Welcome!

Crystal - posted on 11/01/2010

Welcome Karen! I'm glad you joined. It is very encouraging and I've recently found many people who are Christian and AP! I was afraid I'd be the only one too! But it makes more sense to me, to be Christian and practice AP because that is was Jesus taught, love and respect for all, no matter what age!

Karen - posted on 11/01/2010

Hi Christian AP Mamas!
I seriously wondered if I was the only Christian AP mom. I can't even look at the other Christian forum because I get so embarressed by what most Christians do to their kids. I am encouraged to see this forum.
I have one almost 2 year old daughter. We are AP all the way and live in the Vancouver area of BC, Canada.

Crystal - posted on 02/27/2010

Welcome Megan I am so glad you joined! I know how it is being attacked for your beliefs! My reason for starting this group was based on the fact that I was a member of a Christian Mamas group and I got attacked for informing people that spanking is not something I believed Jesus or God wants us to do, and backed it up with biblical versus, concerning "spare the rod, spoil the child", also informing them that Christians are also only supposed to follow the New Testament and not the old, so you can't just pick and choose what you want to follow, and was attacked so badly that I was almost in tears. I thought there needed to be a place where Christian women to come and be supported for believing in what is best for their children. One of my favorite sayings is "If homebirthing, breastfeeding, bed-sharing, and baby wearing was good enough for Jesus then it's good enough for my kids"!

I am also so sorry to hear your boys had a bad reaction to vaccines. I had my first two completely vaccinated with no problems, and now that I know more I know how lucky I am that they didn't! My oldest is actually completely up to date through the age of 10, my daughter won't be receiving any of her 4-6 year old vaccines, we're just going to stop them, and then my youngest two are not receiving any vaccines either. This is only assuming we don't go overseas to Asia. I may do one or two vaccines then.

So anyways, now that I've done my long winded welcome, welcome!

Megan - posted on 02/26/2010

Hi Crystal, so glad that I have found this group. After being attacked twice this week because I thought breastmilk is best and CIO is cruel, I really needed a change, fast. Seriously, some people were letting their 7 week old CIO, how can you do that? We practice self weaning, use cloth diapers, support homebirth, don't vaccinate, eat wholefoods/organics, home-school, and seriously wish I would have had all the info before we circumcised our boys. Our transition to AP has been kind of a natural transition that we really didn't realize we were making. We just kind of added one principle of AP at a time as we researched and collected info on the above topics.
With our older boys we did almost everything the mainstream way, it was a complete failure with our second son. When he was two he received his MMR and Chicken Pox vaccine in the same day, the day that I lost him. We battled for four long years with no help from the medical community beside being told we could give him drugs. This past Oct we connected with a ND who told us he most likely suffered from something called Toxic Vaccine Effect. The vaccines destroy his intestinal track and he wasn't absorbing omegas causing brain seizures that in turn caused all of his autism symptoms. With the help of a remedy and diet changes( including all sugar, yes, you can get your kids to pass up the sugar) he is almost fully recovered, Praise the Lord. Unfortunately, I had two more babies before we found any of this out. My daughter was on a delayed and selective vaccine schedule only receiving one vaccine at a time and she did not have any reactions to the vaccines, thank goodness.
My fourth baby was not so lucky. One shot for Hib was all it took and he was gone, just like his brother. I actually brought the baby to our wonderful ND first. Being able to get help right away made a huge difference. We only lost a couple of months, not years. He is almost right on tract for his age.
We deal with allergies too and I cook everything from scratch, so if you need a good recipe, I probably have one. I had my last two babies at home, what a glorious thing to experience and have been cloth diapering for the last three years. I live in the north woods of MN and love to sew and be crafty. We are in the process of starting a small farm. We got chickens last year and this coming spring/summer we are going to try our hand at heirloom organic gardening/farming and selling the extras that don't go into the root cellar. I grew up on a farm when I was little, so basically just returning to my roots. We go to an efree church at the moment, but have been to all kinds of churches. We go were God leads us. Again, I am so happy to have found this group, thank you for starting it.
Wow, that was long, sorry! I also have a blog to try and share the info I learn with others. If you would like the URL let me know. I am slowly getting my recipes up and being green, money saving tips, that sort of thing. I had the intention of trying to make money with it but have decided that I only want it to be a wonderful resource for others.

Crystal - posted on 02/24/2010

Yep, that probably would be different then. I'm not well versed in the laws of overseas, other than Germany since that is the only one, other than S. Korea, that we could potentially be stationed in. I know in Germany its illegal to homeschool, unless you're military, although if we did go there, they'd probably go to school for our time there just for the cultural benefits.

