Parent {ing}

As far as parenting goes, I believe that there's really no "wrong" style of parenting. People do what works for them and their families, and I hate when people judge others on how they are raising their kids. I mean really...when it comes down to it none of us have any clue what we are doing.

It wasn't until Ezri was a few months old before I discovered "Attachment Parenting". Actually, when I think about it, it was the infamous TIME magazine cover asking the question, "Are You Mom Enough?" that's introduced me to the world of extended breastfeeding, co-sleeping, etc. I looked a bit further into the background of the mother on the cover, Jamie. (Speaking of which she has a great website, iamnotthebabysitter.com.) Anyway, before this, I never knew of the concept of attachment parenting. However, I was already practicing a lot of the methods.

The night we brought Ezri home from the hospital, I just thought, 'she's so tiny! what if she needs me?'  There was no way I could let her sleep ALL. THE. WAY. across the hall in her crib. So, she slept in our bed. And it was awesome. We both got a good night's sleep, and I was right there for her when she needed her feedings every few hours (we were blessed from the start, she only woke up once most nights). I knew if people were aware of our sleeping arrangements, I would hear some pretty strong opinions. But everyone found out anyway. So I thought I better try to get her in her own bed before I ruin her. I tried at two weeks, again at two months, and three months. I was really stressed out about it, but only because I felt uncomfortable with other people's views on the practice rather than how it affected us. I actually loved it! And after I went back to work, I missed her so much! I'd take any time I could get with her, even if she wasn't awake for it. Around this time is when I really asked myself why I thought it was so important to stop co-sleeping. I know there are some studies that suggest a higher risk of SIDS. That scared the hell out of me. But then there's other studies, about breastfeeding mothers and co-sleeping safely that suggested a reduced risk of SIDS. I decided that we were doing it safely, she felt secure sleeping right next to me, and I enjoyed having her there. Also, co-sleeping allowed me to get the most (and best) sleep possible.

So here we are. Ezri will be 10 months old on Sunday, and I just started putting her in her own crib last weekend. Honestly, the only reason why I'm doing it now is because she just started crawling, and although there are options for keeping her safe (bedrails come to mind), her crib just seemed like the best option. She's been great, we've had no trouble transitioning to her crib yet. So, I guess I didn't "ruin" her after all :)


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