Do you know what kind of mom you are? (Besides amazing and totally badass.) If you haven't already taken the many online mom personality quizzes to find out, you may be asking what "crew" you belong to. That's not today different mom types can't hang out, but it's always nice to find a group of people who can speak your mommy lingo. One label that's recently made it sway to the parenting vernacular is "silky mom." So, what are some signs you're a silky mom? Turns out there are some pretty common markers.
But first, you might be wondering what is a silky mom. According to The Snap Mom, a silky mom is often dubbed the "modern mom." She is essentially on the other end fo the spectrum as the crunch mom, who is into an "all natural" lifestyle. These moms generally prefer home births, placenta encapsulating (putting your placenta in pill form and ingesting it), baby wearing, cloth diapers, and many more.
To be clear, none of these characteristics or traits are inherently bad. All mothers have their own personal motherhood journeys and preferences, which are to be respected and not judged. If you're curious about what camp you fall into, here are nine signs you might be a silky mom.
1You Prefer A Medicated Birth
You're not into home births or water births for one overreaching reason: pain meds. Maybe you may prefer a medicated birth because you have a low threshold for pain, or perhaps your own version of a peaceful birthing experience involves wonderful, magical drugs (because let's be honest, if an epidural works it generally makes everything rainbows and unicorns).
2You Are Pro-Vaccination
If you like to follow the medical establishment's recommendations for vaccinations and their guidelines for an immunization schedule, you're a silky mom. Your medical views in general are also probably directly in line with that of mainstream medical professionals.
3You Are Pro-Circumcision
No penis debate here. You are pro-circumcision and feel that medical data backs you up. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks when it comes to the incidence of infection.
A quick note here, even with this data the AAP will not recommend universal newborn circumcision. The decision is left up to individual families, and the silky moms tend to opt for circumcision.
4You Prefer Part-Time Breastfeeding/Bottle Feeding
Because silky moms are dubbed the "modern mom" one can assume they are mostly mothers who are working outside of the home. According to the latest Department of Labor statistics, almost 70 percent of mothers in the U.S. work. If moms who are working outside of the home wish to feed their child breast milk, they have to pump it.
5You Use Disposable Diapers
If cloth diapers aren't your thing you're probably a silky mom. Disposable diapers are touted as a modern convenience, but they are also criticized for being made of questionable synthetic materials and not earth friendly, according to The Washington Post . (The same article argued that cloth diapers have many not-so-earth-friendly aspects in regards to their production and washing too.)
The point is, if you prefer the ease of disposable diapers and less about their perceived environmental impact, you're in the silky tribe.
6You Use A Stroller A Lot
If you prefer plopping your baby in a stroller instead of in a baby carrier this is a sign of silkiness. Many crunchy moms are believed to like baby-wearing more than using stroller to move around with their baby.
7You Prefer Your Baby To Crib Sleep
If bed-sharing or having a "family bed" is not your thing, you might prefer your baby to sleep separate from you in a crib. The crib could be in your room, which is a co-sleeping arrangement, as explained on Kelly Mom. Or the crib could be outside of your room in a nursery.
8You Use (Or Plan To Use) Sleep Training Methods
There are a several sleep training methods for babies nowadays, but the most common inlcude: Cry It Out (CIO), Pick Up/Put Down (PUPD), the Ferber Method (or "Ferberizing"), and the Chair Method, according to the Baby Sleep Site. Crunchy moms tend to rely on baby led sleep techniques which simply involve responding to the baby's cues. Crunchy moms don't worry about establishing a pattern or schedule.
9You Rely On Modern Conveniences And Gear
It's true that our parents and the parents before them raised babies with basically no gear. Maybe a crib and baby pushcar (old speak for "stroller").
In the millennia, moms have millions of products marketed to them, most of which tout convenience. The modern mantra is: multi task more efficiently and do everything faster. The moms who choose to buy and use these modern products are considered silky moms.
In the end, it doesn't matter if you're silky, crunchy, or scrunchy. These identifiers are only really helpful when looking for your mom tribe or your "village," but they don't really mean anything in the big picture. All moms have the propensity to be good moms, no matter what they prefer or believe in.
