Happy Hippy Mummy and proud of it!

In an interesting blog post @2moms2babies asks what kind of parent are you?

This prompted me to think about the things that really are important to me and to summarise the kind of parent that I have found myself to be.

While I was pregnant with Henry the two most important things for me were Breastfeeding and Cloth Nappies. I am still very proud to say that at nearly 18 months Henry has never tasted formula and never touched a disposable nappy. I say it not to show off (although if I'm truthful there probably is a bit of that!) but because I feel they are achievements of mine that I have worked hard at. Especially the breastfeeding - it was not easy and we really struggled to get things established in the beginning. It was through sheer determination that we succeeded and eventually things settled down.

Since Henry arrived I have learnt a lot more about attachment parenting methods and "happy hippy" parenting, some of which we have taken on board and others we have been indifferent about.

Like most people we bought a Baby Bjorn carrier before Henry was born, only to discover the delights of wrap slings and ring slings through the breastfeeding support group once he was here. We used a Kari-Me stretchy wrap quite a bit in the first 7 months, but not as much as we could have. I look back at some situations where he was unsettled, etc and wonder why we didn't think to try the sling! I plan to use babywearing a great deal more with no. 2 - to the extent that I have decided not to get a double buggy and join the Phil & Teds fashion parade.

We cosleep when we need to, but Henry has also always had his own basket or cot. He was over 11 months before we moved his cot into his own room though - I think that was more for me than for him though! We've got an Arms Reach Mini Cosleeper for no.2, partly so we can safely have Henry and the baby close by at the same time, without our bed feeling very small or Henry squishing baby.

I have amber teething bracelets for Henry but am undecided as to whether they work. He did go through a phase of asking for it on though, so maybe he's noticed their effect?

BLW we took on 100%. It just made sense. I read Gill Rapley's book and it seemed easier, more effective and so much more natural. I'm not the kind of person that does things by halves - if I believe in it, we go all out. So again, Henry never had any purees at all. In some ways BLW was a bit of an experiment for us - we believed it would work, but the results have been even more astonishing that we could have imagined.

I guess I want to produce happy, healthy, confident and secure babies that know they are loved. I value these things by far over having a baby that sleeps through the night, or my bed to myself. I also believe that if your baby knows you will be there to kiss it better if they fall, to comfort them if they get scared or to be close to them if they need to feel safe then they are far more likely to have the confidence to find independence for themselves - safe in the knowledge that you won't be far away if they need you.

That, I suppose, is what is really important. and what "Happy Hippy Mummy" means to me.