The Attached Mother

You’ve probably noticed that my posting has become more sporadic and less inspired. I’ve noticed it too. I wish I could say that I’m going to make an effort to blog better, but the truth is that isn’t going to happen.

The reality is that I’m feeling burnt out and stretched thin. I’ve found myself with too many obligations and not enough time to cover them all and still be a mom. I need some breathing room. Which is why I am stepping down as the writer here at The Attached Mother While I have loved writing here and meeting so many amazing home schooling families, it’s just time for me to move on and hand the reins over to someone else.

Of course this doesn’t have to be a complete goodbye. You all are more than welcome to check in on me at my personal blog, Wired For Noise. In fact I would be honored if any one of you stopped by from time to time. Heck, stop by there today and enter the contest I am hosting this week.

Thank you all for the wonderful time I spent blogging here.

Summer

I had planned to write about this sooner but kept forgetting. So I apologize for being so late.

Lis Garret is calling for parents to submit articles by May 15th (I told you I was late) for her new online magazine Root and Sprout. If you haven’t visited yet Root and Spout is a great online magazine for parents looking to raise their children in a gentler, saner fashion.

Here at Root & Sprout, we believe the connection between parent and child is what’s most important, and it’s a relationship that grows through mutual love and respect. With gentle, hands-on parenting, we can give our children the necessary roots to help them sprout.

This is just the type of site that I know AP parents would love to have. And being able to share your own advice and stories is just the icing on the cake. As Lis says it does not have to be heavy or deep, just something that you think other parents need to know about. As parents we are all valuable and have some knowledge that someone else out there needs. Why not share it?

To add a little more fun Root and Spout is having a contest right now. Subscribe to the Root & Sprout newsletter between now and May 31st and you will be entered in a drawing to win a Root & Sprout Canvas Tote Bag. Send an email to newsletter@rootandsprout.com with the word “subscribe” in the subject field. Get someone else to sign up, and your name will be entered TWICE. Just tell your friend to say “[insert your name] referred me.”

If you are interested in writing something the deadline for the next (June 15th) edition is June 1st. And after that articles submitted by June 15th will be in the June 29th edition. There is a call for special content for those editions asking for articles on celebrating Independence Day in the US. It could be a great topic for sharing!

writing, parenting, gentle parenting

Happy Mother’s Day to all you fabulous moms out there. Here’s a special tribute to you. The Mother’s Day Proclamation was issued in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe, one of the three founders of modern Mother’s Day. Learn more about it here.

Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts,
Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly:
“We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own.
It says: “Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace. …

Mother’s Day

I’m joining in the fun Bloggy Giveaway here at The Attached Mother. For the week of April 21 -25 hundreds of bloggers are joining together to give away great prizes. There are so many fun things being given away it will be hard to get through them all.

OK, so I’m sure you want to get to the chase right? As the title says I’m giving away a brand new ring sing of your choice to one lucky person here this week. The slings are handmade with loving care by Flutterby Gifts. There are several cute slings available right now for your browsing pleasure. Just check out the slings page here to see what is available. Ring slings are perfect for new moms. They are easy to put on and take off, easy to adjust, and cradle a baby much like the womb did. When mine were little I adored having a ring sling to wear.

Here is what you have to do if you want to win a new ring sling. Leave a comment on this post between April 21 and 25 sharing a happy slinging memory. Maybe it’s finally figuring out how to wear your sling, or carrying your sleeping baby, or even just meeting someone who didn’t ask you if you were smothering your baby in the sling. What ever happy moment you want to share please do.

If you haven’t used a sling yet and don’t have any happy moments just share one that you might look forward to having. Even if you are hoping to win for someone else, what do you think they might enjoy about using a sling? Let’s share the happiness and make each other smile!

Then come back on April 26 when I’ll announce the winner. One comment will be chosen at random to win a sling of their choice from the sling section at Flutterby Gifts. And while you’re there be sure to check out the other goodies for sale. The soaps and lotions are to die for, I can personally attest to that.

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Be sure to also check out what I’m giving away at Mom Is Teaching!

I mentioned last week that having support is a huge benefit to parents practicing attachment parenting. Unfortunately many people live in areas where there might not be a lot of local support for parents to have. Where I live most people have never heard of attachment parenting, or see it as something negative based on stereotypes rather than what it is for. That is why having an online support team can be a huge benefit. People who can give encouragement and advice from the same view point as you. One place where parents can connect with others is Attachment Parenting International.

