Both my kids still have blankies. I still have my baby blanket. I don't sleep with it every night (mainly because it's old & I'm afraid it'll fall apart if I wash it too many more times), but still curl up with it sometimes. Both kids have also used my baby blankie, it seems to comfort them more than other blankies.
All this blankie talk is making me want to snuggle up with my blankie and cup of tea and watch a movie...you ladies want to have a sleepover! lol.
Emma and I both have blankies that we love! Ems has slept with the same blankie since she was a newborn. After many years of her toes sticking out from under the ever shrinking banket, she finally gave in and uses a full size blanket and still uses her blankie as well. She also sleeps with her huge stuffed dog. I slept with my stuffed sheep up until I was married. I would still have him but he finally fell apart and the mice got into the cotton so I had to toss him out. That was a sad day for me. I honestly cried. I also have my favorite blankie. I love it! It has a hole and is stained but it is old and faithful!
Well I am soooo glad to hear that I am not alone! Sam has had her cubbie since she was born. Grace's cubbie is in worse shape because it was actually one of my baby blankets in the 70's. Mine is about 10 years old, fleece, and still holding up well. My neice is almost 16 and still sleeps with her cubbie. It is identical to Sam's and her mother actually bought them both. Her's in in rags. It is basically strips of material tied in knot but she takes it with her when she stays anywhere overnight. I think it is sweet.
My girls, both summer babies, had a little light afghan with cross-stitch I had made them. Phillip, being a winter baby, got a quilt. I made the top when I was single, and just needed an incentive to finish it. I've still got the girls', but Phillip's quilt somehow got lost. We've NO IDEA what became of it, and it was SO lovely!
We tailored our parenting to fit the needs of each of our children, but we always leaned toward AP. My youngest was premature and thrived on co-sleeping and baby wearing. My second co-slept with us and then transitioned to a sibling bed sharing situation. My third co-slept but much prefers his own space and went into a crib much earlier than his sisters. He doesnt even like to be rocked However he LOVES being worn and I take every chance I can to wear him. Wearing a baby 24 hours a day is just unrealistic and was probably just a bit overstated. Man I try to stay away from doing this. I completely understand why you feel the way you do and I am so sorry about your friend but this information is just wrong. Co-sleeping has been shown in numerous studies to reduce the risk of sids when practiced correctly. Just as you should avoid pillows and bumbers in cribs you should take precautions when you co-sleep. Its about using common sense. I am glad that you have the choice not co-sleep if it is not for you.
My cousin kept her blankie with her when she went to college, and even when she interned at the White House. :lol: And, yes she was interning during the Monica era :shock:
What a fun post. I am not going to comment on family #1. Gender neutral or gender reversal pushy setting up kids for unmerciful teasing??? hmmm. I have boys and girls and argued with them regularly about gender specific toys. MY line was there is no such thing as boy toys or girls toys. The boys (being younger) played with the girl dress up clothes...but they were "different" in that the princess dress was a magician (conical hat) This stopped at about 5. I did add boy things to the dress up stuff...like armour and cowboy hats and robin hood outfits. The dress up box was a favorite not just with our kids but all who came over. We have photos of most of the boys of friends in prarie dressess. Baby wearing....you don't know how I wish I had had a sling with my firtborn. I had a front pack that I cobbled together but nothing that worked well on my back so when I was cooking she screamed. I co-slept with the one who slept better with us. The baby slept better on his own. Co sleeping helps PREVENT sids. Kid's getting rolled over on is another story. I will just say: I have not personally seen a case (and I have seen a few) where in alcohol or drugs were not involved. The ones I have read about where there wasn't any substance use involved water beds and and bedding. IF a child sufficates - that is NOT SIDS but I can see how, if that happened parents might report it as SIDS. If you sleep heavily and or flop around alot...well, use common sense. I actually pulled one of my newborns out from under a mother (in the hospital) and then I had to shake her to wake her up enough for me to tell her I was going to take the baby to the nursery. I was so scared! She had had pain meds...and a long labor...but I did discuss what had happened with her in the morning. Most mothers sleep with the babies on thier chests and don't hardly move!
With my youngest, I couldn't get anything done, so got a sling, and I couldn't get any sleep, so had to co-sleep (only nursing while sitting and awake just isn't practical when I've got other kids to wake up with, chase after, etc.). With my daughter, I didn't need to do these things. Different parenting styles work for different children - just as different schooling styles work for different children!
