love our bedtime routine. Seriously. I do love it.

Teatime, warm bath, teeth brushed, then both of my kids and I snuggle into our bed (yes... OUR bed), I have Noah snuggled into me, having his last big feed before he goes to sleep.. and its just beautiful, he puts his little chubby hand up onto my face and holds it there until I feel it get slump and all heavy, then I know he's drifting off to sleep. That little sleepy, snuggly, squishy face is all I need to make my heart just melt.
Hannah on the other hand, lays down, tucks her imaginary friends Tinkerbell and Pinky (Pinky is a beautiful Pink butterfly with sparkley shiney wings) in bed.. (My girl has a very vivid imagination!).. Then she curls up, holds my hand and asks for a story. I have been telling her stories lately to help her fall asleep, as opposed to reading an actual storybook. Storybooks just arn't cutting it at the moment, shes needing just that extra bit of imagination. Anyways, we drift off into a story of Hannah running around her Ma's backyard, then she spies 3 beautiful butterflies. The butterflies ask her if she would like a ride, then magically shrink her down to a fairy size person and she hops on their back and they go flying around the backyard, down to the creek near her Ma's house, and go on a huge adventure searching for "treasure".. It is detailed and Hannah contributes to alot of the story and hangs onto my every word, smiling and just looking so delightfully happy :) When I tell her the butterflies are dropping her home now, back into her bed, because they know how tired she is.. she nods her head in agreement, shuts her eyes and she's out like a light.

This is how I choose to parent, how I choose to put my children to sleep. It absolutely just warms my heart, makes me feel really good about bedtime, about how my children feel upon going to sleep.. knowing they are delighted in.. loved.

They are later transferred into their own beds when we decide to go to bed. But dont you remember the comfort and security of falling asleep in your parents bed?

The journey of attachment parenting has been a progressive one, right up until my son was born last June. I got here by conscious choices, and now it defines my soul. I knew I didnt want to repeat some of the 'mistakes' I felt I had made with Hannah (e.g. control crying for 8 weeks of her life between age 4-6 months).. so during my pregnancy I actually started to do some research,. I discovered a wealth of information out there, studies proving this and that and all the research I did, validated every parenting decision I felt to be 'right' instinctively. I always believed in following my heart, following my child, listening to 'them', not the books and other crap out there.. and I certainely am NOT going to be listening to society.. how our western world views and treats children like they should be compressed into a little convenience package suited to our busy lifestyles.

I will be talking in my blogs alot about Attachment Parenting, as I feel thats the title that best suits how I think and feel as a parent and what seems to suit my children best.

So what is Attachment Parenting?
The goal of attachment parenting is to raise children who can form healthy, emotional connections with other people throughout their life. Attachment parents believe this must begin by forming a respectful, compassionate connection between parent and child.
Such methods as; Bedsharing (sleeping within arms reach of the child), babywearing (using slings and other carriers) & breastfeeding are methods that increase the bonds between parent and child and thereby set the stage for secure relationships later in life.
However, be cautioned that above all, attachment parenting is not so much about practices parents must do and more about an attitude they must have. It is a peaceful approach to parenting that stresses connecting with your child on a deep emotional level.

According to Jan Hunt, “Attachment parenting, to put it most simply, is believing what we know in our heart to be true. And if we do that, we find that we trust the child“. She goes on to explain the ways that we trust that child and later says:

Through attachment parenting, children learn to trust themselves, understand themselves, and eventually will be able to use their time as adults in a meaningful and creative way, rather than spending it in an attempt to deal with past childhood hurts, in a way that hurts themselves or others. If an adult has no need to deal with the past, he can live fully in the present.
As the Golden Rule suggests, attachment parenting is parenting the child the way we wish we had been treated in childhood, the way we wish we were treated by everyone now, and the way we want our grandchildren to be treated. With attachment parenting, we are giving an example of love and trust.
Our children deserve to learn what compassion is, and they learn that most of all by our example. If our children do not learn compassion from us, when will they learn it? The bottom line is that all children behave as well as they are treated – by their parents and by everyone else in their life.