Having Children and Raising Children on a Farm

The old saying "It takes a village to raise a child" is very, very accurate. When Jed and I found ourselves thinking that we were prepared to have children (ha! What fools we were. Little did we know what we were getting into.) we thought that we would have to make some changes but as with farming, you never, ever know what you are getting yourself into. Things we did not take into consideration:

Pregnancy: All women react and respond differently to pregnancy. As my mother had six children and continued to work on things, I assumed that I would be able to keep up with my farm chores and that the only hinderance would be the fact that I would have a baby stuck on my torso. Well, that was not to be the case. I have a tendency to turn into a big baby (I pretty much just puke, sleep, and cry the whole time.) and was too exhausted to keep up with most chores. I wish, wish, wish I could have warned a couple of people about this as they were preparing to venture on their journey as well, but I find that we always think that it will be different with us, and as sometimes it is I felt it better to keep my mouth shut. So for any of you thinking about starting a family while working on your garden or your farm, just be sure you have a proper support group as you might find that you are unable to keep up. For the partner; your pregnant parter might turn insane and you'll be in charge of all the house chores and taking care of the farm. Make sure you have proper support for you too as you'll need help taking care of everything and yourself.

Farm/Garden after birth: Well, I can honestly say that no amount of books or experience with other people's babies will ever really prepare you for you venture into parenthood. I've watched other people cut back on farming/gardening because it's a lot to take care of. Plants are living creatures as well and have to be taken care of, but your small human will take up most of your time. If you do not have any help, remember that you might have to take time away for a bit and come back to it when your child is old enough to enjoy helping you. Taking care of a small human takes a lot out of you; physically, mentally, emotionally, this is where the village comes in. Make sure you have support. Forget the farm/garden if you must, take care of yourself and your child. Even in a two parent household it will suck the energy out of you. Don't be afraid to ask for help and to see if someone can help you so that you can take a shower, brush your teeth, possibly eat, and if you're lucky sleep.

Farming/Gardening with a toddler and beyond: It's awesome. There seems to be no other environment that is more natural for a child then in the garden. Exploration is at a max during this time period and the need and want to be outside exploring the tastes of the garden, the smells of the plants, the physical activity of digging, pulling plants, eating the fruit when you don't think your parents are looking, climbing trees, chasing the animals, collecting the eggs, etc. We, personally, had a rough go at it since Ivan had a speech delay, but he has flourished in the physical aspect since he's able to run around and be him. He loves the rewards of the fruit as they ripen and the feel of the tree as he climbs higher and higher with no sense of self preservation. Don't worry about the time you took away from the garden, but get back to it so that your child will learn to appreciate and love nature and the plant world. That and it gives them something to do to distract them and you as well. Enjoy the time in the garden and definitely enjoy the fruits of you combined labor (if you get any) although to to get at least one because the little guys seem to sneak out as soon as anything ripens and they eat it first.