It's been a crazy weekend! My mother-in-law and sister-in-law (hereafter referred to as Linda and Cheryl) were here to visit. They are truly wonderful people, and I always look forward to their visits, but that doesn’t change the fact that I am exhausted by the time they return home.
Cheryl is a vegetarian, and with all the allergies we have in our family, that makes meals a little more challenging. But we did alright. I think Paul may have exceeded his monthly vegetable tolerance level, though.
So after reading Dave’s definition of a crunchy conservative, I am pretty sure that applies to me. But I am still intrigued by the crunchy quiz, so I am going to share it with you.
1. Do you have homebirths?
20 points for "yes" (unassisted)
15 points for "yes" (midwife in attendance)
10 points for natural childbirth in an alternative birthing center
5 points for natural childbirth in a hospital
2 points for “thinking about/would like homebirth or natural childbirth”
0 for “no” (wouldn’t consider it).
I gave myself 3 points (feel free to give yourself whatever number you find fitting --and feel free to estimate). First of all, I assume by unassisted they mean without a professional. If anyone has seriously had their babies at home alone I think that they deserve 100 points. I also think that if they chose to do this, they are stupid. In general I think the idea of homebirths sound nice, but I am certainly glad I did not do this. I doubt Abigail would ever have survived (after three hours of pushing, they used a vacuum extractor). And I am certain that Sam would not have. I am certainly not going to try homebirths after this, but if there was an alternative birthing center around here I would certainly strongly consider it.
2. How do you feel about routine (no medical indication) infant circumcision?
10 points for "believe circumcision is a human rights violation and will not do it to your sons"
5 points for “won't circumcise your sons, but don't feel strongly against it"
0 points for “will circumcise your sons”
0 for me. Our boys both were circumcised. And if I have any more sons I will certainly make the same decision. It certainly reduces the risk of infections, and since it has been done for thousands of years, I don’t really believe it is that unnatural.
3. Do you use cloth diapers?
25 point if you do Elimination Communication (no diapers)
20 points if "yes" (wash and make your own using natural organic fabric)
15 points if “yes” (wash and make your own or purchase natural organic cloth diapers)
10 points if “yes” (wash your own)
5 points if “yes” (diaper service)
2 points if “thinking about it”
0 points if “no” (wouldn’t consider it).
7 points. I do use cloth diapers. But I also use disposables. By the way, does anybody have any good suggestions for getting my diaper pails really clean. They are getting kind of yucky.
4. Do you observe your fertility signals using Natural Family Planning/Fertility Awareness and use that for birth control/trying to conceive?
10 points for “yes” (observe and use for birth control and trying to conceive or just for birth control) or you use ecological breastfeeding/lactational amenorrhea
5 points for “yes” (observe for trying to conceive, but not for birth control)
2 points “thinking about it”
0 points for “no” (wouldn’t consider it).
10! Well I’ve never actually tried to conceive, it just sort of happened. I am not sure why this isn’t worth more points.
5. Do you breastfeed exclusively for the first 6+ months?
10 points if “yes”
5 points for “no” (use occasional bottles of expressed breastmilk)
2 points for “no” (use occasional bottles of formula or early solids)
0 for “no” (don’t breastfeed by choice).
5. I assume Sam doesn’t count here since he couldn’t drink. I think pumping for several months so he could have breastmilk through a feeding tube ought to count anyway. Besides, I hate pumping, and almost never use my pump (it’s much better to keep the baby close).
Anyhow, we are only about halfway through the quiz. I’ll post more of it later. Let me know how you’re doing. Or if these choices don’t apply to you, let me know your opinions of the issues.
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2 comments:
1. 5: While I support the decision to give birth where one chooses, I'm not against being at a hospital to do it.
2. 5: purely because we've never discussed it, and I default to no for simplicity.
3. 7: we are still using the disposables my parents brought us, for when we leave the house. I'd go all organic, but I like bumgenius too much. ...We use pail liners hung from a hook. But maybe a strong spray nozzle for the hose?
4. 10: We also never tried to conceive, which means I failed at reading signs, but our attitude was: "If it happens, it happens."
5. 6: We plan to try to go until 6 months exclusively, but tried for expressed back at 6 weeks; she'd have none of it, and I stayed home too much to care, anyway. Don't mind pumping, if only I had an easy way to wash + sterilize the pump all the time.
^^;;
My dad was born in a house as opposed to a hospital, but that was in 1947. Seeing as I was 2 weeks early and a C-Section on account of trying to exit foot first, I'm quite thankful to have been born in a hospital.
I must admit I'm a little confused as to how someone survives without using diapers... It sounds rather time consuming, but then again, quite a few of the "ideal" responses to these questions (especially the 2nd round) sound that way.
Did you ever have to give your children bottles of sugar water after they were tested for jaundice ? I vaguely remember some of my siblings being given bottles early on after some test at a doctor's appointment. That was the only time they were given a bottle for quite some time.
I must admit, it is an interesting series of questions, even though I'm not at that stage of life.
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