Where my crunchy moms at

youknowmenaomi · October 2018

Hey ladies, I was just wondering if there were any fellow crunchy women/moms out there with me. I try to be natural minded and healthy but I am not super extreme (in my mind).
Are any of you limiting or not getting ultrasounds or doppler? I'm trying to limit exposure and am going to ask for fetoscope instead of doppler if possible.
Let me know if you're with me!
💗

expandcontract · October 2018

Yaaaa i have way too many complications already to forego the normal recommended standards of care. Must be nice on cloud 9, though.

coffeeislife · October 2018

You may find a good crunchy mom group on FB or Babycenter. I think there are mom's here that adopt "Crunchy" ways of thinking such as cloth diapers (or is that not considered crunchy anymore?) but most of the moms here want to have ultrasounds!

RoseShadow873 · October 2018

I didn't realize any people were now against ultrasounds. This is news to me. It does sound extreme.

DuchessOfCambridge · October 2018

@RoseShadow873 I think it’s been shown that ultrasound waves can heat baby’s skin and cause a bit of bubbling so that is worrying to some. They recommend not doing too many ultrasounds that aren’t medically necessary and discourage use of home Dopplers for this reason too. But, they also can’t say that this causes any pain or issues to the baby. It’s a “best be safe and limit” thing. I’m not comfortable personally getting elective ultrasounds for this reason but I don’t limit what’s considered standard care for my hospital because they have deemed them medically necessary and I go along with that. I expect I’ll have had 4 ultrasounds total by the end of my pregnancy unless I have IUGR concerns again.

siouxieq87 · October 2018

I agree with limiting Doppler/ultrasound exposure to just what your prenatal caregiver considers standard- I get the rationale... we don’t have all the evidence about the safety of using those technologies on a regular basis.... best to limit their use. HOWEVER- I totally understand why PGAL brain would make a home Doppler and frequent early u/s attractive options, and ***TW I will admit to renting and using a doppler during my first pregnancy after my miscarriage.*** END TW To me, the harm that would be caused by all the stress I’d feel not having any reassurance far outweighed any risk from using a Doppler.

As for my crunchy qualifications, I’m a water-birthing, breastfeeding, child-led weaning, cloth-diapering, co-sleeping mama:)

k2k2tog · October 2018

I do actually consider myself crunchy in some ways - home birth, cloth diapering, baby wearing - but I also like science and trust my midwives to have my and my baby’s best interests at heart. They use a Doppler every visit and would probably discourage me from skipping the anatomy scan.

sleepy33 · October 2018

k2k2tog said:

I do actually consider myself crunchy in some ways - home birth, cloth diapering, baby wearing - but I also like science and trust my midwives to have my and my baby’s best interests at heart. They use a Doppler every visit and would probably discourage me from skipping the anatomy scan.

I like science-based crunch

chucksmom15 · October 2018

I had biophysical profile US twice a week from mid December until my son was born early February due to complications with my amniotic fluid. That’s probably 15ish in my last trimester alone. He’s fine. So 🤷🏻‍♀️

mrskoz428 · October 2018

sleepy33 said:

k2k2tog said:

I do actually consider myself crunchy in some ways - home birth, cloth diapering, baby wearing - but I also like science and trust my midwives to have my and my baby’s best interests at heart. They use a Doppler every visit and would probably discourage me from skipping the anatomy scan.

I like science-based crunch

All of this though!

kvh22 · October 2018

I don't cloth diaper or anything so I don't think I would fit here but OMG my SIL with the no ultrasounds. They didn't know her true due date so lied to their doctor so she wouldn't have to be induced if she went late and refused all but the anatomy scan. I'm like...my brother (her husband) almost died because he was so overdue and there was no amniotic fluid. My mom was 2 weeks late but they didn't do dating ultrasounds (she didn't have one at all with him because that wasn't standard care yet) so he was potentially more than that. Don't get me started on some other hot topics. My science/research minded-self just can't handle her sometimes and my brother is in medical device sales with a biomedical engineering degree and just goes along with her craziness.

knottie0d8cc4d43bacc09f · October 2018

@kvh22 OMG that is insane! I seriously don't understand people not following standard medical procedures/advice.

