Meet Mayim Bialik: Actress and Holistic Mom

“When I tried to go to a mom’s group run by a local kid’s gym, my first son was 3 months old. I left in tears. I did not want to learn how to leave my baby alone all night, how to get him to stop nursing, how to ‘control’ his ‘manipulation.’ I wanted to learn how to cook and nurse him at the same time. I wanted his cloth diapers to not leak. I wanted to help him use the potty. I wanted to develop our attachment 24/7. I had almost given up hope, when a friend who turned me on to homebirth years before told me she had found HMN in her small town. I called HMN that day and have been a faithful member ever since. I went to meetings, made friends, attended playgroups, and formed a community of diverse parents who wanted to live holistically and honestly. We agreed on some things and not on others, but what was critical was that I had found my tribe. No one thought I was weird for wanting to make my own cleaning supplies; in fact, we had an entire meeting on it! No one thought I was weird for sleeping with my babies because we had no bedroom for them but our own! No one thought I was weird for wanting to talk for hours about which cloth diapers were truly the best and easiest.”

“In HMN, I really found my people and it helped me gain confidence so that I did not feel defensive or ashamed to share my parenting choices when asked. As a person who is in the public eye, I don’t think I could have been this open about our lifestyle without HMN to help me through it all. I feel proud of my decisions and I know I make them because I choose to; not because someone else has told me to. I am not a “closet” holistic green person anymore; I am “out” thanks to HMN and proud of it! “ - Mayim Bialik

HMN Mama Mayim Bialik at the Go Green Expo with HMN CA Chapter Leaders, Los Angeles 2010

HMN Interviews Mayim Bialik:

About Mayim:
I am a former teen TV actress. I now have 2 boys, 10 months and almost 4. I am a SAHM and received my PhD in neuroscience in 2007 before I had baby #2. Returning to acting now that baby #2 is almost ready to start solids. I am planning to homeschool, I enjoy vegan cooking and baking, studying Judaism, and finding new ways to nurture myself when all of my time is spent caring for my family.

What got you interested in holistic living?
I was very interested in the environment and became a vegetarian as a teen. Friends of mine started down this holistic path when I was not even married yet; homebirth, BFing on demand, bedsharing, EC. I frankly thought it was so ‘out there’. But I saw the children that came from these choices: sensitive, healthy, happy, and I started studying child development. It all made sense and our journey began. We got married in 2003, and had our first son in 2005. Our holistic living has expanded more and more since we got married, and we are not done growing yet! My mom laughs because she fed us granola as kids and soy milk and always read labels. She was considered so ‘holistic’ by 70′s standards. She says I (and all HMN folks) have far surpassed her now in our holistic parenting!

What are your top three holistic passions?
Breastfeeding, making my own cleaning supplies, and compassionate parenting styles of gentle discipline.

What misperceptions do you think others have about holistic parenting?
That we are all self-obsessed privileged, permissive parents who give up personal happiness and lose our sense of self so that we can whine about what martyrs we are while secretly hating our lives, envying people with live-in help, and resenting our kids.

What not-so-holistic practice or lifestyle do you still participate in (or not want to give up)?
Aluminum foil. Can’t seem to shake it. I eliminated paper towels, cut plastic bags in half I’d say, started composting, practice EC, but I can’t figure out the aluminum foil thing!!!!

How has the Holistic Moms Network affected your life?
I found my tribe! When I had my first son, Mothering Magazine was my only support. La Leche meetings helped, but there were not enough like-minded people to help me on this path. Then the friend who first turned me on to this style of living told me about the Holistic Moms Network.

More About Mayim

Mayim Bialik captured hearts playing the young Bette Midler in the 1989 film Beaches, but is best known for her lead role as Blossom Russo in the early 1990′s NBC sitcom Blossom.  Mayim currently portrays Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS hit series The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon’s “friend who is a girl who is not his girlfriend.”

Mayim has appeared on a variety of beloved television programs from the 1980s and 1990s including Webster, MacGuyver and Murphy Brown.  In addition, she worked with Woody Allen in 1994′s Don’t Drink the Water and had a recurring role on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Mayim attended UCLA for a total of 12 years, received an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience, Hebrew, and Jewish Studies, and going on to complete a doctorate in Neuroscience in the field of Psychoneuroendocrinology, focusing on Obsessive-Compulsive Syndrome in Prader-Willi syndrome.