So I promise to come back later and give a welcome and a bit about myself to start out but since I'm starting this as a way to vent some frustrations, allow me to start by venting.
So I'll start off by saying I'm pro all sorts of natural parenting. I love breastfeeding my baby, i love cuddling with him in our bed, i hate hearing him cry so he never gets to for long. But i love things that are not considered natural parenting at all, he does sleep in his crib (or his swing, car seat, blanket on the floor, bouncer wherever he falls asleep is usually where he stays until he wakes up), he is circumcised, and I have on occasion used formula (gasp!) yes formula to supplement him when it seems he has gone through growth spurts that my body just couldn't keep up with. Do any of these factors make me a bad parent? No, absolutely not. I know, I know there are moms who agree. There are moms that would say I'm a bad parent because my family doesn't eat organic, in fact, we eat a lot of crap food, I'll be the first to admit it.
So here's my problem. I can't help but feel guilty and want to embellish the truth when around my "crunchy" mom friends. Why is it that I feel bad about the way I parent only when around certain people. I wonder to myself does this make their opinions right, or are they just so overbearing on their opinions that you can't help but to feel that way. I find myself trying to do more things the way I read they should be done, I follow all sorts of natural/attached parenting blogs and pages, but in my real day to day life they just don't work. Does that mean I love my family any less? I certainly don't think so. Are any of my methods better than those of others? No, again, I don't think so. So why do I keep getting stuck with this guilty feeling? Anyone else feel you are an perfectly imperfect mom yet have insecurities when around a certain type of parent that differs from your own opinion? Are you honest with what you do differently or do you try to "blend in" with what's popular with a certain group?
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