I'm lost?

[Wish_Bear]

Could someone explain to me what natural/attachment parenting is? I didn't even know there was such a thing or what it entails.
Thanks Taryn.

[Oscar's mum]

Natural parenting can involve some of the following things to list a few:

Breastfeeding
Co - sleeping
Baby wearing
No cry sleep solutions etc

I hope that gives you a brief idea of what natural parenting is, I am sure other's will be able to add a few more things to the list (I myself am a bit too tired atm to try and think!);)

[WeThree]

Hi, there are a few girls here that could help you better than I, but i'll try and give you a brief rundown :)
Attachment/Natural Parenting involves these things
~ extended breastfeeding (age 2 and beyond)
~ co sleeping with baby/child
~ baby wearing (use of a sling to carry bubs around throughout the day)
~ gentle discipline
it often incorporates other things such as use of cloth nappies, natural birth, without the use of drugs, and often homebirth etc and organic diet/lifestyle, no foods or household products etc that are gentically or chemically modified. Hope this helps :)

[JanetF]

Those are some of the physical tools we use to parent our son but the main point of AP to me is a willingness to understand how and why babies and children do what they do, what their needs are and how best to meet them in a way that creates a healthy family. I don't pursue the "happy mummy, happy baby" idea if it means my child has to be convenient to me. The early years of childhood are intense but that's when we lay the groundwork for later emotional health. It's about caring for my child in a way that is appropriate to his age, his needs and his biology. I feel my son deserves to be treated with respect and his needs met for closeness, security, comfort and nourishment in ways which change and develop over time according to his emotional, psychological and physical needs.
Here's a heap of articles on AP. Within gentle or natural parenting there are many styles and philosophies of which AP is only one. We don't follow or enforce rules, we try to respect our children and nurture them so they can grow into healthy, emotionally intelligent, nurturing adults. :)
http://naturalchild.com/articles/attachment_parenting.html

[WeThree]

i told you there would be someone along who could it explain it better than me ;) :)

[moonblossom]

All i ever did was do what comes naturally, which is co sleeping, breastfeeding for as long as they want too, pick them up as soon as they cry, and lavish them with love and attention.

I do not believe in leaving a child to cry, I will drop everything to comfort my crying child. A lot of people will disagree with this and tell me BUT WHAT IF YOUR BUSY...I'm never too busy to give my baby what it needs.

I never listened to people telling me HOW i should raise my children...and I never listened when they said, "its good to let them cry" I could NEVER see the benifit in this. If my child needs a hug, I hug, if they want to breastfeed for hours on end, then so be it, bugger the housework. If they want to play, I'm the first to join in.

Just do what feels NATURAL, and just smile at well meaning advice.

[WeThree]

All i ever did was do what comes naturally, which is co sleeping, breastfeeding for as long as they want too, pick them up as soon as they cry, and lavish them with love and attention.

I do not believe in leaving a child to cry, I will drop everything to comfort my crying child. A lot of people will disagree with this and tell me BUT WHAT IF YOUR BUSY...I'm never too busy to give my baby what it needs.

I never listened to people telling me HOW i should raise my children...and I never listened when they said, "its good to let them cry" I could NEVER see the benifit in this. If my child needs a hug, I hug, if they want to breastfeed for hours on end, then so be it, bugger the housework. If they want to play, I'm the first to join in.

Just do what feels NATURAL, and just smile at well meaning advice.

great advice moonblossom :)
i think alot of np/ap ideals and values come from things that many woman have done for years, it has just in more recent years been given a name, lol!
i dont follow any particular style of parenting, except my own;) but if taking a moment to let my toddler get out what he wants to say, walking at his pace and stopping to watch the train go under the bridge, even if im in a hurry, explaining to him right and wrong instead of just smacking him and holding him at night if he needs it is part of it, then i guess that is me :)

[reAllytee]

I think for me me it also means the needs of the child come before anything else including my own or anyone who needs my attention ( unless of course when we finally have the blessing of another child then its shared heh ).
Even if i do have things to do if bubs is happy to play or amuse himself then i will do them with him following me from room to room at first it was having him in a carrier to keep him close & the rocker was great as he would lay in that on my kitchen floor while i washed up & i could rock him now i take him around in his highchair if we are downstairs or when we are upstairs he crawls around the rooms & we play little hiding type games as well as sing etc. But if he wants my attention or isnt happy with me do other things then i leave all other things alone.
I just want my baby as close to me as possible & at first i tried to do what everyone told me to do which was apparently the "right" thing but as soon as i changed to how i felt comfortable so much calmed down for us & our relationship blossomed :D Least i now know what to do with my next baby !
I let my baby cry a few times & i will not lie about this but that was only as i had to walk away sometimes as he had cried all day & nite neither of us had any sleep & this often happened & it broke my heart all the same but it was better for me to walk away as i was an emotional wreck at times it was only for a max of 5mins to take a breath. All the same i have never let my baby "cry it out" because if all he wants is me to comfort him then it isnt that hard for me to do so im his mum after all we spent nine long months together after all !
Im not sure how others discipline but i still use the word no which id say there are some here who dont but for me im using it in a harsh way its just that im trying to teach him that if i say that word he isnt to touch or the likes especially as he likes to play with power cords :eek: :rolleyes:
But pretty much our bubs rules our household & we wouldnt want it any other way ! :D

[Wish_Bear]

Thanks for all your replies. I now understand and admire what you all do. I myself can say I am not as calm and serene as you all seem to be. Thanks again for explaining it to me so well.

[H&B'sMum]

For me NP is being responsive to DS's needs above mine. Janet put it beautifully when she said that Np is about respecting, trusting and nuturing our children. I believe it's about parenting your child to their own development, age and needs not what CHN, Grandparents or socitey tells me how to parent my son.
NP is able trusting my instincts as a parent and guiding Harry's behaviour and emotional wellbeing rather than managing and dictating Harry's behaviour.

Good luck in your parenting journey.

[JanetF]

We're not calm and serene LOL. We're just typing on an internet forum and it's easy to look calm then ;) We just do our best and make sure we get lots of support from each other!

[WeThree]

Thanks for all your replies. I now understand and admire what you all do. I myself can say I am not as calm and serene as you all seem to be. Thanks again for explaining it to me so well.

lol, it is easy to appear calm and serene when simply typing words onto a computer, i think my children, when they broke our tv this afternoon by pouring juice all over it, may disagree with you though ;) :p

[WeThree]

lol, just saw janets post, its almost jinks! :) (although i noticed no mention of her son pouring juice on their tv, lucky thing :rolleyes: :p )

[reAllytee]

Hahahahahah !
Sorry i only just read these few last posts !
Oh im sorry shouldnt laugh about the juice over the t.v as im sure i have that to look forward to but boy it sounds funny :o :p

I have to agree with both Erin & Janet in that we may seem serene & calm but that isnt always the case ! Parenting is stressful no matter how its done as basically you want the best for your child so your over doing things or over analysing so to speak so in turn stress yourself out ! Its when you stand back & let yourself be guided by your instincts & your children that things become "easier" as your not going against what you feel intuitively or what your children need to do to be themselves.
So this doesnt mean we dont have days we want to sell them or give tham away for free ;) I have many of these ! hehe.

[jarrahsmumma]

I find NP as the way I have always felt I should care for my son. In the beginning there were a lot of outsiders telling me how i should raise and care and love my son. I have now figured out to screen them out. ahhhhh bliss.

NP does take a lot of patience but is so rewarding I couldn't imagine raising a child any other way.

peace