Attachment Parenting

by Rachel on June 5, 2010

So I recently joined the BaltAP (Baltimore attachment parenting) yahoo group.  I never really had heard the term “attachment parenting” before I had Connor and even after I heard it I was still confused about what it actually is.  I decided to join the group to find out for sure, and to meet some other local attachment mamas.  I’m positive that there is a yahoo group like this in almost every city in this country, so you can see if there is one in your area.

It turns out that this is a VERY active group, I get sometimes get 40+ e-mails a day from people in the group discussing all sorts of attachment parenting ideals.  It turns out, that based on the topics, this was the perfect group for me!  I guess whether I knew it or not, I am practice attachment parenting.  Topics range from breastfeeding to natural childbirth to home remedies to self weaning to ECing and cloth diapers.  I love reading the daily digest because I feel there is such endless knowledge from those mothers who have had their own experiences with attachment parenting.

I have and always will be an advocate for many of these topics, but I am by no means an expert.  Heck, I’m a novice…learning as I go.  I just do what feels right to me as a mother, I do, what I’m sure my mother did for me.

What experiences do you think have shaped your attachment parenting style?  Do you get overwhelmed, or just go with the flow?  I’d love to hear more from mommas out there with great insight…I love learning more each day about raising a family :)

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Tagged as: attachment parenting, Breastfeeding, ECing, home remedies, natural birth, self weaning, weaning

7 comments

Article by Rachel McFadden

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  • sarah

    Hello,

    My girl is 13 now but I was thinking about how Green a momma I was without ever hearing of the title “green”. I was just a hippie. I was a vegan my whole pregnancy. I used cloth diapers, which was pretty gross when it came to opening up that diaper barrel. I made my own baby food like mashed berries and mashed veggies and mashed taters among other mashed things. I breast feed for 14 months. NOT an easy endeavor as my baby would only latch onto one breast. So I pumped a great deal. Thank God when the electric pump came on the market let me tell you! My baby was a vegetarian for 6 years. Then, she wanted to try meat. Now, she wants to go back to being a vegetarian. That’s my story in a nutshell!!

    ~Sarah

    • http://www.greenbabiesblog.org Rachel McFadden

      It’s definitely just a word…silly I think, but it has made a big impact these days. I hear so many parents of older children saying they did the same things that I do, but they didn’t have a name for it then. I’m so glad they recognize why I am they way I am and don’t think I’m a nut!

  • http://www.29diapers.com Laura Cowan

    That’s funny. I avoided learning all the terms and reading books about specific childrearing “religions,” if you will, because I wanted to make decisions one by one about how I was going to raise my daughter, not do it all like someone else thought I should. BUT, I am breastfeeding, cloth diapering, doing early potty training, leaning toward self-weaning, and DEFINITELY had a natural birth, at home, minimal interventions. So, I think that pretty much qualifies me as a card-carrying member for attachment parenting, doesn’t it? And I didn’t even know it. :)

  • http://www.sparklingadventures.com Lauren

    I’m breastfeeding but I use disposable nappies. I don’t co-sleep but I wear my baby. But I cook all my own food (we don’t eat takeaway or pre-packaged food, and I don’t buy baby food.) So it’s always a balance — what works for one family may not suit another.

    I’m your newest follower. Please follow me back at http://www.sparklingadventures.com. Thanks!

    Love, Lauren (in Australia)

  • http://parentingbythelightofthemoon.blogspot.com Witch Mom

    Hey there! I am also new to attachment parenting (heck, new to parenting altogether!), but it is a perfect for for me. I even promote one of the main principles of AP (“crying it out” causes insecure, detached adults) on my blog here:
    http://parentingbythelightofthemoon.blogspot.com/2010/06/attachment-parenting-psa.html

    Basically, I believe that crying is an attempt to communicate needs that the baby can’t meet for her/himself. But what a baby can do is cry for assistance. If we ignore that cry, we are teaching that the child has no connection to us, nor does it have an impact on the world.

    As a witch and a mom, those are the exact opposite lessons I want to teach my son! I believe that we are all connected and divine and should have our needs met! And I want him to feel like he has that ability now, so that he knows he has that ability later as an adult.

  • http://tweepoppets.blogspot.com Twee Poppets

    New follower here! Hope you can come visit me, too! :)

    http://tweepoppets.blogspot.com

    By the way, thanks for sharing this! I’m a huge advocate of attachment parenting, so it’s nice to know that a resource like this exists! :D

  • Pingback: Why my Baby Cried

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