How I Am a Hippie

Image courtesy Travis_Simon

A couple weeks after Emi Lou was born, I went to a friend's house to have her take some pictures of us.  I had curled my hair and put on full face make up.  I think I was even wearing my fake lashes.  So we got to talking and my sweet friend said to me, "I love your blog, but what's with the 'hippie'?"

Now I'll admit, if you saw me on the street, you probably wouldn't think "hippie".  I love my Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon, but I've never had dreads, I shave my legs and armpits (before it gets noticeably long anyway), and I haven't owned Birkenstocks since the eighth grade.

But I've always kind of been the "hippie" of my family... doing "weird" things like wearing my baby, having a family bed, tandem nursing, cloth diapering, and having a natural hospital birth and then a home birth. 

Today I was reading Natural Urban Mamas blog post on Babywearing Myths and Misconceptions and she explained how babywearing is for hippies.  According to wikipedia.org, Both the words "hip" and "hep" came from black American culture and denote awareness. To say "I'm hip to the situation" means "I am aware of the situation." Thus the word "hippie" means "one who is aware," and expanded awareness was a goal of the movement.

So in that sense of the word, I am absolutely a hippie!  I am a hippie for the Attachment Parenting movement (which is all about PEACEful parenting).  I'm a hippie for natural childbirth and the Homebirth movement.  I'm a hippie for breastfeeding, babywearing, and bedsharing.  I'm newly a hippie for cloth diapering and elimination communication.

Hippies en busca de la tierra prometida by efedefoto
"Hippies in search of the Promised Land"

So even though I don't look like this...

Image courtesy misterjt

... I can assure you I really am a hippie!