Hello, my name is Crystal and I am an attached parent.
I've only recently found the term 'attached parent' and I've come to decide that I am definitely one of them. Not because of what I practice (although I do follow most of the ideals) but because of how I feel. When I was looking at the websites that Zennifer sticky'd, I came across this.
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Attachment is a special bond between parent and child; a feeling that draws you magnet-like to your baby; a relationship that when felt to its deepest degree causes the mother to feel that the baby is a part of her. This feeling is so strong that, at least in the early months, the attached mother feels complete when she is with her baby and incomplete if they are apart.
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That is EXACTLY how I feel about my daughter and how I have felt with each of my sons before her. Shaun was 13 months old before I ever spent a whole day away from him, and then it was just for a weekend visit with his dad, who was in the military. And when I left for the trip, Shaun stayed with my parents, who we had lived with since Shaun was 9 months old, so he knew them very well. While I lived with my parents, my mom always said that Shaun wasn't a talking baby because he didn't need to talk - mom and I knew what he wanted based on his actions, his responses to our questions, his expressions and energy level. Shaun was a VERY late talker, but it was always clearly apparent that he understood and responded - just not with words. Once he did start really talking, he never stopped!
His little brother is the same exact way. At 23 months old he had 6-10 words that he used properly and regularly. Now, 3 months later, he knows so many words I couldn't even begin to count them, it's easily in the hundreds, and he knows most of his letters and numbers already. Not because we've pushed him into learning, but because when you have 10 hours a day alone with a kid you have to fill it with songs and interaction, and the ABC song was one of them, and pointing to letters and numbers and naming them was another. He also knows several shapes and colors and animals and all kinds of things, and now you can't get him to shut up if you tried!
Katrina is 6 weeks old as of yesterday and I've never loved a child more than her. I know it's not right to love one kid over another, but Katrina was a difficult and scary pregnancy and ended up in the nicu on the day we were going to go home, and since has had several minor things that have kept me on my toes as far as feeling secure. The looming awareness that things can happen to a baby has made me cling to her more. That and the fact that she is my girl, who I have wanted since my first pregnancy and have now only gotten with my last. My tubes are tied now, so she's my ownly girl and that makes her even more precious to me.
This is getting too long, I'll get back to the attachment parenting thing. A little bit about me as a parent. I've co-slept with all three of my kids until they were regularly and solidly sleeping through the night. I got kind of lucky, that started at 2 months old, and Katrina's had a few nights already at only 6 weeks. I breastfed my boys until they got teeth and I couldn't convince them not to bite. Trent actually managed to draw blood on me before I banished him from the breast. With Katrina I am hoping to make it to a full year breastfeeding, and at that point I will breastfeed as long as she is interested in it. I've worn all my kids, although with Shaun and Trent I just had a Snugli, so when they outgrew that (which was pretty early, they were big babies - born at 9-3 and 9-4) they went to a stroller, but I still wished I could carry them. I found the closeness and ease of handling to be fantastic and I loved being able to just tip my head down and kiss the top of their heads. With Katrina I have 3 slings, a ring sling, a otsbh (over the shoulder baby holder - padded ring sling), and a new native style pouch. I just the ring sling the most, because I live in florida and it's too hot outside for the padded one, but I do wear the otsbh inside a lot because it feels like I'm wrapped in a blanket. We do use pacifiers, swings, bouncer seats, walkers (when they are old enough), exersaucers, and occasionally the carseat/carrier because it rocks when it's out of the base.
Other things, we do use disposable diapers. Neither of my boys are circumsized and while I feel very strongly that there's no reason to routinely do circumcisions, I'll never try to make someone feel wrong for making the decision to circumsize as long as it's an informed decision. I am VERY pro-breastfeeding, but again will never make someone feel wrong for choosing formula. I am very willing to give a supplement bottle, although I have gotten lucky with Katrina. She hasn't had any formula yet at all, and when she's needed to have a bottle I was able to have expressed breast milk for her, and am building a stock pile of it in my freezer.
I have vaccinated all of my children, starting with the Hep B shot in the hospital at birth. Shaun and Trent got flu shots this year and Jason and i are going to get them too (whenever we get around to it...). Jason and I both occasionally drink liquor, specifically Old Smuggler's Scotch as a usual stand by, but the last bottle we bought took us an entire 10 months to finish, so you can tell we don't drink much. I've quit smoking for each of my pregnancies, and have only sort of gone back to smoking after this one. basically, I smoke if I'm around someone else smoking (which doesn't happen very often - usually just at family gatherings) and don't smoke otherwise. I'm very blessed that I've been able to avoid the struggle with addiction.
And I take way too many pictures of my kids because my parents didn't take very many pictures of us as children/babies. Which is why I have taken 2500 pictures with my digital camera since I got it last November.
I have a blog with the details of Katrina's birth and the time following it. To get there, just click on my name in my signature.
And this is too long already! I hope the AP board gets a little more active, I'd love to have other mommies to talk to on here.
Intro :)
Trent 09-09-2003 
My big girl Katrina! 
Re: Intro :)
ANA MARIA
and mama to 2 
cubs
