advice

**mood:sleepy
**noise:all my friends ~ amos lee

i can already tell that the advice folks will be giving us with this child will wear on us. it's amazing that folks think that they will know how to raise your child better than you. when i told someone i was going to breast feed, she tried to scare me away from doing it for more than 3 months because if i breastfeed for longer my breasts will sag. when telling someone we're going to cloth diaper, we were told that 'i would never do that to my children. i wouldn't be able to stand seeing my child with diaper rash everyday'. then today when i was explaining that we'll be bed-sharing for the first month or so since it will be easier on both me and the baby since i'll be breastfeeding, i was told 'well, i think you'll reconsider that. they say now that that practice is so dangerous'. which is funny since it came from someone who hasn't raised a infant in 30 odd years. and the studies actually say that if you do it correctly infants are less likely to die of SIDS and they actually breathe and sleep better with the parents.

don't get me wrong. i think knowledgeable advice is good. we've never been parents before. we'll need advice at times! i welcome advice. but if someone tells you something they are planning on doing, unless you know what the heck you're talking about don't say anything. you can disagree with folks, but unless you've done the research, check yourself.

in all honesty, i don't care if my breasts sag. as long as i know i gave my child the best i can give, i can live with non-perky breasts. and the diaper thing...it's harder on us, but it's the best choice for our finances, the environment and the child. yes, moisture is wicked away quickly with pampers, but what are those chemicals wicking the moisture away and that rests so close to your child's skin? and if your child has bad diaper rash with cloth diapers, you're leaving them on too long! with the bed-sharing, i know it's not main stream, it's gotten a bad rap from crib manufacturers and there's been some bad press about it, but if you actually read the studies and realize that the majority of foreign counties bed-share, folks would see there is more risk of leaving your baby in a blanketed crib in the other room than in the bed with you.

oye, sorry this is so long. i didn't mean for it to be! it's just so frustrating when folks ask you what you're planning on doing only to tell you you're making the wrong choice. especially when they have no wisdom in the subject.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hiya Kim!

Now I found your blog. So I have some advice for ya...I totally agree with what you are doing! I think it is cool to go as natural as possible and heck, as a society we have existed for thousands of years without all of these modern day inventions...and jillions of kiddos lived to talk about it!

:-)
Anonymous said…
well, i have been nursing for four years and my breasts seem to be fine. that may be a genetic thing, though. co-sleeping is the best ever if you are nursing. liam and josie seem to be fine.
babies will only get a rash if you leave them in their c/d's too long.
people are silly. good thing that YOU are your child's parent and not somebody else.
Phoenix Rising said…
thanks girls. i needed that pep talk. all this preggo stuff is hard work, especially when all you want is to give your babe what you think the best is, and your best is against the grain. which i guess i should be use to. i seem to live against the grain most days!

seriously, thanks for the pep talk.
Anonymous said…
just read an article about cloth diapers and thought of your post. Very good info on both sides of the coin. The convenience of disposables far outweighed any cost savings for my family but each person is different. Thought you might enjoy the read....

Here is the article
Phoenix Rising said…
thanks for sharing the article. i somewhat agree with the monetary savings for the first child, but it's when you add another one or two, that you really start saving money. also, for us, it's an environmental and health issue. in my belief, we, as americans, are far more concern with convenience rather than the long term effects it could have on our environment. in an optimum compostable environment 1 disposable diaper takes 10-20 years to decompose. if you think about all of the disposable diapers rapped in plastic bags and then thrown in another plastic garbage bag...it would take even longer to decompose and in all honesty i would rather an organic material resting against my baby's skin rather than polymers and chemicals.

so, really it's a tri-fold decision for us to go with cloth diapers. money (in the long run), the environment, and us simply being a more organic family.

but honestly, thanks for the article. it definitely is a personal choice.

cheers~

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