First things first

* Disclaimer: This blog is about how my husband and I are choosing to raise our 18 month old daughter, Miah. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE understand that this is JUST OUR EXPERIENCE and the way we choose to raise her may go against the grain of how you believe your child should be raised. I believe every parent knows whats best for their child, and I believe that there is more than one way to raise a child! We would NEVER judge parents for doing things differently than we do, just as we hope you would never judge us for doing things differently. This is OUR decision, and it is truly what we believe is best for our child! I am not claiming to be an expert in homeopathy, or attachment parenting. I am learning everyday. But I do A LOT of research constantly, and love to learn, so I figured i'd share some of my experiences with others!* 

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This blog is to discuss the way we are raising Miah. We, personally, are choosing to raise her naturally & treat any conditions homeopathically. What does that mean?

 ** - We feed her organic meats, dairy & produce. We do not give her highly processed foods. She eats a very simple diet full of fresh fruits & veggies, frozen veggies, granola, chicken, and dried fruits & veggies. Please, do not misunderstand me. She's a kid. We allow her to be a kid. She'll get treats, and if we go to a birthday party, she's eating cake! But we don't keep this stuff in our house to feed her on a regular basis.

** - If She has a fever or is sick, we don't run to the tylenol, benadryl, or ibuprofen. She is treated homeopathically first and is taken to her chiropractor. She also takes probiotics daily. In our experience, these things have worked wonderfully and tylenol is VERY rarely needed for her. 

We also choose to practice "Attachment parenting" and "Positive parenting". This is something we believe to be best for Miah and for us as parents. What does that mean?

** - We never let Miah cry it out. We believe every cry or negative expression is an expression of a need. When she starts to whine for something now that she's 18 months and talking a lot, we encourage her to use her words, and tell us what she would like. 

** - We respond quickly to her needs. 

** - We re-direct. When she asks for something she shouldn't have, or grabs something she shouldn't have, we ask her to give us what she's playing with, and we give her something else that she's allowed to play with. 

** - We don't spank. 

** - We don't yell. Don't get me wrong, she can push our buttons sometimes, but we truly try our best to talk to her, and not lose our cool! 

** - We don't do time outs. We don't think separating her from us and sitting her in a room by herself should be used as a punishment. 

** -We explain things to her, and talk to her when she is doing something she shouldn't. 

** - We carry her and hold her a lot. 

** - We still do skin to skin time when she's sick or having a bad day. It calms her quickly, and soothes her.

** - We co-sleep. This is a big one that people used to freak out about with us. We never planned to co-sleep. But one night when she was 5 months old, out of sheer exhaustion, I brought her into bed with me (Mike was at work), and we both slept better than we had since she was born! We took every precaution with co-sleeping. We took off all pillows & blankets and only had a tight fitted sheet on the bed. I moved her between me & a bumper instead of between me and mike, because Mike is a sound sleeper and didn't always feel/hear her. We also set the mattress on the ground so if she fell off she wouldn't get hurt. Miah snuggles with me for a majority of the night, and if she wakes up in the middle of the night, all I need to do is put my hand on her and she rolls into me and falls back asleep. A lot of people have said to me that I am damaging Miah in some way by sleeping with her, and that I am teaching her to not be independent. Personally, i DO NOT believe that at all. Medical research has shown many benefits of co sleeping. Such as: more regular temperatures in the child, regular heart rhythms, and fewer long pauses in breathing compared to babies who sleep alone . Also, they grow up with a higher self-esteem, less anxiety, become independent sooner, are better behaved in school , and are more comfortable with affection. 

Now that you have the basics....Please enjoy reading about our experiences, and our trial & error of being first time parents! :)