Welcome a new Tennessee blogger! Katie Allison Granju, a freelance write, editor, and mama, is the latest Tennessee addition to the blogosphere. She's a pro, who actually gets paid for writing. ( I can only dream....)
She wrote a book on "attachment parenting" which is apparently the latest thing in parenting technique. The idea, as I understand it, is that you spend lots of time with your child, promoting a deep bond between the two of you. That bond frees the child to explore and develop their own personality, backed by the security of their tight connection with their parents.
I just thought that was the way things were done. When my ex and I split the first time, shortly after the birth of our first girl, by necessity my baby went wherever I went, usually riding on my chest in a little papoose type thing. We went to softball games, grocery shopping, to the zoo, even out to the movies on a date once. (By the way guys, a single man carrying around a baby is a magnet for women. Of course, that's a hell of a way to go to pick up dates, but some times you have to go the extra mile!) There were many nights when she slept with me as well, particularly after the 2 AM bottle. I would make the bottle, bring her into the bed with me, lay back with her snuggled in the crook of my arm, and rest the bottle on my chest. She would take it down while I drowsed, and we would fall asleep together. I wouldn't fall soundly asleep, and after 20 minutes or so of drowsing, I would put her back into her crib.
One night after feeding her, I instantly fell into a deep sleep. Sometime later, I rolled over a large lump. I've never come awake so fast in my life! I just knew I had crushed my little girl.
Well, the lump was just a couple of folds of my blanket that had bunched up underneath me. I had already put her back into the crib, but didn't remember doing it. I didn't stop letting her sleep with me after that, but I was very careful to make sure that she was safely out of range of my tossings and turnings.
Posted by Rich at April 29, 2002 1:14 AM