About

I am a lawyer turned work at home mama to an amazing son and daughter. I’m also fairly crunchy, but I’m not crunchier than thou. My hubby and I practice natural parenting (also known as attachment or responsive parenting) and try to live consciously. In other words, we believe in natural birth, exclusive/extended breastfeeding, delayed/selective vaccinations, cloth diapering, no circumcision, a family bed, healthy eating, and “going green” as much as possible.

I have three loves in my life – Tom, my partner of six years (and husband of three), Kieran, our son, and Ailia, our daughter. Kieran was born in December, 2007; Ailia was born in November, 2011.

Kieran is the most cuddly, vivacious little ball of sunshine I’ve ever had the honor of knowing. I’ve often said that if we hadn’t discovered natural parenting, natural parenting would have discovered us. It has been such a journey for all of us to learn how to connect and nurture each other, instead of merely reacting.

Kieran was born sunny side up at a birth center with a midwife. We planned at having Ailia at home with a midwife, but she was so eager to get here that the midwife never made it, and Ailia was born at home into her papa’s hands after a short 2.5 hour labor.

Ailia has only graced us with her presence for a few short weeks at the time of this update, but already we are marveling at how she is developing her own personality. She loves her big brother, I think he has gotten the most smiles from her. I cannot wait to watch them grow!

We spend our days living, learning, and laughing at home and around town in Kansas City. I help coordinate a learning cooperative through our local AP community, so we enjoy a variety of fun and educational opportunities year round.

In my spare time, I write at Code Name: Mama to share information, resources, and my thoughts on natural parenting, consensual living, eclectic learning, and compassionate advocacy.

I’m also excited to have been featured in several popular print magazines and online parenting and green sites, including Natural Life Magazine, KC Parent, API Speaks, Sustainablog, PhD in Parenting, Hobo Mama, and more. See “My Guest Posts Elsewhere” for a complete list with links. Please take time to visit some of the sites and bloggers who have been kind enough to feature my writing.

As Kieran’s age (and my family size) increases, my spare time decreases, so I welcome guest posts on any topic related to natural parenting, consensual living, eclectic learning, or compassionate advocacy. Take a look at the previous guest posts on Code Name: Mama, and email me if you have an idea for a post: Dionna {at} CodeNameMama {dot} com.

Parenting has become my passion in life, and I am fortunate to have found an incredible community of bloggers with similar philosophies. We’d love to have you join us as you walk your own parenting journey.

Please check out the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting that I co-host with Lauren of Hobo Mama. And if you’re looking for a wider community of parents who identify with natural parenting, come over to Natural Parents Network – a site I cofounded (also with Lauren) to inform, empower, and inspire parents. If you’re specifically interested in breastfeeding-related topics, check out NursingFreedom.org, a site I cofounded with Paige of Baby Dust Diaries.

I love to connect with readers, so feel free to reach out to me! I’m active on Facebook (you can even email me a question and I’ll repost it for my readers; same thing for NPN’s Facebook page), pretty good at responding to email (Dionna {at} CodeNameMama {dot} com or use my contact page), and I try hard to be present on Twitter.

Thank you for reading!