Attachment Parenting International (API), a non-profit organization that promotes parenting practices that create strong, healthy emotional bonds between children and their parents, has several exciting changes they would like to announce, including:

• A newly redesigned web site and new logo at Attachment Parenting.org;
• Attachment parenting worldwide support forums;
• Parent Education Program - a comprehensive series of classes for every stage and age of child development from infancy through adulthood;
• A new book based on API’s Eight Principles of Attachment Parenting by API co-founders Lysa Parker and Barbara Nicholson which is expected to be available this summer;
• A series of podcasts, webinars, chats, and forums with API Advisory Board members and other supporters of AP. Future events are scheduled with Dr. Bob Sears, Dr. James McKenna, and Kathleen Kendall Tacket. Check out the events page for more information.

These are just a few of many exciting things going on at API. I hope you’ll stop by and check it out for yourself.

parenting, attachment parenting

A new website for attachment parenting and natural family living is under construction right now, but looks great so far. Closer to Nature is a new site being put together by Associated Content writer Heather B. Closer to Nature has a great collection of articles already on site on babywearing, breastfeeding, cosleeping, and more. The writers being collected are a very knowledgeable bunch with a lot of great information to share. And I’m not just saying that because my articles are being linked.

There is also a forum for Closer to Nature readers to go to and discuss parenting with like minded people. Or you can join in the chat room for real time discussion on attachment parenting and natural family living.

You can read Heather’s own words about her new site Closer to Nature here and get a feel for what this site will bring to the attachment parenting community online. If you are interested in having some of your articles shared on the site read the writing requirements first. Remember the site is still under construction, I am sure in the coming weeks there will be so much more coming on. I would love to see a Pipe created where readers can share their own AP/NFL posts via del.icio.us or a way to share favorite articles.

For a new site it still seems to have gotten off to a great start. I hope you all will check out Closer to Nature and the articles shared there yourself.

attachment parenting, natural family living, Closer to Nature, website, parenting, writing

I love entering contests online to win neat stuff. My ratio of actually winning is pretty low, but checking out the great things being given away is half the fun. I’ve found a lot of contests going on right now that AP moms would love and just had to share them. Click on the links to visit the giveaway pages, be sure to read the rules on how to enter each one as they are all different. You better hurry, many of them end Monday!

• Hatchling Child Sling By Nest - These cute little slings are made for the little ones to wear their favorite toys and dolls. It’s the cutest site ever to see your baby slinging his baby.
• Born Green Giveaway - These amazing prize packages are not only huge they’re also full of things many AP families would love to have.
• Finn & Thatcher “Green” Toy package - Win a collection of cute wooden toys for your little one. These are so sweet you’ll be won over completely.
• Glamour Mom nursing tank - Are you a Glamour Mom? With these tank tops every nursing mom can be. The easy release makes nursing a breeze both at home and on the go.
• Pair of BabyLegs - I love BabyLegs. These sweet little leggings for babies keep their little legs warm when they’re refusing to wear pants, which happens a lot in my house. Plus you can show off those cute little cloth diapers without freezing their legs.
• Peanut Shell - Peanut Shells are some of the most sought after infant pouches. Not only are they comfortable but they are so cute too! Here’s your chance to win one for yourself.

If anyone knows of any other fun giveaways that AP parents would love please let me know! I love to share all the fun goodies available on the web.

giveaways, contests, fun

A new writer has taken over The Attached Mother. Hopefully I can pick this blog back up where it left off. If my name sounds familiar I am also the writer for Mom Is Teaching and Creative Mom Cafe. Now I’ll also be sharing my views on attachment parenting. I hope that I’ll have something to say that you’ll enjoy reading.

For those who don’t know me I should share some about me. I’m a stay at home mom of two boys who are both very attached. It is a learning experience, every day I learn something new about parenting. When my oldest son was little I was unsure and not used to following my instincts. We coslept for the first four months and only breastfed for 15 months. I had not even heard of a sling or carrier and did not have one until he was a year old. With my second though I had learned more about the type of parent I wanted to be. We coslept until he was 18 months and he is still nursing frequently during the day.

I follow a natural family lifestyle that, for us, is very intertwined with attachment style parenting. I try to use the 7 tools of attachment along with my own views to piece together how I choose to parent my children. You might not agree with everything that I do, and not all of it falls strictly in AP lines. But I hope that what I share helps and encourages other parents who are interested in raising attached children.

attachment parenting, AP, parenting