really should be asking "Are you are crunchy cloth-diapering parent?" I don't want to leave dads out, but since I am pretty sure most of you are indeed moms, I'll take the risk. Now, when I ask if you are a crunchy mom, I don't mean "Do you wear long skirts, layered-tanks tops, have unshaven legs and wear Birkenstocks?" (But if you do, that's cool!) What I am really wondering is this: Are cloth-diapering families more likely to recycle, to garden, to eat organic and local, to walk or ride bikes instead of driving? Are they more likely to compost and garden, to make home-made baby food, to co-sleep, to breastfeed, to wear their babies? Or are cloth-diapering moms just as diverse as disposable-diapering families? So what I'd like is this--I'd love to hear how you compare to the stereo-typical Crunchy Cloth-Diapering Mom and if you are the polar opposite, I want to hear that too! There is no judgement here--we all have parent and diapering in common--but it's fun to hear our differences once in a while too. I'll go first.
- Well, first of all, I do shave my legs--though many a time, I've gotten out of the shower and discovered that I shaved the same leg twice because I was interrupted by a child. No one ever interrupts my husband while he is shaving. Hmmmmm.....strange.
- I don't own Birkenstocks but I used to in college...now I wear flip flops all summer and my Dansko clogs all winter (I think those are kind of crunchy).
- I rarely wear make-up because I never go anywhere very exciting and I certainly don't have an extra five minutes in the morning to put any on--but honestly, I probably should. These days I am lucky if I leave the house with a bra on.
- I am an avid recycler. I cringe when I see plastic or glass in the trash. It weighs too heavily on my conscience. In fact, we were recently out of state and went to a game a huge sports arena. I was horrified by the fact that every single bottle, can and cup was thrown in the trash. Boulder is big on recycling and it's become a bit of an obsession with me.
- We do have a small garden, we do NOT compost (I am not crunchy enough to tolerate the sugar ants it attracted even though I had in a sealed container!).
- I have co-slept with all three of my children for varying amounts of time. Cooper is finally in his own room which is wonderful because I couldn't stand the crooked neck from nursing all night any longer!
- My husband does ride his bike to work when he can, but I have to admit, I am all about the car these days. I just can't get anywhere with all three any other way.
- I do NOT make my own baby food. Again, it's the time thing--or at least that's my excuse--but I have nursed all three for a minimum of 16 months.
- We eat organic and local when we can--but it is pricey and I have to take that into account.
recycle – yes,
to garden – no,
to eat organic and local – sometimes,
to walk or ride bikes instead of driving – lots
Are they more likely to compost and garden – used to compost!,
to make home-made baby food – yes,
to co-sleep – no, to breastfeed – yes,
to wear their babies – at least some, but not 24/7?
I am about as crunchy as the average CD’er… we recycle what we can in our town, leave the windows open vs using the AC when it’s comfortable and we can still sleep (although it’s already in the 90’s here in the midwest, so we are using AC more). I don’t wear skirts or Birk’s, I prefer tennis shoes/jeans/t-shirts. I love the $$ savings of cloth and breastfeeding, but consider the environmental aspect as well.
The funny thing I never thought I would ever consider myself crunchy, but I think I am full out crunchy now. I wasn’t sure crunchy until I had my son and then it has just slowly evolved. We cook most everything at home, we grow a lot in our garden or our mil’s (she has land), what we can grow we get as much as we can organically or from local farmer’s (depending on price), we cloth diaper and use cloth wipes, we repurpose a lot of stuff we find on curbs or recycle it, we recycle everything we can, we compost, we are avid gardeners, I use cloth pads and a diva cup, my husband rides his bike to work, we babywear almost everytime we go out, I have bfed well over a year, we do co sleep, we do make our own baby food, we do buy used items as much as possible as well. I do shave and I am more of a tshirt, shorts kind of girl (need to be comfy). I also don’t wear makeup all the time, again mainly due to time. I am loving how our lifestyles have changed since having children. I think it will be great examples for our children.
Cloth diapering has made me a bit more “crunchy,” but not very much. I cloth diapered first because of the savings and now because I hate disposables. We do recycle, but only since my city initiated curbside pick up. I don’t have time to go much out of my way to do anything! I don’t buy organic because of that very reason: I’d have to go too much out of my way! I’m a lot more “traditional” as far as baby-rearing: I didn’t co-sleep bc I was afraid of the risk of SIDS (and let’s face it: I get a lot more sleep without a toddler kicking me in the face), and she sleeps better in her own space, too. I did breastfeed till 1 year, and really only quit because I work full time and pumping at work was getting really old. I did/do make my own baby food, though! Homemade green beans are a lot greener than jarred green bean puree! I don’t wear makeup just because I’m lazy and have a decent complexion. I like medicine and vaccinate my baby, following my pediatrician’s recommendation. I guess I wouldn’t classify myself as even semi-crunchy, but I do try to make the most healthful choices for my baby that I can.
I’m just semi-crunchy. We use cloth diapers/wipes full time, I breastfeed and baby wear. I try to use natural cleaning and laundry products whenever possible.
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