How did you learn about attachment parenting?

[Mitsuko]

Just because I'm curious! Since doctors don't really encourage it, I wondered how you found out about natural parenting and why you decided to follow that path...

Were you brought up like this ? Do you know other natural parents IRL who convinced you it was the way to go? Did you just educate yourself on the internet?



(I'll read the answers tomorrow... Going to bed now!)

PS: You can also answer even if you're only cloth diapering or babywearing!

 

[thelilbump]

Nope it just happened for me. I hadn't planned it, wasn't brought up that way and none of my friends follow the path. I just did what was best for us and what came naturally.

 

[Lu28]

I had heard of it initially through a friend who I met in TTC (Elm) and she had read up on it and described it in her pregnancy journal. I found it interesting but didn't think it'd be for me. After Aisling arrived I found myself bit by bit fitting more into this section, babywearing, using cloth nappies, bfing, BLW etc etc. Absolutely none of it was planned, I just ended up here the long way around!

 

[Kota]

I had no idea there was even a name for it!!
I bought my first carrier at 21 from a charity shop because I liked the pattern and thought it was cute that I'd be able to one day carry my baby around on my front... that was 8yrs ago and I actually still have that carrier! BW'ing more recently was just easier for our lifestyle then using a pram.
I wanted to BF simply because I have always just figured that humans are primarily mammals, and mammals are designed to feed their young from themselves.
I always planned on having P in the same room as us for up to 8months as due to moving countries and staying with family for 2-3 months we weren't going to have a choice, as it turns out, we bed share as that's the only way he'll sleep.

It really did just come naturally, I think sometimes we get so caught up in modern practices and procedures and are in such a rush for things to happen that we forget where we've come from. none of these practices are new age or hippy, most of them have been around for hundreds of years and are still practised today in many other cultures.

 

[anothersquish]

I didnt even realise what I did with my last baby even had a name like "natural" or "attachment" parenting. I just did what felt right to us.
I certainly wasnt brought up this way, I was FF after about 6/8 weeks, left to CIO, always in a pushchair etc Im not around anyone else who does it either, I dont even know anyone who has BF beyond a year, I dont know anyone who BLW and only Freddies mom who uses cloth but thats because I gave her a load of my small nappies for him! Certainly dont know anyone who babywears aside from one girl I saw at baby massage once who had a tomy type carrier.

Its just what works, it suits our lifestyle and personalities, we are never stressed about a routine or sleeping through or settling in a cot....it just makes everything so laid back and thats essentially who we are.

 

[Rachel_C]

I stumbled across this section because I was looking for info about cloth nappies but I only really read the nappy related threads at first. Then Leyla was born and we just did what felt right. I had no time or energy for reading the baby books I'd bought while pregnant, so I didn't know whether what we were doing was 'right' or not. Then as I started reading more in the NP section, I realised that we fitted in here with other things too, like not CIO etc. Since then, as we come to new stages of Leyla's life I normally see what the ladies here do because I know they're on a similar wavelength e.g. I heard about BLW here and thought what a good idea it was.

 

[BeccaMichelle]

I just started parenting in the style that felt instinctive for me. I'd wanted to read a few baby books and heard Dr. Sears was a good source so started with his. It was really amusing to find that the manner in which my husband and I parent is actually a "style" of parenting. It's just what came naturally. My mom called it a case of "duh." You do what feels right for you and your baby. The same thing people have been doing for hundreds of years. I gave the book to my hubby to read. He got through the first chapter, looked at me and said "why am I reading this? It's common sense!"

I replied, "Just thought you'd like to know that according to this guy we're doing the right things."

Of course I'd seen "Attachment Parenting" in some people's sigs and wondered what it was all about so did some googling as well.

Pretty much the way my mom raised me as well. Lots of love is never a bad thing.

 

[FemmeEnceinte]

I fell into it myself by just letting Molly lead me and doing whatever worked. Then I saw this section and fell into other things like cloth and went full on NP.

I was FF from birth, weaned at 10 weeks (I actually was fed a rusk in my formula when I was 3 days old and my mother had to cut the teat for it to flow as it was so thick - all because my grandmother said it would make me sleep) I was given whiskey on my gums when I teethed, left to CIO and passed off to my grandparents every weekend for a decade so that my parents could continue their youth. I slept in a crib or my pram. That was just the start... yet, here I am, a million miles different to the people my parents are and parenting completely differently.

People might say I parent so differently because of my upbringing but I don't think that's true, more often than not people do things the way their parents did and that's why some of the outdated ideas that are around now still remain. Plus, I like to think I am who I am despite everything, never because.

 

[Bayleaf]

It only recently dawned on me that what we do isn't mainstream. I mean surely following your baby's lead is common sense?!
My twin sister and I were super high maintenance as babies so my parents just worked out things themselves and a lot of it was AP type stuff. It didn't have a name then though.
My italian great grandmother BFed all of her 6 children till the they were 2+ years old ( and some kids from the neighbourhood- apparently she 'had enough milk for the whole street'). I think it's good to bear in mind that the notion of 'training' a newborn to be independent has only been around for the last 50-60 years

 

[hopedance]

i had no idea the way i felt about parenting/the parenting choices we made had a name. i was reading some article ages ago and kept thinking 'OMG YES THAT'S WHAT I THINK TOO', then it referenced attachment parenting, which i googled, and it all fell into place, lol.

 

[mommyof3co]

With Casen we just did what his personality needed, I didn't realize what AP was until later on. When I joined a cloth diapering forum I really learned about it and started researching more on it and realized we were already doing most of it with him and then planned to continue on when Hayden was born and as they have all 3 grown.

 

[OmiOmen]

I have never read about or know anyone who does attachment/natural parenting and I defiantly was not brought up that way. I just feel I fit into this section since a lot (but not all) of the views me and DH have and our natural instincts fall under that label. I would not actually use the label, it is more about what feels natural to us. We do get people questioning things like bringing up a vegetarian child once we start weaning or why we would want to make our own baby food. Not everyone gets why we would use cloth nappies (although most people are very impressed when they see them). Many people seem to be of the opinion that you should do what is quickest and easiest which annoys me since I feel like I am doing what is best for my LO and things like breastfeeding are not always easy to do.

I am not sure that all health professionals are against all of the natural parenting style, although I know many are about things like co-sleeping. DH always have our son with us unless he is in his cot on a night and once I have healed from my c-section I will be baby wearing and the view from a lot of midwives I have met is that you have had a baby and you may as well enjoy your time with them. I know every midwife, doctor and nurse I have met has gone out of their way to show support with breastfeeding. I had to have an overnight stay in the children's hospital with my little man on Monday night and every sentence ended with "...because your a breastfeeding mum" with them not being able to do enough for me and I got the impression they would be quite hard on formula feeding mums. Many or my community midwives seem to be impressed that we are using and washing are own nappies too.