That's exactly how I slept with mine - on my chest! When they got too big for that, they tucked right under my arm with their head on my shoulder. Some people say they couldn't sleep like that, but I never slept so well as when I could feel my babies warm bodies, and hear them breathing.
I don't even know why I am trying to justify my previous comment, other than I think yours slandered me. When co-sleeping with an infant--for whom we didn't set up a nursery--the infant does not have their own bedroom. My son did at that time, but he had a toddler bed. 'Nuf said. Some people use extra bedrooms for guest rooms. Some people use the extra bedrooms for get-a-ways. I don't think using a guest room for your own purposes is disrespectful in any way. Not washing the sheets before you have company is.
I am a solid attatchment parent. I am a member of a local mom's group who's name includes the words "attatchment parenting." I use cloth diapers, practice child-led weaning, co-sleep, babywear, don't vax or circ, etc.... I don't subscribe to the discipline practices that often go with AP, though (which are often reflective of family #1). In Japan, where co-sleeping is the norm, SIDS is so rare it doesn't have a name. Enough said. Babywearing- It is not possible to hold an infant too much. It is not possible to "spoil" an infant. (toddler, yes. Infant, no). Not to mention that, as a mother of four small boys, I couldn't imagine NOT babywearing and still being able to function. I refuse to force my newborn to suffer (read: cry) simply because I have other things to do when it is all-too-easy to tie them in a wrap and give them the nurturing they need while, at the same time, giving my older children (or house) the attention they need. As far as letting a child play without gender restrictions: my sons have all, at one time or another, asked for dolls. We got them dolls. Would I encourage them to wear dresses? No. Well, I guess that's not "techinically" true since all three older ones have kilts for reenacting purposes. And long tunics that are worn without pants. And when we're at home the baby is usually in an infant gown, rather than a footed sleeper (easier diaper changes). Hmmm. well... Ok, so my boys wear dresses. lol
And of course once the baby is tucked away asleep in the bedroom, there's always the bathroom, the laundry room, the kitchen, even the living room with the fire going in the fireplace! (Sadly, he never bought me that bearskin rug I asked for... ) We put hook-and-eye latches high up on the doors to the bedroom and the bathroom once the children were old enough to start wandering around at inconvenient times.
I don't set up a nursery either. I put my baby's clothes and changing table in a room so it is pretty much just a changing room with no bed. My daughter just started sleeping in her own room for part of the night so now she has a bed in her room. I certainly don't see how it is rude or disrespectful or sneaking around to express love to a spouse in any part of your house.
Never breastfeed my dd's. My dh, friends and family helped with feeding my dd's. My dh loved the times he feed the girls at night so I could sleep ( they only got up once a night, but after 4 months old they slept through the night). My mom still talks about when she would feed the girls when she was over and how special it was to help out. Never coslept ( even when kids were sick or dad was out of town). Never had a baby bassinet in my room ( they had their own bed and room from day 1). I agree, my bedroom is for adults only. I don't even have pics of my dd's in my room ( no pics of anybody except dh and me). I believe (as my dh does) that the master bedroom is our place for romance and relaxation, so that involves no children's toys, pics, books...anything of theirs period. They have their own rooms they don't need space in mine. Never used a sling ...ever. ( I used the floor, swing when taking a shower , or walker when cooking or doing yard work. They LOVED their walkers. They would start laughing and kicking their feet when I would go near it with them, they always took off in that thing.) My dd's only got 1 set of shots ( only because the hospital threaten to get CPS if my dd's didn't leave the hospital with the 2 shots they "needed"), no antibotics. The only meds my dd has had was cause she had back surgery and the doctor said she recovered faster then anyone he has ever seen because, he thinks, she never had all her shots or any antibotics so her body could use the pain medicine properly. Never had a problem with girls playing with boy toys and boys playing with girl toys. My nephews loved playing house with the play kitchen and dolls. my dd's play basketball, fish, work on cars and shoot guns. I have to say to each his own. I think some of the things that people do are quite weird but thats me, I'll never say it to your face though , thats your family life. My dd's are extremely close to my dh and me so I don't see that by breastfeeding and/or using a sling would make that better or you have a closer bond then I do. I think its how you parent and how you treat your kids that bonds them to you. So again to each his own, if it works for you so be it.
While breastfeeding and using a sling can help with bonding, I agree that they are not crucial. Many other things are important. Attachment parenting in my opinion goes far beyond bonding. It does much for brain development as well as socio-emotional development.
