"May is For All Women" Project Post 2

May is for All Women and I have a Post Project for you this month to celebrate just that!

***Don't worry if you're just now learning about this.... You can jump on board at any time this month!!!***

Join me in a series of posts about, not just biological Mothers, but also of those women throughout our lives that have impacted us, helping shape us into who we have become and will become, all simply by being the beautiful embodiment of Motherly Support RIGHT when we need it most.

Here are the guidelines:

• Please become a follower of our blog Modern Hippie Momma and please 'like' our Facebook Page. Be sure to leave us a comment if you're participating so we can follow you back!! :) 

• Find a quote that inspires thought and reminds you of a particular moment in time with a woman in your life that you know has impacted you in some way... The way you live, think, deal with things/people/kids/LIFE in general, etc.

• Write a post about all that you are reminded of with that woman and a particular moment. 

• Repeat this at least once a week (more if you'd like) for the entire month of May. 

• GRAB THE OFFICIAL "May is for All Women" BUTTON ~ Post it proudly on your sidebar and especially at the bottom of your posts all month to help spread the word and get other's to join in!  Be sure to type a one liner just above it to encourage other's participation! 

• Don't forget to share it with us on our Facebook Page < HERE >!  We want to read your stories!!  

• If you can, share the story with the person who inspired you to write your post. I'm sure your lovely thoughts and reflections would be a beautiful and memorable gift to her. :) 

Thought inspiring quotes..... Oh how I love them. 

They spark one simple thought and BAM! 

All of a sudden you're reminded of moments, people, smells... and sometimes find yourself asking a few questions, inspiring more thought.. and BAM! 

You realize there's nothing left to do but... Oh yes.. 

Blog about it. :)

So what are you waiting for?? 

Search for quotes, get inspired and get your BLOG on!

"May is for ALL Women" - Post 2

     by Amanda* @ Modern Hippie Momma

This morning came early.  I lay dreaming snuggled up next to our little man as the sun just began to rise and awoke to my loving husband laying across my back holding me tight, with his tears streaming down my shoulder. 

Opening my eyes and with an immediate knot in my throat, I asked him what's wrong....

He had already gone to work and had come right back home because he didn't want me to  have to learn of the news of my Papa's passing (my father's Dad) and have no one there with me. 

It was nice being able to hear it from someone I love and it was even better to have someone there to hold me as the cries from my core bellowed out in sorrow, saying Papa's name, crying out to him as if to beg him to stay just a little longer. 

Life goes by so fast. 

One day you're sneaking out of your house, told your parents you're "going to work"...

...but really you're jumping in the car with your high school sweetheart to run off and get married... 

.... and then the years fly by in the blink of an eye and suddenly you're telling nurses 

where to put the hospice bed in your house... for your high school sweetheart.

Papa was a living, breathing, walking example of LOVE, EMPATHY and LAUGHTER. 

We were all so lucky to have him in our lives, for as long as we had him. 

He outlived the doctors that told him 10 years ago he'd only have a few years to live. 

It is the strength of Granny that kept Papa going and the humorous & lightheartedness of Papa that gave Granny hope.  They were each other's other half and they fit like puzzle pieces. 

Today when I write for the May is for All Women Inspirational Writing Project, it is without question that the woman in my Granny has everything to do with the man that was my Papa.

Resting in my husband's arms, I am sure to FEEL him and appreciate him, as I know one day I too will be feeling the emptiness of losing my best friend and other half. 

Opening my back door and letting the breeze come in today made me somehow feel closer to my grieving family who are way across the country. 

Closing my eyes and feeling the sun on my face, I took a moment to remember life as a child with Granny & Papa........

The smell of peanut brittle throughout the house after waking from a nap.

A salty watermelon on a hot, Florida day.

Running in the field of daisies in my Easter dress. 

Banana pudding.

Papa's sweet voice over the phone.  His piercing blue eyes and handsome smile.

Papa's drenched shirt and hair as he passionately preached his sermon, dancing all over the place with the Spirit running in his veins.

How Granny & Papa were always so in love... flirting and picking on each other.

 I always wanted a relationship like the one they had.

The sound of Papa praying.

The sound of Granny praying.

Papa's piercing blue eyes and handsome smile.

....I could go on forever.

The quote above is a great reminder that we never really leave this world; we just leave our bodies. 

It reminds us that living in our bodies is only a part of our existence, and that we continue on by returning to this earth in our most truest form.

The bittersweet cycle of life.

Our daughter Abigail is only 5 but she appreciates the beauty around her better than most adults and was quick to appreciate the sun this morning, saying that Papa made it "sunshiney" to make her happy.  

"I'm certain he did", I told her.  :) 

♥ I love you, Papa. We miss you already. RIP. ♥ 

Please Join Us in the 

"May is for All Women"Project to 

Celebrate All Women, All Month Long!

