Mom2Mom Lounge

Carrie Lauth is a natural mom, she works from home and home school’s her 4 children. Carrie also hosts an internet radio show (podcast) called Natural Moms Talk Radio to help other moms find their way. Let’s meet Carrie and find out all about what being a natural mom is all about.

1. Tell us about your show, Natural Moms Talk Radio and what it’s all
about.

We discuss topics that are of interest to moms who are trying to do
things naturally - so that includes a lot of things. I’ve interviewed
experts and authors of natural childbirth, breastfeeding,
homeschooling, natural health, gentle discipline, etc. I believe that
moms are the experts though and some of my favorite shows have been
with ordinary moms.

 2. When did you become a “natural mom?” Did it begin when you had
kids or were you always more “naturally” inclined?

I was always that way probably because of how I was raised. My best
friend used to tease me and say we ate “bird seed” at my house. My mom
was really interested in nutrition so we ate a very healthy diet - I
didn’t drink soda pop until I was a preteen. We never had stuff like
potato chips or store bought cookies. It was milk and peanut butter
cookies made with whole wheat flour and fresh ground peanuts! But I
certainly wasn’t deprived, there was always Grandma’s house. I would
eat pound cake and feel sick afterwards so I quickly made the
connection, even as a child, between diet and health.

As a teen I experimented with vegetarianism (it’s not for me!) and
also used alternative healing to cure myself of a chronic health
condition, so that experience taught me a lot.

My mom also talked at length about her birth and mothering
experiences. I wrote about this recently on my blog
(http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/in-which-i-ask-nell-about-tough-decisions-and-talk-about-birth/)
and that had a lot of impact on me choosing natural birth. Watching my
sister’s experiences also influenced me.

I really feel for moms who are trying to make decisions that are
different than what the other women in their family make because there
is a lot of pressure to keep up the status quo. I used to see that in
my work as a breastfeeding counselor. Moms would get pressure from
their mother or mother in law if they were the first mom in the family
trying to make breastfeeding work. I was lucky to have my mom and
sister to copy.

Homeschooling was a pretty natural pick for me because I did
homeschool from 8th grade on and really loved that. My nephews are
also homeschooled and I’ve seen the results. Another thing that has
influenced my decisions is the fact that I really love researching and
reading, so I don’t always believe what someone in charge is telling
me. Maybe there’s a touch of a rebel there? LOL!

3. As a mom of 4 kids, who home schools, and runs a very successful
online business, how do you find time for a podcast?

The show actually takes up less of my time than the other stuff! The
show kind of has a life of its own, that’s why it’s so beneficial to
have a podcast no matter what your business model. The reason being -
my guests almost always come to me and after their interview they
market my show for me by linking to it and telling their readers! How
else can you get that kind of free publicity? The show grows on its
own without a lot of work from me - I wish I could say that about my
other websites.

4. Your philosophy is all about natural mothering, can you explain
that?

I wrote a pretty lengthy explanation of my philosophy in a cross blog
conversation with another work at home mom here:
http://naturalmomstalkradio.com/blog/alyssa-wants-to-know-whats-a-natural-mom/

In a nutshell, I believe moms are the experts of their babies - not
men who have never given birth or suckled a baby at their breast, not
Doctors with long strings of initials after their name, not people in
white coats with Ph.Ds, not teachers or administration or the
government! Moms.

I think we were given instincts to help quide us and when we ignore
those, bad things happen. There are so many examples of this but I’ll
name two: birth and breastfeeding. When men entered the arena of
birth, infant mortality went through the roof because back then,
doctors didn’t have the good sense to wash their hands before going
from a dead body to the birthing mother. Midwives had much better
outcomes because they know that birthing women know what to do -
Doctors want to “manage” birth instead of allowing it to take place
and getting out of the way (and being there in case of emergency,
which is what their job is).

With breastfeeding, women knew they didn’t need to worry too much
about it and “low milk supply” and other breastfeeding “challenges”
were almost unheard of! Then came men with their “scientific”
“formula” that was far superior to mother’s milk because it could be
measured in ounces. I don’t mean to sound like I’m down on men because
I’m not - it’s the issue of women not valuing and trusting themselves
and so giving away their power, which I believe was given to them by
God. He gave us the ability to grow and carry the babies in our bodies
and we also have the capability to birth them without medicine, and to
nourish them for the better part of the first two years of their
lives. Most of the time the process works without a hitch.

So why do we have to look to some expert to tell us what to do?
Especially when our gut is screaming at us to do the opposite thing?
I’m glad to see that the pendulum is swinging back into the right
direction. I see more experts saying that parents should trust
themselves more.

 5. Can you share some of your favorite online shops for “green” goods
or natural parenting websites?

Sure. Mothering.com is a great library of information.
Natural-Moms.com has a large collection of articles.
HeirloomWoodenToys.com has a wonderful selection of wooden toys. And
some of my favorite sites are blogs, like Tiffany Washko’s
NatureMoms.com

Thanks so much for talking to us Carrie. You can find Carrie’s show and many other awesome shows for moms at Moms Talk Radio