Dammit!

You ever attend a family get-together and there's one weird branch of the tree?

Crap...it's me. *chuckles*

Growing up we always had one aunt who was way more eccentric than the rest. Her life was a glamorous mystery, shrouded in a haze of WTF and wow.

I don't think my haze is quite so magical--I just do things my way versus what's traditional.

My biological family is the typical family I guess. Bottles and rice cereal, no postpartum rest periods, and babies fed as soon as they hit six months. The moms in the fold are quick to let you know "We are a Similac family, nothing else ever worked for any baby here."

Babies go to daycare at two weeks old, it isn't uncommon to have several sitters in rotation, and as soon as they begin attending daycare, they also have overnights with relatives.

(No shade to them, just illustrating why holiday visits are so weird for me...)

And then there's me...I am a breastfeeding, baby-wearing, homeschooling, revolution-believing mama who alternates between a salwar kameez or saree or jeans and a sassy black girl magic tee. Bonus points if I've got on the dupatta or headwrap. My kids have never had sitters, they don't stay overnight anywhere without me or Dad, and I could not tell you which formula any of them could take because they've each only had breastmilk and then food.

Speaking of food...I feel like the last weirdo standing here as well. My babies aren't fed by age. They've so far been little milky monsters who had limited interest in anything but their milk until well after six months.

The reason any of this is relevant is because it's holiday season. Even though I'm NOT feeling it, I do occasionally reach out to my biological family and extend an olive twig. (Haven't worked my way up to a branch yet...Baby steps.)

I always feel like I'm under a microscope though. They tend to treat my little unit a little differently, and it irks me. We do things the way we are comfortable, but we don't force it on anyone else. I mean, sure, my kids like kale chips (ewwwwww, BTW...weirdos!) BUT they also have a crazy fondness for those little Gushers fruit snacks and will demolish a bag of Doritos in two seconds flat.

I guess my point is, most parents are NOT doing what they do to feel superior or more than the next.

Nah.

We're trying to get through the day!

Even  so, I'm still bracing for a rousing round of the following...

*You're gonna wean soon, right?
*You're going to do public school for high school though?
*Oh, a little *insert food the baby CANNOT have, because she cannot physically eat it* never hurt anyone.
*Aren't you tired of wearing them in that pouch?
*We formula feed and it was wonderful.
*We never coslept, and our kids are fine.
*Rice cereal helps them sleep!

...oy vey, we may stay home.

Seriously.