Now that I have addressed Intentions my intention is to empower you to be the best mother (parent or person) you can possibly be, Naturally, and share my thoughts and experiences with you. I feel like I have only just begun my journey to live more naturally and am excited you will be joining me. My views and beliefs are developed through experience, observation, and obsessive research and I’m always on the quest to learn more. My heart and instincts tell me how to handle situations and my mind will read and gather as much data as possible to answer any questions I may have. I’m sure you will be able to gather from my writing how much research I have done on any particular subject. I will not give advice unless I am passionate or feel strongly about that advice. I will also give my personal opinion at times, speculate, and share if my views on a particular subject have evolved or changed in any way. My goal is to show you that you do not have to follow our society’s “norms” with your parenting. In fact, I prefer you didn’t since it seems our society tends promote neglect. I don’t believe it purposely promotes neglect, but a lot of the general parenting advice I have seen and receive sure feel and look that way to me. With the growth in popularity of “Natural Family Living” and “Attachment Parenting” these norms are finally starting to change.
I am impressed with the drastic changes Americans are making to live and parent more naturally. I’m happy to see ideas that have no proof starting to fade. An example of this is the belief that holding your baby at all times and sleeping near her will only spoil her and create a dependent child. Studies are continuing to prove that this behavior actually has the opposite affect. Another would be our views about breastmilk.
So what does mothering naturally mean to me?
It means I will follow my instincts and mother my children by avoiding synthetic nurturing and entertainment as much as possible. By doing this, I will be able to create a strong bond with my baby while creating a strong attachment from her. This bond and attachment will enable me to attune with my child which will allow me to be highly responsive to her needs – creating a secure, independent child. It also means I will be my child’s primary caregiver – especially during the first 3 to 5 years of life. This is a brief definition, but if you let your mind wander, you will see how many aspects this way of life touches.
I believe for the first 6 months of life the only thing a baby needs to thrive is her mother – as opposed to synthetic items. All of her nourishment, nurturing, mental stimulation, entertainment, and care can be provided by the mother and her body. However, I am not minimizing the importance of the father’s role. With the father’s love and support, the mother will have a much easier time mothering naturally and he will also play a huge role in this natural way of life. I will delve into the father’s role more soon.
At 6 months the only thing that changes is the introduction of solid foods. These solid foods should be as close to natural – organic – as possible. I believe in co-sleeping and extended breastfeeding. How long you co-sleep and breastfeed should be determined by the mother and her child. However, I suggest supplementing with breastmilk in some way for at least the first 2 years. I will elaborate on these subjects and more in many future posts.
I understand that the goal to mother naturally is very challenging in our modern world. Especially with all of its demands and pressures. I hope to help you address many of these challenges. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I truly believe that if we as parents demand respect for what we instinctively know is best for our children, society’s views will change and the world will become a better place.
After all, imagine how different our society would be if ALL of our children were raised with such care and attention.
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