Leighanna - posted on 02/23/2010

Hi Crystal, thanks for the reply. I'm sorry I should probably have said I'm not in the US I'm in the UK so it will probably be different for us here but I will start looking into it now as it won't be long before she is ready to start learning

Crystal - posted on 02/23/2010

That's awesome April and I'll check out that church!

Leighanna, the first thing you should do when starting homeschooling is look up the laws of your state, and then plan from there. Look up www.hslda.org It is a wealth of information!

We use Abeka, but it's more like school at home because the curriculum is used in private Christian schools. The kids like it so far so we're sticking with this route, but I'm flexible to change if my other children don't learn this way best, or if the older ones eventually need a change in the way they are learning.

Leighanna - posted on 02/22/2010

Hello, I have a 13 month old daughter called Saffiya. She is a happy little girl, very affectionate, I get lots of cuddles! I very much let her lead the way, she still sleeps in my bed although she has her own bed next to mine which she goes in until I am ready to sleep, she usually climbs over if she wakes during the night.
I am a stay at home mum and I would like to homeschool her as I have no chance of getting her into a church school where I live but I am not sure about how to even begin so if any of you have any advice I would really appreciate it

I look forward to chatting with you all x

April - posted on 09/08/2009

I have really good friends there. I was able to visit them in 2005 and I loved the area. There was a really nice bike path that cut through the woods and had a golf course on the other side of the road:) Such a peaceful walk:) There is also a dynamite church called The Quest. You can check it out online @ thequestonline.org ..We are praying to be stationed @ Ft. Gordon after California because they have linguists there as well..I want to be there for the amazing church:) Thx for the welcome

Crystal - posted on 09/08/2009

Welcome April I'm glad you joined! I'm also a military wife, my husband is in the Army. We're stationed at Fort Gordon Ga right now :)

April - posted on 09/08/2009

Aloha from Oahu:) I have been married 6 years to my best friend who is a Korean Linguist in the AF. We are stationed on the beautiful island of Oahu. I have 2 wonderful blessings from the Lord. ages 5 & 1. I am also a massage therapist & doula. We co-sleep, breastfeed, and cloth diaper although they are both using the potty now:) We will be on Oahu another year after which we will PCS to Monterey, CA so my hubby can learn Tigrynia. I look forward to getting to know you God Bless and Mahalo- April

Crystal - posted on 03/10/2009

:) Yay Amanda! Glad to see you here, yea, definitely avoid those groups!

Amanda - posted on 03/10/2009

Hiya, Crystal. I finally decided to take the plunge and see what COM is all about. But I'm staying away from those boards where I may not agree so much with others!

Crystal - posted on 02/15/2009

Welcome Elizabeth I'm glad you joined! :)

Elizabeth - posted on 02/15/2009

Wow, I already LOVE this group! My daughter is 5 1/2 months old, and we have been doing a lot of the AP stuff. I nurse exclusively, she never even saw a spoon until just this past week. My parents have been very open to learning what we want to do with Brenna. They do ask a lot of questions, esp when I wear her in her Moby, and when I didn't start feeding her baby food at 4 months. But, they are very open and we discuss it all. I'm very thankful to have such wonderful folks. I, too, believe CIO to be mean...Mom says it's just natural, eventually, I too will let Brenna just CIO. I'm not so sure. I've seen the detriment of Babywise first hand with other children, and I've seen good results with AP. It makes sense to try things this way. I would also love to one day homeschool my kids. I don't know if I'll be able to get my husband on board for that, but we still have plenty of time to discuss it. He wasn't too keen on the idea of cloth diapers either, but he's pretty much ready for that now, too.

Oh, and I'm 26 and my husband is 32. I think that's everything I can think of right now...

Maggie - posted on 02/12/2009

I agree that people seem to not want to change their lives at all after having kids and you really need to. And it's hard sometimes, but it's so rewarding and wonderful to be there to meet your babies' and kids' needs. 

Crystal - posted on 02/12/2009

I can't believe that! Having kids means you have to sacrifice some things you did before.....ugh.

I go out once in a blue moon.....just because it's nice to get away, but for the most part I just adjusted my life to fit my kids in it. I'm fine with that, I've always wanted kids and it's fun staying home and being with them.

Ally - posted on 02/12/2009

yeh i say to my husband all the time how i feel like out of all our friends who have kids that our seems like the only lives who have changed...they go back to work the minute the baby is old enough for daycare...let them scream at night to "train"them to sleep???...and two of our friends have continued to go out to the bars every week...and just bring their babies???? i simply don't get it...i feel like some people should just get a pet and not have kids so soon..drives me nuts!



thanks for the info on the school stuff i will def look into it !