The "crunchy" term bothers me... I mean, I breastfed my first over a year, still babywear, but also sleep-trained and use disposable diapers. It isn't always an all or nothing.

DuchessOfCambridge · October 2018

@secicc12 agreed, I didn't think breastfeeding or babywearing were considered "crunchy". Formula is expensive AF (though I do love it, I won't lie, my anxiety decreased so much when I weaned to formula at 6-7 mo) and babywearing is just so convenient!

DuchessOfCambridge · October 2018

@kvh22 did you hear about that ten month mamas FB group? TERRIFYING.

kvh22 · October 2018

@DuchessOfCambridge OMG that would not be good for my blood pressure. I will specifically NOT be trying to find that.

@secicc12 Yea I don't consider myself crunchy but I could breastfeed forever (but won't...it's got to stop at some point

) and love baby wearing. SIL doesn't even have any plastic toys (unless they are made from recycled milk jugs - Green Toys does this and I do have some of their stuff) because of "off-gassing." But I do hand wash our plastic bottles instead of running them through the dishwasher (or...DH does)

SpaceBurger · October 2018

@DuchessOfCambridge tell me more about this group. My skin hurts just thinking about it

chucksmom15 · October 2018

What is this ten month mamas group @DuchessOfCambridge?

mariposa_767s · October 2018

I'd say I was fairly crunchy with my oldest son. However, I also feel like some "crunchy" things are fairly normal now. I don't CD anymore because we have a partially inadequate septic system and it can't handle as much laundry loads as I would need to do (I do miss this). I also don't buy organic just for the sake of buying organic. I do try to shop local when I can though. I babywear because it's convenient and my babies love it. That being said, being overly crunchy with my son (in regards to his feeding/organic/homemade food, perfect decaffeinated pregnancy, using natural cleaners, etc) did none of what it was supposed to do. He still gets sick like a regular kid and he has ADHD. So...I was caffeinated during my daughter's pregnancy and she regularly eats puffs and fruit cups. I also gave her both breastmilk and formula because my job is too demanding to pump. So far, she's doing really well. We do bedshare, but I am working on getting her into her own bed in case this next one decides to bedshare.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being crunchy. It just didn't have the benefits I expected with my experience. We all do what we can.

Also, the ten month things is CRAZY. I had a friend go to 43 and thought she was nuts!

babynurse1114 · October 2018

Going to have to say I'm pretty low on the crunch meter....cloth diapering, child led weaning, etc are all great. I draw the line at limiting your prenatal care below what your doctor recommends. I spent 6 years as an L&D nurse and continue to work as a maternal/infant nurse. I know too much and have seen with my own eyes...the negative side to all of this. Everything's butterflies and rainbows....until it's not....and that can happen in a matter of minutes. Sorry to be a debbie downer...stepping off my soap box now.

aels12 · October 2018

@babynurse1114 I agree. We cloth diaper, baby wear, breastfeed and did baby led weaning, but I always follow medical advice and trust science. I guess I’m just semi-crunchy!

DuchessOfCambridge · October 2018

@SpaceBurger @chucksmom15 here's an article that details it. A BIG BIG TW FOR THE ARTICLE. Proceed with caution.

https://www.skepticalob.com/2017/08/ten-month-mamas-cheers-a-woman-to-her-babys-death.html

chucksmom15 · October 2018

Just read the article @DuchessOfCambridge. All I can say is wow. That’s pretty bad.

aels12 · October 2018

Omg @DuchessOfCambridge that makes me sick. How can people actually be like that??

expandcontract · October 2018

@DuchessOfCambridge I only read the title and I'm sure i won't be able to handle it.

Btw, could somebody please explain to me where this "crunchy" term came from and WTF does it have to do with babies?

