Jackie Ritz

I am not sure what I don’t like about the label of being “crunchy.” If you are not sure what this means or have never heard it, let me enlighten you with my ever-so, trustworthy source, Urban Dictionary.

Crunchy Mama (defined): “Mother who supports homebirth, breastfeeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, gentle discipline, etc. One who questions medical authority; tends to be VEGETARIAN (hhahahaha) and/or prepares all-organic foods.”

I love the vegetarian part! Ok, let’s break this down…

“Mother who supports homebirth.”

I absolutely support a woman’s right to choose where she would like to have her baby. I almost had a homebirth with my son! I was 9 centimeters when I got to the Birth Center. Homebirth’s are becoming more popular because of the way that hospital births are run. Unfortunately, hospital births are a business. Please watch, “The Business of Being Born.” Total eye-opener. I had a hospital birth with my daughter. My water broke at home. I went to the hospital an hour later. I was forced to stay in my bed so my vagina wouldn’t become contaminated. In my bed, I sat and sat…and nothing happened, so I was hooked up to Pitocin. Labor started and it hurt. Pitocin contractions are freakin painful! I asked for my epidural. I pushed and had my baby, my beautiful Arianna. I was numb for hours and hours. She wouldn’t latch on and they washed off her precious vernix without asking me.

Now with my son, TOTAL different experience. If you want to read his birth story here, it will save me all the beautiful details. But, his birth was complete opposite. I hated my birth experience with my daughter so I looked for an alternative, and for us it was a incredible waterbirth at a nearby Birth Center. I didn’t even know I was in labor!!! The contractions felt so different than my Pitocin contractions!

I support women’s right to choose where to give birth and I, fully, support and understand the rising “trend” of homebirth.

“A mother who breastfeeds.”

I don’t understand how, if you are human, you CAN’T support breastfeeding. Other than all the health benefits, a good reason to breastfeed is because it’s CHEAP! Holy crap, formula is expensive! And my other favorite reason is because I’M LAZY! How hard is it to whip out a boob?

I know breastfeeding comes with it’s challenges, trust me, I had my share! My daughter was breastfed and my son was, also, breastfed. However, my son was nursed by many, many mothers. When my son was 2 months old, my younger sister passed away. The grief, shock, and trauma from her death caused my supply to tap out. I posted a plea of help to other mother’s…and with goosebumps on my body right now, I am so incredibly grateful to all those mommie’s out there who came to our rescue. I received coolers and coolers of milk from the most unselfish and generous people in the world. I had to buy a new deep freezer! I even received 2 donations from 2 seperate mother’s who had lost their baby, yet wanted their milk to nourish another baby. I’m telling you folks, the generosity of mother’s is amazing! You can read more about our milk-sharing experience here.

My son at 6 months old with milk that was donated from a special mommy who lost her baby girl.

“A mother who supports babywearing.”

I LOVE baby-wearing! I love the Moby Wrap for the 0-3 month age and the ERGObaby carrier for the 3 month and above age. They are LIFESAVERS!!! My baby’s, like all baby’s, loved and demanded to be held. It’s natural. We are to hold our young. That is what they need and thrive on. I hear it all the time, “My baby just want’s to be held,”…”she won’t let me put her down,”…”he cries when I put him in the swing.” Well, guess what…your baby is NORMAL! I baby-wear because I hate the sound of my baby crying. I babywear because it’s easier. I babywear because I don’t have to try to quietly set my son down and escape out the room. I babywear because I’m cheap and I don’t want to buy a swing, a bouncer, a new stroller, a floor mat, a hanging hammock…my God, what else is there! All those baby products and your baby just wants YOU…you’re warmth, your body next to theirs, your heartbeat, your breath on their skin. They want YOU.

“A mother who supports cloth-diapering.”

OMG, I LOVE cloth diapering! And no, I don’t love it cause it’s environmentally friendly and I’m saving thousands of pounds of poop-soaked diapers from fermenting in a land-fill…although that is a plus. I love cloth-diapering cause IT’S FREAKIN CHEAP!!! I have, literally, spent about $50 on my son’s diapers! FIFTY DOLLARS!!! My son is 18 months old and we have saved thousands and thousands of dollars on wasted diapers. I spent about $300 on my daughter’s diapers, which then got passed down to my son. And let me tell you something, he is so cute in a PINK diaper! Yes, I’m cheap, folks, so that is why I cloth diaper.

“A mother who supports co-sleeping.”

This one fits right in with the lazy part. Who want’s to get up and go to another room, feed their baby, and then go back into another room again? Whew! It’s annoying and tiring. Just let your baby sleep in between you. We had this fabulous thing that our kids slept in called a SnuggleNest. It was awesome! It is a little bed that you can put the baby in and it has sides to protect you from rolling over on to them. I know that is a concern wtih a lot of people who won’t co-sleep, but the SnuggleNest makes co-sleeping a very safe option! Plus, there are so many benefits to co-sleeping. And, no, you don’t have to co-sleep forever! We only co-slept till our kids were around 6-9 months old.

All this to say that the bottom line is…I’m cheap and I’m lazy! But you can call me crunchy if you want!