Some of my blogging buddies practice Attachment Parenting, and I think that’s great. I don’t personally practice it, and I don’t even think I knew what it was when Joshua was born. It involves, among other things, co-sleeping, extended breastfeeding, and stay-at-home-parenting. If you want to learn about it from someone who actually knows what she’s talking about, check out Adventures in Babywearing or the Crunchy Domestic Goddess.
So, like I said, I don’t practice Attachment Parenting. But my children seem to be advocates for said lifestyle. I am a stay-at-home-mom, and I breastfed Joshua until he was 13 months old, but I’ve never co-slept (except a couple nights on vacation with Sophie this summer because she was up every hour!) mainly because a) I am a very light sleeper and have some as-yet-undiagnosed sleeping problems and b) my hubby is a very heavy sleeper and I’m afraid he’d definitely and unknowingly squish a baby by rolling on it. However, at the age of three, Joshua has decided he’d like to co-sleep with me (not Daddy). He’s had two different phases where we’ve had a hard time getting him to go to bed in his bed without a fight. He’s just coming out of one of those phases, but even though he’s going to bed fine, he still manages to wander into our bedroom somewhere between three and four a.m. several nights a week. Once he’s there, I pull him into bed with us because I am too tired to do otherwise. He whines and fusses about Daddy being in the bed until I wake my husband up out of exhaustion and frustration and he splits. Then I pray Joshua is tired enough to go back to sleep without wallowing all over me, so that I might also get some rest.
And that’s just Joshua.
Sophia, at ten-and-a-half months, is very attached to me. I didn’t have to make any special efforts there. She wants to be on me all the time. She is constantly climbing up my leg – my husband just shakes his head in wonder. “She sure loves her mama,†he says. Understatement of the year! I really should’ve just bought a nice sling months ago so I could just wear her 24/7. It would be much more convenient. Then I wouldn’t have to pry her off my leg all the time so I could walk. The other night I was trying to eat dinner and she was standing at my side, pulled up on me, rubbing her face all over my lap. Then Joshua, who was grumpy, climbed in my lap as well. Neither wanted their Daddy, even though they generally love him a lot. I guess this should make me feel like every woman or something but it generally just makes me claustrophobic (and hungry)!
Sophia is also going to be an AP advocate on the nursing front. She still looooves to nurse. I planned to nurse her about 13 or 14 months but I am pretty sure I won’t be able to wean her until she’s about six. She is very fond of rubbing her face into my chest or licking my shirt when she wants to nurse. She’s very subtle, that one. I do love nursing her, I just hope I won’t have to finally put my foot down and wean her so that she can go to kindergarten.
If I had it to do over again, maybe I’d go back in time and practice AP, because honestly, at this point, I’m not sure I have a choice anymore!