DuchessOfCambridge · October 2018

It's shocking. Many of the "REALLY CRUNCHY" things are shocking to me. I've read about some other situations as well, outside of ten month mamas and it's all just so sad and horrifying.

sleepy33 · October 2018

@expandcontract I think it's like crunchy granola hippy

misskimsue · October 2018

My sister and I were both "ten month babies" - and not by any choice of my mom's. I'm glad we're alive, but that was the earliest they would induce her at the time. Trust me, she would not recommend it to anyone. We had both begun to lose weight and if she hadn't been induced it seems pretty likely we wouldn't be here. Some of us need the help of modern medicine to survive. Please consider following modern maternity care standards. I don't care whether anyone is crunchy or mushy- to each her own (and I mean that with sincerity)- but bringing a child into the world is still a risky endeavor, and those risks should be taken seriously.

SpaceBurger · October 2018

oh wowwww. She didn't even sound sorry about it

brie_and_almonds · October 2018

@DuchessOfCambridge wow. That article is scathing. Those poor idiots. Do they know/care nothing about fetal/maternal mortality rates?

Recently a couple in my area was charged with manslaughter for not treating their treating their newborn's jaundice (which resulted in her death). I don't understand how someone in 2018 can refuse all medical care for something so treatable.

The thought of no prenatal care is horrifying and negligent of your own life as well as your fetus's.

mcewen3 · October 2018

@expandcontract crunchy or granola (or crunchy granola) is a term I've always heard to describe very "earthy" folks. Typically they are very environmentally friendly and prefer alternative medicines to western medicine (herbal remedies, naturopaths, etc). That same mentality would translate to pregnancy and childbirth which is where you would get few to no interventions and in extreme cases no medical prenatal care at all

expandcontract · October 2018

@mcewen3 thank you so much for that explanation!

Im seriously getting so sick of people being all "natural" "organic" shit.
Just because something is natural does NOT mean that it's safe.
I wanted to vent about this on the weekend but I guess I'll do it now.
My sister pissed the hell out of me. She asked how i was doing and i told her about the asthma. She started going off on this rant about trying herbal homeopathy medicine. I am seriously so sick of people telling me to try that shit.
I've tried it. At the very least, it doesn't work.
At the absolute worse, it actually is dangerous. My mom had me drink this herbal tea one time saying how it's going to cure my asthma.... it effing put me in an asthma attack. Another time, my aunt insisted that I use this natural ointment to ease my nasal congestion.... that thing gave me a rash and an asthma attack because the smell was so strong.
You want to be all natural and shit, good for you! Stop pressuring me into it. It's not safe for me. I'll stick to evidence based medicine thank you.

poshspice · October 2018

I BF'd until DD was almost 18 months, but I don't think that qualifies as crunchy at all. I like modern medicine and science! It saves lives!
Image result for modern medicine gif

RoseShadow873 · October 2018

The alternative "medicine" scares me because it's totally not regulated. There are vitamin D supplements on Amazon for toddlers that are 250% the recommended amount, and that is a vitamin that you can overdose on. It's disturbing!

DuchessOfCambridge · October 2018

@brie_and_almonds yes, negligent. I recently read a book about a woman who had a home water vbac, it was recommended to me because my csection was traumatizing and I didn’t want one again (changed my tune on this, as I’ve discussed before) and I thought it was such a steaming pile of 💩 I found her SO irresponsible and conceited and STUPID. PLAIN STUPID. No one should read that book and take her advice. I was so angry I rated it 1 star on Goodreads and actually wrote a review which I don’t do often. It was dangerous. She had two births end in C-sections she didn’t want (she wanted all natural etc) and with the third she ignored all medical advice and got a midwife to go along with it after others turned her down and gave birth in a tub in her home. I am SO happy she didn’t end up learning a lesson from that but it is not a situation other women should look up to and copy. She got really effing lucky. I’m fuming just thinking about it.

stellarkelly · October 2018

I am "crunchy" in some ways. I am a yoga teacher, am hoping to give birth at home instead of hospital, things like that - but absolutely keeping up with prenatal care for me and my unborn.

chloe97 · October 2018

@DuchessOfCambridge OMG I can’t even with these people.

