Attachment parenting is a concept my wife and I were never formally introduced to; we just happened to be doing it. Our daughter co sleeps with us, even now, and she never went into a stroller ( she hated it). My wife still nurses her as well. The pediatrician was so ignorant on the subject of mere breastfeeding that after a month, we stopped going. The chick was paranoid about anything, such as the fact the baby gained slightly less than was recommended ( I mean, by literally a fraction). She then started saying my wife didn’t have enough milk ( NOT true at all) and couldn’t speak with us about vaccines, at all. With her, there were no options, no questions, and NO information.
We had no idea about the alternative, progressive parenting community, nor about slings, We just carried Ky everywhere, and got an uncomfortable and ugly baby carrier. Because we found so little info on attachment parenting from our ‘expert’ MDs and other officials, we launched this site as well as our family travel blog.
Attachment parenting is something that includes not only mom, but dad as well. I co sleep with my daughter, and I have carried her through so many countries, it’s incredible. It has helped me greatly, with regards to bonding with her. I get lots of alone time with her, while my wife say naps or has some free time. I find it sad how disconnected dads are from their kids, due to societal pressure on both parents to be at a 9 to 5. I had an incredible compliment the other day, where a woman said I was a very good husband, and a hands on dad. That is exactly what I strive for in life, to be a father and not pretend to be. I want to take an active role in my child’s development, including her education, diet, and wellbeing.
If you are an attachment parenting dad, I would love to hear your experiences!! If you are considering attachment parenting and have questions, please feel free to contact me and I will help in any way I can!
Hi I’m Jose from Puerto Rico and my wife follows your blog. I felt the same way as you and are an active hands on dad. Our daughter is 23 months and co sleep with us and is homeschooled with love. I’m glad she is so smart and healthy. I’m so attached to her and helps my wife in taking care of our daughter just the same as she does. Is hard that society doesn’t understands well families as us, we feel in defensive mode all the time but in the end we are doing the right thing.
Hello Jose!! SO good to hear from another APing dad!! I completely agree. And yes you really are doing the right thing. One day, people who are always away from their kids will regret it, deeply. It’s lost time. I don’t blame people as much as I blame society for pushing this view on us. So good to know there are dads like you out there, having such an active role!!
Friends are like walls. Sometimes you lean on them, but sometimes it’s just enough to know they are there.