First up, crunchy mamas get mauled in the news!

A few weeks ago, columnists everywhere raised eyebrows when Mayim Balik mentioned that she breastfeeds her 3-and-a-half-year-old son, co sleeps, and practices elimination communication.

Next, the web lit up like a pinball machine when Alicia Silverstone posted this notorious video of her feeding her son Bear Blue as if he were a baby bird.

Then late last week, the heat shifted to January Jones, whose eating her encapsulated placenta after giving birth to her son Xavier.

Now, don’t get me wrong. You might not be interested in doing one – or any – of these activities. But the fact that these have become such big STORIES with people getting all worked up about it is kinda concerning.

Each mama makes her own choices in how she raises her kids. We don’t see stories on stars that feed their kids junk food or chose elective c-sections, so why all the fuss with the crunchier side of mommyhood?

My take is as long as it’s not life threatening or cause harm to the child or mama, let it be.
And if we’re all on a mission to crunch up this world, looks like we’ve got a lot of work let to do.

Next, one of my favorite childhood memories is dyeing Easter eggs. I felt like a magician as the swirls of color lit up those eggs instantaneously.

But who the heck knows what’s in those conventional dye kits.

Luckily, my friend Heather, aka the Mommypotamus, just published a piece about how to create beautifully-colored Easter eggs naturally.

And she does so with everyday ingredients like seasonings, vegetables, and fruits.

For instance, she uses two cups water plus 3/4 tablespoons turmeric to create a vibrant yellow.

Or two cups water + two cups grated beets for a beautiful pink.

Or two cups yellow onion peels plus five cups water for a rich orange.

For more colors, plus step-by-step instructions, visit Heather’s blog at mommypotamus.com.

First up, natural mama Kristen gave birth to her baby boy, Oliver, on January 22nd at home. Interestingly enough, Kristen got pregnant last April, only 3 weeks after she contacted a midwife about starting an apprenticeship program.

Maybe it was just thinking about being around all of those pregnant women and their hormones!

She made it 8 days past her due date but still felt great. She began laboring on the 21st but only was in active labor for 8 hours. Her transition period was longer than normal, lasting for about 3 hours. WOWZERS! And mamas, she was exhausted, but when she finally felt the urge to push, she gathered all of her strength and pushed for thirty minutes and little man Oliver was born.

She said “it was the greatest experience of her life and absolutely loved being able to birth in her own home. She said Oliver is the happiest, most calm little around… aw, congratulations to you mama Kristen and baby Oliver!

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Next up, natural mama Bonita wanted to share her two birth stories to give hope to mamas who are afraid of having big babies.

See, she gave birth to her second son Sam at home after a traumatic hospital birth with her 9lb 2oz daughter, where she barely avoided a c-section.

As Sam’s delivery approached, she knew she was in store for another big baby. Her labor started at 40 weeks 4 days in the middle of the night. She labored for awhile and then had her midwife and doula come to her home which allowed her to begin a Skype session with her husband, who was deployed at the time.

Mama labored for 6 more hours and finally felt the urge to push… Half an hour later her son Sam was born. And he was 10lbs 4oz!

The stakes get even higher with Mama’s second homebirth with daughter Dorothy last September. She began to labor in late afternoon at 41 weeks and 6 days. She walked with her kids and husband to encourage labor. She then ate half a lasagna at dinner and sang through the contractions. Love her spirit!

Her midwife didn’t think she was very far along since mama could talk through contractions, so they decided to wait to have her come over.

But this baby had other plans. Before mama knew it, her instincts took over, she starting pushing in the tub and daddy just managed to catch baby as she came speeding out. Baby girl weighed in at 10lb 6oz!

Whew! Big babies and homebirths. Who says they don’t mix. Thanks to Bonita for sharing!

Finally, Easter is the 2nd most candy-focused holiday in the US, where we consumed 7 billion pounds of candy last year!

That’s a lot of marshmallow peeps!

Of course, as natural mamas, we want to find healthier alternatives to the traditional corn syrup choices. But that doesn’t mean you have to skip having candy altogether for Easter.

I like Yummy Earth because I can find it at Whole Foods and their products are artificial dye, flavoring, corn, dairy, nut and soy free!

If you are looking for some homemade ideas, here are a few to spark your imagination:

Frozen yogurt eggs
Aren’t those pretty? And the ingredients are just yogurt and fruit

Lemon poppy seed bunny cookies. They’re gluten free to boot!
Or how about these adorable Easter Chicks for a healthy snack?

Now, not all treats have to be edible.

For my family, I’ve decided to focus on the true spirit of the holiday, which is new life. Little Griffin is going to get a goldfish pet as part of his Easter goodies. Can’t wait to see his face light up!

So think outside the box….or better yet, the basket!