Alright, now I’ve heard this three times since spring. A reference that doing things in a more natural way is doing it the “hard” way.
Specifically, the comments were about: homebirth, breastfeeding, bedsharing, babywearing, holistic health care and cloth diapering.
The hard way??
I don’t know that I believe that. They’re hard only in that they’re counter-culture. I agree, that can be wearying. But none are physically difficult.
CD is a bit more work, but I wouldn’t call washing diapers “hard.” Babywearing is really the easiest option for toting a baby around. The next easiest thing would be to just not have a baby in the first place. Breastfeeding can have challenges, but it’s easier than messing with formula. Bedsharing means I don’t have to get out of bed at night to care for kids – easy.
Homebirth, I think it’s a wash in terms of “easy” vs “hard.” Holistic health care is “hard” in terms of needing to use your own brain, true, and I agree that honestly managing holistic health care is just beyond the ability of some people, so I could maybe buy it there.
Hm.
Sometimes I’m shocked at how far down the slope I’ve slid, you know?
Once I got it figured out, breastfeeding was the easiest thing ever. No bottle temperature to check. No powder to spill. And I don’t recall anyone hassling me about feeding either of my children, but I did use a blanket in public. Easy-peasy!
I can’t imagine anything more difficult than walking into another room several times a night, grabbing the baby and then going into the kitchen to prepare a bottle. I’ve taken the easy way out by bedsharing and breastfeeding. And, no, I don’t have my hands full. They are empty because I’m wearing my baby.