Crystal - posted on 02/12/2009

I started James right before he turned 4 years old, and I am using the abeka material which is a Christian based curriculum and used in many private schools through the country.

I am lucky, my husband is an AD soldier and the MTF's we've been to have not pushed us on vaccinations. One GP asked us why, and was very nice and just wanted to know since he said most parents just accept it and go on to get it. He thanked us for looking into it more.

CIO is cruel and unnecessary and too many parents just want to get back to their pre-baby lives as soon as possible and it's stupid.

Ally - posted on 02/12/2009

we are vaccinating but on a selective/delayed schedule...I think some vaccines are important and have mixed opinions on the whole issue...my daughter is completely breastfed ...and stays home with me. we also do try our best not to take her to a lot of crowded places where she would be likely to be exposed to many different bugs/germs...and we are handwashing fanatics :) so since i made the choice to selectively vaccinate.. i also knew that it meant a lot more work on my part to keep her safe.



for babies who are formula fed from birth and are shipped off to daycare the day they turn 8 weeks old and their parents don't think to have people wash their hads or keep them away from sick kids ect...i think vaccines are very beneficial for those children b/c the likelyhood that they will be exposed to something very harmful during the critical infant period is much much higher.



the vaccines we chose are to do were the pc hib and datp which are all either very common and can be nasty (pc/datp) or with hib while very rare if an infant were to get it it could have sever consequences. In my profession I have met a lot of resistance over this issue. i rarely bring up the fact that we co-sleep b/c i believe many medical professionals are misinformed and honestly i ususally just don't feel like arguing about it! I also find that doctors are highly uninformed on the vaccines that are used today and have asked many of them questions that they cannot answer. we are lucky to have found a pediatrician willing to work with us since we got kicked out of another practice since we refused some of the vaccines.



On the whole cry it out issue it is unfortunately a very common "solution" offered by many health professionals to new parents...it is very sad and primitive in my opinion especially when you look at what skills (trust /mistrust) and others that they should be learning at this tender age. hopefully we will see some change on that front soon.



Also I am very intersted in homeschooling when sadie gets older when did you guys start?

Crystal - posted on 02/11/2009

Yea, my Mom is really cool about, but his parents are not. Abeka is really great, we only spend about an hour at most on "school" and he doesn't get burned out.

Maggie - posted on 02/11/2009

Hi, Valerie! It sounds like you're really responsive, loving, and gentle with your kids and that's what AP is all about, right? :) Welcome! I'd definitely like to join your anti-Babywise group!

Crystal, glad you're liking Abeka! I've heard good things about it from others, as well. 

Seems that often parents are unsettled seeing their kids using different parenting styles than they used. Good for you guys! Sometimes it's hard to go against that. My parents were fairly AP, but my mom yelled a lot. We're more into natural living than they were, though. They're very willing to learn about the stuff we're doing, though, and are not judgmental, so that's really nice! Don't talk much with the in-laws about parenting stuff. I know they did spank, though.

Crystal - posted on 02/11/2009

Oh Maggie, on vaccinations, my oldest two are up to date, and will probably stay that way with DTaP, Hib and PCV and MCV but nothing else.

Steven is only getting the above and hasn't gotten any at this point. My other baby won't either until the age of 2.

Unless of course we're stationed overseas to Korea like we're hoping and then I'll be getting them all up to date just in case. Don't want to but I'd rather be safe then sorry!

Crystal - posted on 02/11/2009

Hey Valerie! Thanks for joining! You definitely more AP then most people! Glad you joined!

Valerie - posted on 02/11/2009

So, I am not totally into AP parenting, but I would say more so than some other parenting techniques. I would like to say I am into being an example of Jesus to my children, and that means applying the fruits of the spirit to all parenting and everyday life. Sometimes I fail at this, but I pick myself back up and try again. My children never slept with me basically b/c I couldn't sleep with them in my bed. lol.... I kept a bassinet in my room until they grew out of it b/c I nursed both of my sons for the first full year. We are an incredibly affectionate family, and I love that my boys are that way. My oldest tells me daily, Mommy, I haven't gotten any cuddles today, lol. I base all of my parenting off of the bible, my experiances as a childcare worker for four years, and the care and love I gave my own sisters who are 11 and 9 years younger than me. So, yeah... that is where I am at. I don't like babywise. I think it's a warped and cruel way to raise children. I will post a link on my group, Mom's Against Babywise, to a site about Dr. Ezzo later today. That's all for now! =)

Crystal - posted on 02/11/2009

Hey Ally! Glad to see you here! I'm so glad I'm not alone with being AP and a Christian, seems like most of the others on the other board are completely mainstream!