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My Hippie Thoughts on Attachment Parenting

It has been a couple of weeks now since I have learned what "style" of parenting I apparently practice... and after having some discussion, reading halfway into a book I borrowed and my own reflection on the topic as our family operates naturally in this way, I cannot hold back any longer and am finally ready to have a "bloggy" discussion on Attachment Parenting. 


Recently I came across a lovely fellow Hippie Momma's blog, (The Happy Hippie Homemaker) while searching for blogs to follow and the first two words that popped off the screen to me were Attachment Parenting, or AP for short.

Had no idea what it was. Never heard of it. But it sounded intriguing and I've been reading about it ever since!

Giving something a label is usually overrated to me and puts things into categories that can separate people, cultures, etc. And I have to admit that the first thought that came to mind after reading about it a little was.... "Isn't AP just Parenting, and shouldn't the alternative to Parenting be "Detachment Parenting"? But there's still just something about knowing that the way we naturally parent actually has a name and definition that gives me the warm and fuzzies. 

AP is more of a philosophy and less of a "style".  It is a lifestyle by instinct to those of us who usually practice baby wearing, breastfeeding, co-sleeping or bed sharing, choose natural foods and read labels, shop local, labor naturally and are all around Hippie Mommas (and daddies) at heart (none of that is criteria of course). 

We are are sensitive to our babies needs. We believe in their cries and respond to their cues, staying flexible and avoid schedules that are impractical for a baby. 

For example, since I began writing this post I have stopped to play, nurse, change a diaper, play some more, rock and even took a walk because the sun came out for a moment (Sure it was raining on us a little bit while we walked, but we take what we can get up here in Washington). 

We feed our babies when they give the signs of wanting to eat and we allow them to sleep when they feel like dozing off. When one parents in this way, parent and baby live in harmony within each other day to day, taking away many stresses or worries that they would have otherwise if they'd chosen to follow a rigid schedule. 

Here are the 8 basic principles of AP: 

1. Preparation for Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting
2. Feed with Love and Respect
3. Respond with Sensitivity
4. Use Nurturing Touch
5. Ensure Safe Sleep, Physically and Emotionally
6. Provide Consistent Loving Care
7. Practice Positive Discipline
8. Strive for Balance in Personal and Family Life

Studies have found that attachment-parented children grow up into more secure adults who handle the stresses of life, relationships and pressures of life better than children who were not attachment-parented. The studies have also shown that AP children usually have healthier relationships with both friends, acquaintances and lovers than the non-AP children.  

With AP, the baby can trust that their caregiver (the parent, guardian and even baby sitters) will comfort them when they need it, eliminating doubts or fears of the new world around them far before they ever have time to form. The AP child has a great respect for their parents, a bond that is based on trust and love, and generally aim to please their parents, being less likely to wanting to risk disappointing them. 

AP parents take any opportunity to turn a situation into a learning experience.  This holds true even with discipline.  

AP children are disciplined with what is called Positive Discipline (PD), focusing on helping the child learn and grow and on helping them handle their current situation. The opposite of this would be to respond to a situation in an angry (or violent) fashion, punishing them without teaching them anything in the process. 

Practicing PD means to have reasonable expectations of the child according to their age and to discipline the child in a loving, caring, encouraging and firm manner. 

There seems to be a confusion in modern society that when a baby cries, they are trying to manipulate their caregiver, and trying to somehow control their surroundings.

Before the age of 1, babies do not cognitively have such an ability to give them any sort of thought process, and it is psychologically impossible to spoil them. That is a fact!  When a baby cries, they simple need comfort and care. It is their primal way of requesting care in order for them to survive. 

All of their "wants" are actually also their vital needs during the early stages of life, and they cannot even comprehend they are a separate being from their mothers for months after birth. Because of that... baby wearing, bed sharing and breast feeding all contribute to their security, which gives way to a more secure and independent toddler, adolescent and adult. 

So often you hear of "baby training" where the parent is trying to teach their newborn to be more independent and sleep through the night right after birth, when really... a baby needs the opposite of that. 

The reason a baby wakes up every 2 to 2.5 hours at night is all a part of that primal request of "PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME! PLEASE TEND TO ME! PLEASE HELP ME!". 

Babies need to eat every few hours for several months after birth and should NOT go more than 4 hours between feedings, as recommended by midwives, doctors, nurses, studies, etc. Baby is simply reminding you of this when he wakes in the middle of the night. 

Babies should also not sleep with a wet diaper all night long. Baby is asking for a clean, dry one when he wakes you up at night. 

Obviously AP evolves over the years as the child gets older when bed sharing ends, breastfeeding is in the past and the parents are still in tuned with their child; all of their needs, body language, etc. 

To Attachment Parent is to be bonded with your child closer than you could ever imagine. Read about it... Learn more about it....

I recommend a book ....  The Attachment Parenting Book: A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby.  It has validated so much for me and I wasn't ever really looking for any validation. 


