If I could do it all over again...

I was a young mother, not to mention new mother when my daughter was born in 2008. I followed what main stream taught me and ended up with much regret. I had my daughter in the hospital. I ended up formula feeding her, although I didn't want to. I vaccinated. I used sunscreen and gave my daughter vanilla wafers as a healthy snack. And had I not done my research, my daughter would be in school.

Over the next year of being a mother, I started forming my own opinions and slowly started feeling like I needed to do things different. Do my research. I started doing things my way. I stopped using sun screen and medicines. And began changing our diet-over time. I pulled my daughter out of daycare and started "home educating" her at 2. And I got many weird looks and snide remarks, especially from older Moms and even worse, Family! "Kids should NOT be raising kids!" I second guessed myself a lot. And did research constantly. It is hard to find unbiased research, so I went off my gut feeling for a lot of stuff. "PUT SOME SUNSCREEN ON THAT POOR BABY!" Says an older woman who could clearly see my child was not burnt in spite of only wearing coconut oil, as she slathered my child with toxic cancer causing chemicals that I had vowed to never put back on my child...I just smiled.

But if I had it to do ALL OVER again, I would tell her, "Thank you for your concern, BUT for MY child, I prefer not to cover her body in hazardous chemicals. I have done my research and coconut oil has been used for thousands of years as protection from the sun. And not only that, it allows us to absorb sufficient amounts of Vitamin D so that we are not having to rely on an unnatural source for our Vitamin D." I would say, "No thank you, Hospital! But next time I'm getting a midwife. And no. I will NOT force her to eat from a bottle because she isn't eating on your time. She will drink MY milk if I have to pump!" I would say, "No thank you, Head Start. Daycare is not the only way to socialize. My child will function just fine-if not better with me keeping her home and supervising her socialization until she is the age where she has seen enough modeling to socialize on her own.  PS We socialize dogs, not our children!"

I would say, "Thank you, but No Thank You. She is my child and I will raise her as I see fit. Did you do YOUR research before you judged ME?"