Friday, November 19, 2010

Power to the Hippies!

In the last year or so, I have been referred to as a "hippie" many times. If you saw me, I wouldn't look like what you might picture a hippie to look like. I don't have dreadlocks or clothes made of hemp. I am a pretty unassuming person. However, many things that happen within my home have been considered hippie-ish. I cloth diaper, we eat a fair amount of vegetarian meals, I add things to our diets like chia seeds, cacao, and kombucha. We don't eat anything processed (unless you consider pasta processed...I have tried to make my own to no avail.), I only have whole wheat flour in my house, and no refined sugar. We try to conserve energy, shop consignment, shop directly from the farm, and make any products we can (like soap, shampoo, etc.). Am I a little crunchy? Sure! And I'm okay with it. So what's my point?

My point is in the last two and a half months, I have added more raw food to our diets, introduced many of those "hippie" products (such as chia seeds, cacao, and kefir), and eliminated even more things that may be considered processed. In those two and a half months, my daughter has grown two inches, gained two pounds and has added about 30 words to her vocabulary. We have adjusted her diet to accommodate for what we think is wrong with her tummy (fructose malabsorption) and added different products to give her more nutrition.

J gets chia seeds in her smoothies in the morning, which provide five times the calcium of milk and are high in omega-3's. You should see the looks I get when I tell people that we eat chia seeds. You would think I had three heads. J also gets kefir in her smoothies, which is a dairy product, but is 99% lactose free. It's high in calcium, but doesn't cause her the stomach upset that dairy does. We've also introduced kale chips. J LOVES them! I am pretty sure she would eat a whole batch if I let her. They are so good for her too!

We have been down a long road with J's tummy. It's been a heck of a battle to try and figure out what's wrong with her and to make her more comfortable. Now she's a little bit higher on the weight portion of the growth chart and she's really doing great. Do I think that her speech necessarily has to do with her diet? Directly, I can't be sure. Indirectly, definitely. She is going without her pacifier more often, which is encouraging her to talk. She goes without her pacifier because she's more comfortable...she has less belly pain. Would she have grown this much and gained that amount of weight without the "hippie" products? Possibly, but since we've added them, she's jumped more on the growth charts than she had before.

So, all that to say that you can't argue with what I'm doing. If being a hippie gives me a healthy, happy baby girl, then power to the hippies!

You also can't argue with this face:


I would rather see a face like that than the sad, painful face I've seen on my baby girl so many times before. I happen to be a fan of hippies. :)

6 comments:

  1. From one non-traditional hippie to another - do what works for you and for your family!

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  2. That's what I plan to do...thanks for your support! How are you guys doing? I haven't seen a post from you in awhile. :)

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  3. I'll second your "power to the hippies"! There is nothing more satisfying than knowing you have done what you believe is best for your child...and seeing proof of that right before your eyes. Besides, I think it's kind of fun to tell people that the food you eat (or the products you use) is "homemade". You are a great Mom, Beth!

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  4. We are becoming more "hippyish" too, if that is what you mean by eating better and doing more for ourselves (trying to grow and make our own stuff). I have been reading soooo much material in the past nine or so months about susstainable living, and it is something my husband and I feel more and more led to do. It's been interesting so far!

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  5. good for you, Beth! Power to the hippies....lol...I was a huge fan of the cloth diaper service for both of my daughters....they NEVER had that horrible diaper rash and yes...I breast fed every where for up to one year....it was great! As for the language development: every baby is different but speaking from my special ed/ed psych experience: you do what you feel led for YOUR family and don't worry about what others say. We also are adding much more raw foods to our diets...well, me and the girls are...and less refined sugar. I'd like to see NO refined sugar in this house but i gotta convince my husband...lol....and yay for kale chips. Fresh Market sells those and they are awesome!

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  6. Thanks for all of your kind comments! I have been questioned many times, but like you all said, whatever works best for OUR family is what we will do. :)

    Hope - That's awesome! You will have to keep me updated as to how you are doing on your venture.

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