Hey y’all,
I would call myself a hippie. I do daily stretches, green smoothies, meditation, etc. And now I’m a mom. I had an unmedicated water birth. We cloth diaper and practice elimination communication, and we’re getting into the world of Montessori floor beds and homemade baby food. I’m definitely a granola Mama.
However… I see a lot of naturalistic people talking about different new products that help with being “natural” that cost a significant amount of money. I love being “natural,” but I’m not about to spend a bunch of money on it.
My son is a week shy of 2 months old, and I am beginning to transition him to solid food. The plan was to breastfeed for a long time since it’s free, but my son can’t have breastmilk for reasons. Formula is expensive, so we’re trying to get him on solid food as soon as possible.
We’re also practicing elimination communication, which is like infant “potty training.” I’m proud to announce that my son is already pooping pretty reliably in the toilet, and he pees in it ⅔ of the time (whenever my husband and I take him). There are so many benefits, but also, diapers aren’t cheap. Even if you cloth diaper, there are the wipes to buy, and there’s so much laundry. We currently buy disposable diapers for overnight and going out, but we don’t use many since our son doesn’t poop in them, and we may not need them at all once he becomes mobile.
I also make some of my son’s food and clothes. I’m making his thick milk right now because I want him to have really good ingredients, but also because of money. And I “make” some of his clothes because he’s been given a lot of clothes that he doesn’t wear, so I’ll make them into stuff he does wear instead of buying him new things (like his onesies become shirts).
At the same time, though, I’m not doing some of the crap that is “recommended.” I took my son to the doctor today, and I was told that I should be using bottled water to mix up his formula. I don’t even buy bottled water for myself! No, tap water is not the best water, but children have been raised for thousands of years without bottled water, and the human race survived. They put chlorine in the water to kill bad bacteria like cholera and stuff. It’s not the best, but it’s fine. Honestly, the chemicals leaching from the plastic are probably just as harmful as anything in tap water.
On the same note, children have also been raised for thousands of years without any “recommended guidelines.” People just did things that their family or friends did and then honed it down through trial and error.
I definitely strive to be as crunchy granola as I reasonably can, but I’m totally on the “make-do” train. I try and figure out any way I can to get things for very cheap or free.
Frugal Treehugger 