That's cool Megan! We unschooled for a bit, for preschool and such, but we're using abeka curriculum right now and I love it! My oldest son needs more structure in his learning so I figured this would work great. I'm not so sure about my daughter, but we'll see because she's starting this September. (Going on the public school schedule only because of the state laws of Ga, it would just be easier).

It took some convincing of my husband to agree to homeschooling, but now that he sees how well our son is doing he is our biggest supporter! His parents are all for breastfeeding to at least 6 months, but after that they are as mainstream as they come. They just can't understand why my husband doesn't want to raise his kids in the same way he was raised (own beds, spankings, public school). His childhood was okay, but not ideal. He was also lost in the public school system and they were no help and pretty much made him feel dumb (he wasn't diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia until he was 18 years old).

I am a stay at home Mom, have been since I was 2 months pregnant with my daughter. I had severe morning sickness with her and just couldn't keep working, and my job didn't want to wait for me to get better to work so i just quit completely. I haven't looked back. My dad stayed home with me so I was really wanting to stay home with my kids.

I am 26, my birthday is July 22 (same as my oldest son's) and my husband is 28, his birthday is in August :)

Maggie - posted on 02/11/2009

Ally, I also wanted to say that it's so great to see someone in your profession who is pro-attachment parenting! Did you vaccinate your daughter? We stopped vaccines when our older one was 2 and have not vaccinated our son. Do you find that a lot of your coworkers, nurses and docs, are pro-CIO and anti-cosleeping, etc? I'm sure you are and will be a great influence on patients and professionals! :D

Maggie - posted on 02/11/2009

Hi, Ally! 

Crystal, I forgot to say that we homeschool, too. :) Are you planning on using a curriculum? Right now, we unschool, but may add some things in the future, pretty relaxed and eclectic. Are you a SAHM?

How old are you guys?

:)

Ally - posted on 02/11/2009

Hi crystal! after a couple messages back and forth about the vaccine thing I saw you started this group and I'm so happy It's here...what a great idea. My name is Ally and my husband matt and I live in delaware with our 11 month old daughter Sadie. I don't know if we have just one parenting style but we do co-sleep and I wear her all the time and I am a huge supporter of extended breast feeding. So far i haven't had to really "discipline" her yet so I don't have much experience on that front.



I am a registered nurse but have been a stay at home mom since my daughter was born last march. I start back to work on march second...and i'm looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time! I also see you're in tennessee...im so jealous i did my first two years of college at UT and have been dying to get back ever since! Thanks again for creating this group hope to talk with you soon!

-Ally

Crystal - posted on 02/11/2009

Hey Maggie! Glad to see you here and please feel free to invite anyone else you think might feel more comfortable here!

I guess I should do my intro too! LOL

I'm Crystal, married to my high school sweetheart Michael. Michael is in the Army and we're stationed at Fort Campbell Ky, living in Clarksville Tn. We're about to PCS (get re-stationed) at Fort Gordon Ga in May.

We have 3 beautiful children. James is 4 1/2, Jade is 3 and Steven is almost 14 1/2 months old. I nursed James for 9 months when I got pregnant with Jade and was uniformed so we started giving him formula (ick), we co-slept with James until about 11-12 months old and then he slept in a crib in my room unitil about 14-15 months old and then he moved to his own room. Jade nursed until 15 months old, and slept in a bed with me until she was 13 months old, then she slept in her crib in the room with James. Steven never slept in bed with me, he never seemed to get comfy, made me sad. He did sleep in the crib in my room though until he was 11 months old and then he stopped even being able to sleep with me in the room. :( He now sleeps in a room with James and Jade until we move. He is still nursing strong and hopefully this time if I get pregnant he won't wean like his siblings did.

I believe in gentle discipline, in teaching my kids the ways to cope with their feelings rather than make them repress them. I believe in extended nursing, or at least nursing to a year old. I believe in co-sleeping if it works for everyone to get sleep!!! I do not believe in cio AT ALL and um, well that's all I can think of right now. Oh yea, and we homeschool James right now, and will be starting Jade in the fall :)

Maggie - posted on 02/10/2009

Hi, Crystal! I'm so glad you made this group! A place for Christian AP mommies is definitely needed here! :) Thanks for telling me about your group! Glad tobe a part. :) 

I have two kids, Katie who is 6 (7 in May) and Luke who is 3 1/2. We use gentle discipline. Luke sleeps with us and Katie did until Luke was born. Luke still nurses. Hmm...what else? Any questions, just ask!

I'm 32, live in MN, stay home with the kids. One of my favorite websites is http://www.gentlechristianmothers.com/mb... The message board is great and there are lots of good articles on there, too. 

Looking forward to getting to know you!

Maggie