HUGE TW I have a good friend who planned a homebirth with a lay midwife (Not a nurse midwife- -a midwife without formal nursing training). She’s super crunchy and was a yoga instructor. Long story short- the cord was wrapped around the babies neck and he was severely brain damaged. She lived 5 minutes from a major medical center, but they couldn’t get there in time. she had to make the horrible decision to take her 4 day old baby off life support.
It makes me sick to this day to think about that poor baby. I didn’t go into labor hoping for a csection, but when DDs heart rate dropped and they rushed me in for an emergency csection, I couldnt have cared less about my birth plan being interrupted- it was my best option for a healthy, living baby.
I know there is a lot wrong with the way women give birth in this country right now, but at the same time I still trust my OBs with 8+ years of medical training over a nontrained lay midwife who took a few classes on giving birth.

kvh22 · October 2018

@chloe97 plus all the nursing staff, etc. DD had meconium and the cord wrapped around her neck. There were a ton of people in the delivery room because of the meconium but I barely noticed them. I didn't even realize when they said the cord was around her neck that it was that dangerous because they fixed it so quickly. My OB said I had an easy pregnancy and a difficult delivery. It wasn't any more difficult for me than if neither of those happened and everything else actually was very smooth but I know if I had been at home, it could have gone horribly wrong. SIL wanted a home birth but it wasn't covered by her insurance and my mom and I were kind of glad more out of fear since the 4 births between us all would have needed medical intervention from the hospital so why risk having to be transported? My sister had the cord wrapped around her neck, I had meconium, and my brother was a c-section due to going into fetal distress after 24 hours of labor at 42 weeks and the amniotic fluid was completely gone when they tried to break my mom's water.

DuchessOfCambridge · October 2018

@chloe97 I have chills from reading that. People focus way too much on a birth experience and how *~*natural*~* giving birth is. OBs and midwives go through schooling and training for a reason. It’s not usually as simple as just reach your hands down there and pulling out a baby.

I think its fine to want a particular birth experience and to mourn it if it goes wrong. Birth can be traumatic and is definitely a big thing that happens TO you. But that doesn’t erase safety. I could go on and on but I won’t. We’re all on the same page

anonellis · October 2018

I eat organic and mainly vegetarian, carry my own metal straws around in my purse instead of using plastic ones, compost, contribute to environmental organizations, etc etc etc. I also had over 30 ultrasounds during my very high-risk first pregnancy (none were elective), labored in an operating room with over 20 people in the room, and me and the babies are alive and healthy because of it. We also, just to be clear, get allllll the vaccines.

I don’t see how one thing relates to the other.

eatinwatermelonseeds · October 2018

My heart is racing reading some of these comments. I get so upset with some women. I understand wanting to trust your body, and yes women used to only give birth at home decades ago. But a lot of babies died decades ago, a lot of women died during labor. We don't want to go back there. And honestly I feel like there's so much pressure to be "crunchy." I don't have the time or energy to cloth diaper....I barely do the laundry we have now, I'm not buying more that take more time and I could ruin if I'm not careful. I want to breast feed, but not at the sake of my sanity. And baby wearing...I mean, it's just convenient. I'll do it all day every day. To each their own. I'm not going to shame anyone, but please research. PLEASE trust in modern medicine, it's come far and there's a reason for it.

kvh22 · October 2018

Also, I read Ina May's Guide to Child Birth which I think has some great info but the way she talks about statistics just comes from such an uneducated place and it makes me mad that people are reading this not knowing that this is skewed. Okay, great that women who give birth in your birthing center only have a 2% likelihood of being transferred to a hospital. I bet you severely screen them. I know more than a few people from my last BMB who wanted a home or birth center birth (not attached to a hospital) that were told no because they were too high risk for various reasons. If that was my plan, it would've gone out the window when my water broke because of the meconium.

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