What are Babywise moms like? Do you have to fit one certain mold to be able to be a successful Babywise mom? Read to find out!
I was reflecting on what it means to be a “babywise mom.”
What is a babywise mom like? What actions does she take as a parent?
It struck me how very diverse babywise moms are. Let me elaborate.
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What is a Babywise Mom Like?
Among babywise moms, you will find a whole spectrum of parenting practices.
You will find moms who would label themselves as crunchy. One mom commented based on the definition of crunchy that she must be “soggy” :).
You will find moms who cloth diaper and moms who use disposable diapers.
You will find moms to do early potty training and moms who use diapers until the child is begging to wear underwear.
If you talk to a group of Babywise moms, you will find moms who breastfeed for a year. You will find moms who follow extended breastfeeding far beyond a year. You will find moms who breastfeed from every interval between 0-12 months.
You will meet moms who have never breastfed and feed formula. You will also find moms who label themselves as “exclusive pumpers” and pump milk to feed their babies through bottles.
You will find moms who follow baby led weaning and moms who stick to purees until baby is a bit older.
You will get to know moms who birth at home with a midwife and moms who birth at the hospital and an epidural, and everything in between.
You will find moms who are “stay at home” moms, work from home moms, and moms who work at least forty hours per week, and everything in between.
You will meet moms trying to start up new businesses.
You will meet crafty moms, funny moms, smart moms, shy moms, bold moms, musical moms, creative moms, and logical moms.
Extroverts and introverts are among us. Those who love the limelight and those happy to stand to the side and watch all make up our large circle of babywise moms.
We represent many religious beliefs. There are Christian moms, Atheist/Agnostic moms, Jewish moms, and Buddhist moms, among others.
We have vegetarian moms and meat-loving moms. We have moms who are organic only and moms who use whatever is available and inexpensive.
We have moms who homeschool, moms who are private school only, and moms who love public school.
Some babywise moms follow the AAP on vaccination recommendations. Others take a slower vaccination approach. And others don’t vaccinate at all.
Wow! We have a lot of diversity among us! It is not so easy to put us in a box and label us. We have many moms who are polar opposites on today’s hot-button issues.
Despite the Differences, We Have Important Commonalities
Now, here is the part I think is so neat. We get along really well. Really, really well. Why is that?
I think we all have some important things in common.
Most of all, we believe in respecting others.
We believe that other people are precious–even when they don’t agree with us.
We believe in good manners, even when the other person is some unknown face on the other side of a computer screen half a world away.
We treat people online the same as we would treat them face to face.
I believe that is the key to why we get along well. I am a member of several Babywise groups online. Click here to join my Babywise Mom group on Facebook!
Over the years, I have noticed that we as a whole have gone from discussing only “babywise” related topics to discussing all parenting topics in these groups.
We discuss non-parenting topics such as religion and politics. We value the opinions of each other.
Many of us are big into personal research and like to study things out for ourselves.
I see these hot-button issues discussed over and over. There are always moms who feel very passionate on each side of the coin, and they are always respectful toward each other.
They are wonderful! They are full of insight and you really come to understand the reasoning behind the beliefs of others. There is no name calling. No “low blows.” Just discussion among adults.
This is something 100% unique to Babywise groups. I haven’t seen it in any other group that I have been a part of online.
I think some Babywise parents start Babywise only concerned about getting eating and sleeping on track. I think that is where I was when I first started with Brayden.
I soon saw there was so much more to offer. I saw that because eating and sleeping were on track, I could focus on training him to be a good person. A person who respects people, loves people, and serves people.
A person who was a hard, honest worker. A person who valued learning and a person who could control and discipline himself in pursuit of greater goals.
These were goals that were far superior in the grand scheme of things than eating and sleeping–the eating and sleeping were just excellent stepping stones to enable us to work on these things.
Yes, we babywise moms value structure and predictability. But more than that, we share a common ultimate parenting goal, and we understand that the many hows along the way, like cloth vs. disposable diapers, do not interfere with our end “why” goal.
So thank you babywise moms for being so great. And thank you to the moms who read this blog but wouldn’t define themselves as “babywise moms.” You are also always kind and respectful even when disagreeing.
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