What is attachment parenting

This is how I apply AP in our lives :

1) I breastfeed on demand. I don't watch the clock
2) My breasts are my 18month old son's pacifier. I respond with my breast at night when he cries
3) We co-sleep with both our kids, even though my daughter is 6yrs old but she is a bit scared of sleeping on her own (long story but basically, I'm just not going to force her when she has a fear)
4) I believe in responding immediately when a baby cries.
5) I don't believe in sleep training, especially the Crying It Out method (CIO)
6) Both my kids slept mostly in my arms day & night when they were babies. Not always but if they didn't want to sleep when I tried to lay them down, I kept them in my arms. Best feeling in the world

Well, that is basically what I can think of at the moment but there is so much more to AP so I think we will have a nice discussion here.

Will PM you for now MomToc. Just want to sus things out a little. A bit worried that I will be "Tracked" down again.

I understand completely Kinderelomelo but now you making me curious who you were before as I can see you are a local here and wondering if I know you by previous posts.

HI Lizzy7, congrats on your pregnancy.

This is what AP (attachment parenting) means to me :

Attachment parenting is based on responding to a baby’s needs, which in infancy include staying in very close proximity to the parent. Once the baby learns that her caretakers are reliably nurturing and protective, she builds on this internal security as she proceeds to the next developmental tasks of exploration, mastery of the environment, and forming relationships with others.

Babies are born helpless because of their big brains. To survive, they need parents to keep them from harm’s way for many years, and to teach them survival skills. So all humans are born seeking close attachments.

But Attachment Parenting is not a set of rules, and every parent uses it a bit differently. Parenting is an art, not a science. As always, use your own deepest wisdom to decide what's best for you and your family.

Hi Kinderelomelo and Momtoc

I am 27 weeks pregnant.with a baby girl, this is my first pregnancy. I have heard of attachment parenting and am very interested to learn more...

Would love to hear your stories.

Wonderful to find you here Momtoc. I am not putting up too much info of my family here because I like to keep things private and found out recently that my SIL had found out I chat here and so I changed my account name and deleted a lot of my previous history on this forum. I am in cape Town though, have 3 kids aged 8,5,2 a Boy and 2 Girls.

Hi there Kinderelomelo

I practice attachment parenting with my 2 kiddos and damn proud of it

I am proud to practice attachment parenting with my 3 Children. Would love to hear from other AP parents and perhaps start a little community here.