Disclaimer: This post is simply that of my own "Hippie Thoughts", is reflective of how I personally feel and is in no way meant to be demeaning those who do not parent in this way.  I just feel that maybe if we, as parents, simply surrender to parenthood and NOT parent at a distance, letting go of rigid schedules, ignoring any outside pressure of what we "should" be doing for our baby/child and just follow our own natural instincts, enjoying our children and nurturing them as they need us to, when they need us to... We could raise more secure adults who have something to contribute to society. After all, our children are our future. 


Sure, Attachment Parenting is a "label", but I will accept it.  It is a good set of guidelines, so to speak, and the very topic could awaken new parents who may be unsure of their self to a truly beautiful world of parenting. 

<3 MHM

Happy Mothers, Breastfed Babies

Yesterday I visited our local La Leche League just to check it out and meet other mothers who are as passionate about breastfeeding as I am. 

As I was warmly welcomed by a mother who was unpacking the library of books for the group while her 2 year old ran circles in the room blabbing a song only he could understand, and as her 4 year old sat quietly at a table coloring, I found a chair, set down my things and asked if one has to be having difficulty with breastfeeding in order to attend. 

"Definitely not" was her response with a smile on her face as she lovingly tried to wrangle the crumbling graham crackers from her toddler's hands. 

Only 5 other women and myself attended, and as they entered the room one by one with their children, ranging from 6 months, 2 and probably 5 or 6, the room was soon filled with the sounds only a room full of toddlers could make. 

And so the meeting began. After introductions, the mother who greeted me lead discussion, with the day's particular topic being "Overcoming/Preventing Difficulties". 

I've always been a people watcher, and it is not to judge them in the least. To the contrary, it is really because I genuinely appreciate people... What they're made of as far as personality, their body language, their smiles, their eyes... Especially their eyes. So much can be seen within the eyes. They are truly the gateway to what is underneath. 

I was immediately comfortable in that group. Of course I expected to be, but you just never know.. well, the unknown, until you've put yourself out there and try it out. 

Discussion was organic and continued seamlessly among the battle cries of the toddlers among us. 

Mothers are such amazing beings. It is a beautiful truth that, once you're a mother, you're a mother to all children. It was interesting to notice how we all, at one point or another, had our eye on the children (whether they were our own or not) and occasionally would instinctually "mother" (Yes, it is a verb too!) the closest to us, all while being fully engaged in discussion that was filled with personal experiences, advice based on those experiences, and of course, affirmations. 

You can always count on affirmations among women. Well, most women. It is only among those who are comfortable within their own skin, do not pass judgement and are open and receptive to other women. It's unfortunate that some are not. They're missing out on connections that could help them grow in unfathomable ways. 

After discussion and toward the end of the meeting, all of us had breastfed at one point or another, with children being breastfed from the ages of 6 months to the age of 2. Seeing toddlers being breastfed reminded me of "Attachment Parenting". This is something I recently read about on a fellow hippie momma's blog, realizing that, although I probably will not breastfeed into toddlerhood (just a personal choice), I have always practiced Attachment Parenting! It's actually the most natural way to parent, essentially following instincts rather than "popular" or societal expectations. Who knew it had a label though! I'm not big on labels, but was pleased to learn more of this AP, and was more pleased to find a book in the LLL library. 

Before we changed diapers and headed out, the leader then mentioned the need for volunteers.... UH OH. LOL 

I mentioned to my husband a few weeks back that I planned on attending this group at some point, and he said in so many words, that as long as I don't end up planning rallies every weekend, then all should be fine. 

What he means is... I tend to gravitate toward organizing things. I'm good at it. I love it. And it is just natural for me. 

It was a good point for him to make, because one thing we're focusing on for right now is being home and NOT planning/leading anything, mainly because for an entire year and a half, we helped lead in several ways within and behind the scenes of the Occupy Movement, taking a lot of time and energy and passion. A lot. 

So, it was good to have his voice in the back of my head when my "OOoo!! Ooo!! I'll help with publicity, coordinating events, social media, and.. and..!!" urge came on at the first mention of them needing help to grow and get their name out there. 

Not being able to completely pass it up, and after brainstorming a bit on some ideas, I did offer my help but mentioned how my 'man hours' must remain low for the time being, receiving chuckles after I shared the reasons why. 

Groups like this are very important. This pregnancy and baby (as far as breastfeeding, mothering, etc) has been a piece of cake (knock on wood) with really no difficulties or feats to overcome. But I say that humbly. 

With my daughter, postpartum and breastfeeding hell were demons on my shoulders leaving me feeling like a failure, and with hardly a support system or confidence in myself at the time, it honestly scared me to reach out. I know for a fact that if someone would have reached out to me and gotten me to attend just 1 meeting, my life and world probably would have been a whole lot different from that point on. 

Women need women. Mothers need mothers. 

After what we go through for 9 months and then the birth of our child, no matter how we birth... We're all sisters in a sense. We must reach out to one another. 

La Leche League is full of angels who do just that. This is something I could get used to. :) 

I'm glad I went. Looking forward to where this takes me. (SLOWLY, of course.) teehee

<3 MHM