Attachment Parenting

finished a book on Attachment Parenting the other day. Basically, AP involves breastfeeding on cue, baby-wearing, and co-sleeping. I first learned about this when I was pregnant, but I didn't really think I'd raise my baby like this until she came and it just felt so right.

The idea is the babies are the most helpless kind of humans and they need to be watched over and cared for continually, having their needs met as soon as possible. They say that by wearing your baby, sleeping with it, and having the breast readily available you ensure that your baby's needs are heard and met more quickly and more easily then they might be otherwise. Also, nursing should not be thought of a just a means of sustenance, but as a bonding practice between mother and baby and a way to sooth and nurture a tired, scared, or upset little baby.

It was nice to read about all the benefits of this kind of natural parenting approach. I think too often people think it will result in clingy, needy children, but the authors say that it actually allows your child to move confidently from one stage of development to the next. If you rush a child into independence or into some sort of preconceived schedule too quickly, they might actually become more clingy and insecure.

I don't think I will follow all recommendations in the book (i.e. nursing until around age 4), but I think what they said made a lot of sense and they had some good research and anthropological evidence to back up their claims. I don't really have the time to write out all the interesting little things from the book, but you can always ask me about it sometime and I'll share more.