Art by Kathy Grossman

A special thanks to Sandy leader Kathy Grossman for generously letting us use images of her beautiful paintings of mothers and babes for our website!

Attachment Parenting

Thanks to Ginger for leading this month's Enrichment meeting on The Attachment Parenting Book by William Sears.

What is Attachment Parenting (or AP)? Attachment parenting is a style of caring for your infant that brings out the best in the baby and the best in the parents. The 7 B's or attachment tools, according to Dr. Sears' book, are: Birth Bonding, Breastfeeding, Baby Wearing, Bedding close to Baby, Belief in the Language value of your baby's cry, Beware of baby trainers, and Balance. That said, here is a bit more about AP:

• AP is a starter style. There may be medical or family circumstances why you are unable to practice all of these baby B's. Attachment parenting implies first opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your baby, and eventually you will develop the wisdom on how to make on-the-spot decisions on what works best for both you and your baby. Do the best you can with the resources you have – that's all your child will ever expect of you. These baby B's help parents and baby get off to the right start. Use these as starter tips to work out your own parenting style – one that fits the individual needs of your child and your family. Attachment parenting helps you develop your own personal parenting style.
• AP is an approach, rather than a strict set of rules. It's actually the style that many parents use instinctively. Parenting is too individual and baby too complex for there to be only one way. The important point is to get connected to your baby, and the baby B's of attachment parenting help. Once connected, stick with what is working and modify what is not. You will ultimately develop your own parenting style that helps parent and baby find a way to fit – the little word that so economically describes the relationship between parent and baby.
• AP is responsive parenting. By becoming sensitive to the cues of your infant, you learn to read your baby's level of need. Because baby trusts that his needs will be met and his language listened to, the infant trusts in his ability to give cues. As a result, baby becomes a better cue-giver, parents become better cue-readers, and the whole parent-child communication network becomes easier.
• AP is a tool. Tools are things you use to complete a job. The better the tools, the easier and the better you can do the job. Notice we use the term "tools" rather than "steps." With tools you can pick and choose which of those fit your personal parent-child relationship. Steps imply that you have to use all the steps to get the job done. Think of attachment parenting as connecting tools, interactions with your infant that help you and your child get connected. Once connected, the whole parent-child relationship (discipline, healthcare, and plain old having fun with your child) becomes more natural and enjoyable. Consider AP a discipline tool. The better you know your child, the more your child trusts you, and the more effective your discipline will be. You will find it easier to discipline your child and your child will be easier to discipline.

You can find a complete AP index for this book at askdrsears.com.

Attachment Parenting

Join us tomorrow, March 23, 2010 at 10am for a discussion on William Sears' The Attachment Parenting Book: A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby.

hope to see you there!

Making Your Own Luck

As mothers we often think we need many gadgets and accessories to get the job of mothering done. Nursing clothes, breast pumps and nursing pillows are on many "must have" lists for breastfeeding moms. As we discussed in this month's series meeting, most nursing moms find they need very few accessories to breastfeed. We also talked about coping with criticism, overcoming common and not so common obstacles. Here are a few helpful links for helping the breastfeeding mom to make her own luck!
Discreet Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding after a c-section
Engorgement
Sore breasts
Increasing milk supply
Sleeping through the night

Thanks to all the new moms that attended, and of course thanks to all our regular moms who keep coming back!

The Art of Breastfeeding & Avoiding Difficulties

Join us tomorrow for series meeting #3, The Art of Breastfeeding & Avoiding Difficulties at 10am.
The normal course of breastfeeding, recognizing challenges, caring for yourself, getting support

Meetings are open to all interested women. Children who need you are always welcome. Series meetings are group discussions, not lectures. We encourage pregnant moms to come before baby is born to get information and support. Hope to see you there!

Join LLL of Murray tomorrow

Murray LLL Series Meetings
Held the first Tuesday of each month at 12 noon.
Murray Park Church of Christ
494 East 5300 South
Murray, UT 84107

New Beginnings Issue 1

Enjoy!

NB_Issue_1_10_FINALZmags.pdf