questions questions ????

[rylea's mum]

hi everyone:)
just wanted to ask a few questions
1..... with ap did any of you wean your baby or did you let them wean themselves?
i ask because i dont think rylea will ever self wean, im not ready to stop yet but i would like to know how other mothers have dealt with this...

2...... what is babywearing, i feel silly being ap but not knowing what that is


3...... is there any ap out there who dont use cloth nappies?


thanks ladies:D

[the_queen]

Hi Tanya :wave:

1. I plan on letting DS self-wean. DD had a cleft lip so breastfeeding was a real struggle for us, and didn't continue past 4 months old, but this time around it's very easy and challenge-free so I'm going to BF for as long as he wants it.

2. Babywearing is simply carrying your baby in a sling/carrier/pouch thingo.

http://www.wearyourbaby.com

http://www.thebabywearer.com

http://www.carryingaway.com

I have a Hug-A-Bub (http://www.hugabub.com/) and I find it is really really great.

3. I use cloth nappies :D But I'm sure there's some APers who use sposies - IMO APing is not so much a list of rules that you must stick to, it's more of a general attitude.

:thumbsup:

[Can I?]

Hi Tanya

My son is in the process of self weaning (I think) atm. He is 27 months old. He is currently only having one feed in each 24 hour period. I just give it to him when he asks. The duration of that one feed is getting much shorter, so I'm guessing that one day he just won't ask for it. Then he might ask again the next day or whatever. There was a time when I thought this little guy would never wean, he is very attached to my boobs, but he is just too busy these days. I'm not sure how I feel about it, sometimes I wish he would keep feeding, but at others I feel happy to see him growing into such an independent young man.

I agree with the queen.....babywearing is grouse....so is the hugabub. For an older bub I love my ergo.....so comfy and convenient.

I think cloth nappies are more of a natural parent choice, so not really ap at all. A lot of aps are also into np just because it is often a more gentle and holistic approach to health. I just love my cloth nappies because they are soft, breathable and very funky!

[LucyE]

1..... with ap did any of you wean your baby or did you let them wean themselves?
i ask because i dont think rylea will ever self wean, im not ready to stop yet but i would like to know how other mothers have dealt with this...
I 'encouraged' DS to wean at 20 months. I would have been happy for him to self wean whenever (probably closer to 6years the way he loved his booby LOL) but we wanted to ttc #2 and I did not want to feed during pregnancy. Weaning DS was not at all traumatic for him, we did it very slowly over approx 6 months.

I started cutting out morning feeds by just having his breakfast ready as soon as he was awake. Then we cut out most of the day feeds (except the lunch time nap one) by just being too busy with activities. Then it was the lunch time nap and just before bed feed by substituting other sleep cues (ahhh, back to the rocking :banghead: ). Then the overnight feeds which resulted in the only weaning related crying because he just didn't understand why not. It only happened for one night (I am obviously still traumatised by it :o ) and I think it also had to do with genuine hunger because he ate half a box of cruskits. I had already been leaving a water bottle next to him at night so he was accustomed to that. The following day, I noticed he ate more and then didn't ask for booby that night. The last feed to go was the evening one before dinner. Each night when he pulled off after that feed, I would make a big deal about asking if he was finished because that was all the booby he would get for the day. At first he would just stay on (hee hee, DH had to cook dinner and I sat watching telle for as long as DS wanted boob) for ages but then it came to Christmas time and there was too much activitiy going on with cousins visiting and gran that he would only take small feeds and then want to go back and play. Then one night he just didn't ask and I didn't offer. And that's how we gently weaned. It was so slow and gentle that some family members call it self weaning but I know DS wouldn't have done it on his own.


2...... what is babywearing, i feel silly being ap but not knowing what that is
As Queenie mentioned. Some babies don't like being held though.


3...... is there any ap out there who dont use cloth nappies?
Yes, I know plenty. AP is more about the approach of encouraging 'attachment' between parent and child so focuses on things like breastfeeding, gentle birthing, baby wearing, cosleeping etc. Using cloth nappies is more Natural Parenting which also encompasses issues of our impact on the environment.

[jarrahsmumma]

like has ben mentioned AP/NP is not a strict set of rules to follow, and if you dont comply your out of the club! :p You can pick what suits you and your lifestyle the best.

I find it is supportive of all mothers/fathers who wish to enhance their parenting journey.

Babywearing is simply, carrying your child, usually with the aid of a sling, wrap, or some sort of carrier (there are about a million varieties)

happy APing

[Sleep_Deprived]

Can't comment on weaning I'm afraid.

PP have explained babywearing, but I just wanted to add that it's fantastic! DS loves being worn, and it's so great when you go out and have two hands free and baby is safe and close to you, also great when you're home and bubs wants to be held but you need to get things done. I love Mei Tai's - check out www.babyhawk.com (http://www.babyhawk.com), these are fantastic and sooooo comfy! DS is 13kg, and feels weightless when I wear him on my back in a BabyHawk!

And I use disposable nappies - I tried a few varieties of cloth, but disposables are so much easier and I don't need to change them as much.

[rylea's mum]

thanks heaps for all your responses
i felt silly asking some of those questions since i class myself as ap,
but i havnt done any research or anything, i just figured thats the parenting style i have.
i dont 'babywear', well, i carry her pretty much everywhere but she has started walking and has become a bit of a mission to keep her still... lol
and i use possies, my excuse is i have more time to spend with rylea( not soaking, washing, hanging out nappies) ...lol well thats my excuse anyway, makes me feel better:laughing:

anyway thanks again girls:D

[jessgray]

my ds is 16 months old and we arent full AP'ers here but we do some AP style things.

we have never cut out any naps ds has done it all himself,we co-sleep.
ds is currently weaning himself off the dummy and i plan to let him wean off the bottle.
i dont have a sling but i want one for #2 :D
i didnt BF ds1 i am still trying to deicide if #2 will be BF or FF lol we use dispoables we tried cloth and disposables seem to be the only nappy that seems to not irrate his nappy rash when he has it, i put a cloth on once when he had what looked the start of nappy rash and it got worse :( but i am a fan of cloth.
we dont do controlled crying or anything like that coz ds is asthmatic and stress triggers his attacks and he also will vomit if he gets too stressed.
DS doesnt have any set no-go aeras of the house. we are at the moment very permissive in our approach to parenting but once he is older and able to understand why he cant do certain things our apporach may change a bit :)