FAQs

It seems that I'm asked the same questions over and over again.  :)  I decided it would be easier to just add answers to these questions under a "FAQ Page" at the top of the blog.

If you have a question in addition to these, leave it in the comments, and I'll either answer it there.

I'm so impressed that you use cloth diapers!  Isn't that hard/gross/unnecessary?
No need to be impressed, folks.  I'm quite lazy.

I don't use flats, prefolds, or safety pins.  All of the diapers we have function much like disposables except we I throw them in the washer instead of the trash.  I was a little scared before we started using them.  I had bought all of this cloth diapering stuff, and I was afraid that I'd have to eat crow if I ended up hating them.  It's been a bunch of months now, and I don't hate them.  Instead, I love them and can't imagine using anything else.  In fact, cloth diapers are so loved in this house that we used them exclusively when we flew to NYC for a vacation.

I know they're not for everyone, but if you have one iota of a thought that you might like to try them, please do.  Buy one or two diapers, and work them into your rotation.  Worse case scenario, you can sell them used for about half of what you paid for them.  Best case scenario, you will fall in love with them like pretty much everyone else who has tried them, save lots of money, possibly potty train sooner, and deal with much less diaper rash.

I've done two posts on cloth diapers so far (Cloth Diapers - The Hagaboater Way and Cloth Diaper Update), but if you have any other questions, please leave a comment or ask anyone else who CDs.  I promise, we all love to talk about them.  :)

Do you label yourself an "attachment parent?" Why or why not?  You seem to follow a lot of AP ideas.
No, I don't.  I label our parenting style, "We Do What We Feel is Best for Us and Our Child(ren) Based on Research and Intuition." Although I agree with some of what Dr. Sears says to do, I don't necessarily agree with why he says to do it.

I am a SAHM.  We waited to have kids until we could afford for me to be home with them.  I know that not everyone is fortunate enough to have a parent at home, but it was something that was important to us, so we made it happen.

We don't co-sleep.  Never have.  Never will.  I never, not once ever, slept in the bed with my parents.  My dad was on a business trip once, and it was storming.  My mom assumed I'd be scared, so she picked me up out of my bed and put me in bed with her.  I promptly screamed and demanded that I be put back in my own bed.  I was three.  I like my space to sleep.  I've never really felt super tired or worn out since Atticus was born except for the couple of days before we started sleep training.  I attribute this to getting good quality sleep when I can.  I'm in our room, he's in his, and we no longer use a monitor (at home - we do on the boat).  Also, Michael has to get up in the mornings and go to work so that I can stay home.  Keeping Atticus in our room/our bed would be detrimental to his sleep, and it was important to us and our marriage that we sleep in the same bed.

I do breast feed, and we're introducing solids by Baby-Led Weaning.  I do believe that breast is best, so as long as my breastaurant serves milk, my babies will eat there.  I plan to nurse until sometime between 18 and 24 months, but I'm trying not to get ahead of myself.  I'm not there yet, and I don't know what my/Atticus' feelings will be by then.  Baby-Led Weaning is happening for a few reasons.  I initially planned to make baby food because I think the stuff in the jars looks nasty, but I decided I'm too lazy to do that.  After a bit of research on the way a baby's digestive system develops and the way their tongue and gag reflexes work, purees and "baby food" didn't seem necessary to me.  Cereal is being skipped because I feel like Atticus' stomach is prime real estate, and I don't want to put cereal in it when breast milk is more nutritionally beneficial to him.  So, baby-led weaning it is.  We haven't started yet, but I'll be sure to post when we do.

I also baby-wear a lot.  A lot of our life happens away from home, and it's not very easy to put Atticus down in all of these places.  Plus, I figured out super quickly that I can get more done in the house if I carry him around with me sometimes.  I do not subscribe to the theory that babies need to be held all of the time, and except for when he was very young, Atticus hasn't been allowed to nap on me.

The discipline issues have not come up yet, so I don't necessarily know how we will handle them.  However, Michael and I were both spanked as children, and I do believe that spanking is an effective form of punishment.

Did I miss any AP stuff?

Oh.  We do vaccinate.  He is circumcised.  I don't give him vitamin supplements.  We're teaching him sign language.  I think that's all....



What kind of camera do you have?  Your pictures are really good.
Thank you.  I have a Nikon D60.  I don't know how to use it.  I try to use as much natural light as possible, and I turn off the light.  Other than that, I take tons of pictures in hopes that some of them will turn out.


Is that your natural hair color?
Yes, I'm a natural redhead.  I've never dyed my hair.

If you have other questions, please leave them in the comments.