It’s You and Me Baby

Adapted from http://www.askdrsears.com/

1.    Birth Bonding—how baby and parents begin helps the early attachment develop.  A close attachment after birth and beyond allows natural, biological and intuitive qualities in both mother and infant to join together during this time when the mother wants most to nurture and the infant needs nurturing the most.  Bonding is not an immediate process that glues mom and baby together eternally, but a series of steps in your lifelong growing process together.  Birth bonding just gives the parent-child relationship a running start.

2.    Breastfeeding—not only provides brain- and immune-building nutrients through the breast milk, but an exercise in reading a baby’s body language and getting to know him or her.  In the breastfeeding mother, chemistry stimulates production of healthy hormones that boost.

3.    Baby wearing—promotes familiarity and closeness, improves parental sensitivity, and babies fuss less, spending more time in the state of quiet alertness, which is the state in which they learn the most about their environment.

4.    Bedding close to the baby—co-sleeping or whatever arrangement works for your unique family situation, makes nighttime less scary, nursing convenient and eases separation anxiety.

5.    Believe the language value of baby’s cry—the baby’s cry is a survival signal, and sensitive parental response builds trust between baby and caregivers.

6.    Beware of baby trainers—attachment parenting teaches you how to discern between good and bad parenting advice.  More restrained styles of parenting create a distance between you and your child, watching a clock or following a schedule rather than taking cues from your baby and keeping you from becoming an expert in your child.

7.    Balance—in giving so much to your baby, it is easy to neglect your own needs and the needs of your marriage partnership.  You will learn how to balance your parenting–when to say yes and when to say no.

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