Being a Not So Crunchy, Sort-of Crunchy, Scrunchy Mom

If you would have told me ten years ago that someone would refer to me as a crunchy mom, I would have called them crazy! What does that mean anyway?! Crunchy mom??

​It seems like there are so many connotations that go with it. Let's face it, there are a ton of stereotypes for motherhood in general - good or bad, they are there. I have my moments for every kind of mom out there. For the most part, I try to embrace how I am and go with it.

The day a friend commented how she would classify me as "Crunchy", took me by surprise - although I'm not sure that it should have. Of course, I am aware that I do certain things out of the norm of mainstream parenting. This is a friend in this season of life and didn't know me in high school and college. So how would she know me any differently. I certainly was not offended, but it did make me think though about how much I have changed.
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What Does Crunchy Mom Mean Anyway?

I had my own ideas of what the definition might be, but what better place than the Urban Dictionary for a list of things potentially Crunchy moms do:

​You might be a crunchy mom if you:


...bake all your own bread
...make your own jam, jelly, pickles, applesauce, etc.
...gave birth at home -- by CHOICE! (With a midwife, doula, or unassisted!)
...prefer to teach your children yourself at home instead of letting the public or private schools do it for you.
...grow your own food as much as possible, and buy the rest at farmer's markets or health food stores.
...are vegan or vegetarian.
...choose not to use birth control.
...don't wear a bra or shoes.
...don't use shampoo or soap, but instead maybe sea salt or a variety of other things.
...had your placenta chopped up for an anti-depressant pill or smoothie.
...have no television in your home -- and actually read BOOKS for entertainment!
...grind your own grain to make your own bread with (did you know that wheat looses about 90% of it's nutrients within 7 days of being ground?)
...don't cut your hair or wear pants (not going around half-naked, but wearing skirts! Silly people! Get your mind out of the gutter!)
...can add 10 more things to this list that I didn't even think of!"
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Somewhere In-Between

This is a pretty intense definition. There are several items that we do not do as a family, simply because it doesn't work.

• I didn't want en epidural with number one and number two.
• But I definitely wanted to be at the hospital.
• We used cloth diapers with the first and started to with number two and switched to Seventh Generation diapers.
• We chose permanent birth control options as opposed to a pill because the hormones make me crazy.
• I made the majority of their baby food, but not all.
• I LOVE meat - as long as I'm not pregnant.
• We have a garden.
• We don't have cable because we don't want to pay for it, but we have Hulu and Amazon Prime.
• I don't cut my hair often because I can't find anyone that cuts it as good as my favorite stylist back home.
• I do not believe sugar is healthy for anyone.
• We take herbal supplements as a family for most illnesses but also rely on antibiotics when it's absolutely the last resort. And then we double up on probiotics.
• And the list goes on......

I'll be honest, when I think Crunchy, I think of a hippie. And I don't think of myself in that way. Not because that's bad, but because I also know the old me. The one that passed out from having blood drawn (how did I make it through childbirth), had Mr. Pibb and Snickers for lunch in high school and loved all things with fragrances, especially vanilla and almost always synthetic.

Having baby number three has made me mold more into a combined version of the old me and the first time mom me. First time mom me was kinda crazy about a lot of things germs, chemicals and toxins. Not that I'm ok with those things now, I just take a different approach to things - weigh the consequences versus the situation and who is involved and follow my rule of moderation. Read more here about that.
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What About a Scrunchy Mom

When I was looking for a definition of crunchy mom, I came across the term, scrunchy mom. This was news to me. Also, the term silky mom was something I had never heard of before.

Silky mom refers to things like, medicated births, disposable diapers, vaccinations, non-baby wearing, non-attachment style parenting. Scrunchy moms are somewhere between crunchy and silky - depending on what fits their family.

I would say I probably fall into this category. Some areas I lean more one way, other areas I lean more the other way. But whatever I do is because it works for our family.

I don't think I had any ideas before we had kids what kind of mom I would be, although cloth diapers and making my own baby food weren't really in the picture until I began my initial health journey all those years ago.
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No Need to Label

In the end, labels are just that, labels. They don't tell us who we are or make our decisions for us. That day my friend made the crunchy comment made me reflect a little and also laugh.

​I probably do come across as this nature loving hippie who gives her kids herbal supplements. I know!! The old me would have thought I was crazy too! But this journey of babies and health and faith has grown me in ways I couldn't have ever imagined. I'm thankful for each step and embrace my sort of crunchy, but maybe scrunchy status.

We will probably go ahead and label (I still do it too), but we should know deep down we all make decisions that are the best for our family in the given situation - which might even vary day to day. Don't judge other moms. It's hard no matter what route we choose.

Enjoy your weekend!