Attachment Parenting through Babywearing

What is attachment parenting?

Attachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong consequences. Sensitive and emotionally available parenting helps the child to form a secure attachment style which fosters a child's socio-emotional development and well being. Less sensitive and emotionally available parenting or neglect of the child's needs may result in insecure forms of attachment style, which is a risk factor for many mental health problems. In extreme and rare conditions the child may not form an attachment at all and may suffer from reactive attachment disorder as defined in DSM-IV and ICD-10. Principles of attachment parenting aim to increase development of child's secure attachment and decrease insecure attachment.

I know this may start a lot of discussions from parents who view parenting differently depending on their culture or what they believe in. But please allow me to explain my stand on this.

Attachment parenting have Eight Principles of Parenting but I will not discuss all of those here for I am not really an expert on it and is still in the process of learning it all. If you have been reading my blog for quite some time now, you will also know that I am also a breastfeeding advocate. But for now, let's focus on the other principles.

Use Nurturing Touch

Old time parents would always tell me not tell carry my child too much. "She'll get attached and be clingy." But I would still carry my baby. You see, a mother's touch is one way of telling your child that you love them. It's a way of comforting them and telling them that they are safe. And personally I cannot bear seeing my child cry and not do something about it.

Skin-to-skin contact is a great form of providing a nurturing touch. The mother's warm body provides comfort and security. It is also advised for dad's to not wear a shirt while carrying the baby to also provide that warmth. That is also the reason babywearing is an effective form of attachment parenting.

Providing nurturing touch is not the only thing that we can achieve by baby wearing. With a sling like mine, I can breastfeed Una and still have enough coverage. I don't have to go look for a breastfeeding station to breastfeed her. I can do it in the middle of everywhere and no one would know what's happening under the sling. You also have both of your hands free making you do other tasks at the same time like going to the grocery, writing, typing on your computer or window shopping. Aside from the practicality of wearing your baby, it also helps with child's developmental growth.

I have been wearing Una on a sling since February and have been receiving stares for quite some time now. Some even made some disapproving and snide comments. Of course, those didn't stop me in baby wearing. What confuses me though is that baby wearing has been practiced for years, not only in other countries but also our natives here in the Philippines. I especially adored a Muslim family I once saw in Cubao. The father is carrying their baby on a beautiful batik sling.

Though I have noticed that quite recently there are some moms who would approach me and ask about the sling and I willingly tell them all about it's benefits and point them to where they could buy it. You might think that I am sales talking them in buying the sling with the way I encourage them to have their own asap.

If you are interested in learning more about baby wearing, visit The Baby Wearer.

For local moms who is interested in buying their first sling, visit the nearest SM Department Store in your area, I bought mine in SM City North Edsa. The slings are stocked with the other baby carriers in the infants section of the department store and comes with a tutorial video on how to properly wear your baby. If you prefer to order online, visit Indigo Manila. Cost is Php 1000 and Php 1500 depending on design and the type of fabric. Mine is made of cotton and bought it for Php 1000.

Creating jewelry makes my heart melt

A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon a beading magazine on a book sale. I am not much of an accessory type of person but the thought of making something that I could wear and at the same time easy to make excites me. I bought the magazine and went directly to the local store selling glass and plastic beads and bought the essentials according to the magazines. I have made a couple of jewelry, even influenced my sister in making some and most of our finished projects went straight to her collection and for some that are left in my care were lost last September.

Just this evening, I was browsing my photo collection for something I could put up for the Photo Hunters week but what caught my attention surprised me. It's definitely not a theme of the week in the photo group but a definite blog worthy photo.

The photos above are just two of those creations I mentioned. A green beaded necklace with a leaf pendant and an anklet made of plastic pearl beads and leather cord.

Most of what we did are bracelets and earrings for they are really easy to make and can be worn everyday. I know my sister enjoyed her new stash of jewelry and these two are just some of those that are left in my collection.

Years passed and had a new hobby to get myself busy to, jewelry design lost my attention, until last October. You see, after Typhoon Ondoy, my daughter and I went straight to my father's home in Manila and only visited our house in Marikina a week after the great flood. I was shocked to see that my mother-in-law was wearing one of the bracelets I made. I actually stared at it for a long time and when she noticed me staring, she asked if I wanted to keep it. I just smiled but shook my head no. She told me that she found it just outside our door when they returned to our place the next day. She said that she doesn't know who it belongs to but the quality is nice because she wore it everyday since she found it and went through heavy cleaning and laundry washing and it is still intact. My heart swelled. I touched the beads one last time before returning to what I was doing.

The holiday passed and someone gave her a new bracelet but she still wear my bracelet. Though she still doesn't know that I designed it, my heart melts each time I see it on her wrist.

Dear 2010

Image credit: http://ulifestyle.blogspot.com/ via weheartit

I am looking forward for our time together. I hope you'll give us just as much happiness as I had with your sibling 2009, but not as much of a heartache like what happened in September. We have so much to do and we are just starting. Let's help each other making this new year better than before.

Happy new you, happy new year!