I had never heard of attachment parenting until well after Jade was born, but it seemed to simply come naturally. I felt that it was important for me to be the best parent I knew how to be. The first night after Jade was born, I almost never let her out of my arms. The only times that she cried were when I sat her down in her little infant bed so I could go to the bathroom. Once, late during the night, I remember a nurse coming in and trying to take Jade from me to put her into her bed. I refused, knowing deep inside that I would not drop her or roll over onto her. She was perfectly safe beside me, lying in the crook of my arm.

After we went home, I continued to sleep with her. For a few days, we slept on the couch upstairs, because our room was downstairs. I was afraid to go up and down the stairs because my legs were so sore and weak. By the time she was five days old I was worn out from "doing it on my own."

At that point my mom and dh really took over and started helping me a lot. They would take turns keeping an eye on Jade so I could nap on my own occasionally. Sometime I would put Jade in her crib at night, but most of the time she slept with me. It was easier that way, because I nursed her on demand.

Breastfeeding was another thing that simply came naturally. I never really considered forumla feeding. Around the third day, I wanted very badly to give up and switch to bottles, because my nipples were so sore and cracked, but I gave it two weeks, and by then, my nipples had toughened up and it no longer hurt. Even though I knew I had to go back to school in short order, I knew that breastfeeding was best. It was tiring, but Jade was such a content baby. She rarely cried. I often kept her in my Snuggli, though her vibrating bouncy chair and infant swing were other favorite places to let her lay when I needed down time.

The hardest part of those first few months was definitely going to school. I knew that I needed to finish up the semester and get it over with. I knew I had to go to class and get my work done, but it was so HARD! I had to bring extra shirts to school, because sometimes I would just think of Jade during a class, and my breasts would begin to leak. I was embarassing, but not a very big deal. As long as I wore pads in my bra, and changed them between classes, I didn't usually have a problem. And the expense of breast pads was far less than formula.

I was very thankful when the semester was over. Shortly after I finished with my classes, we found our own place and moved out of my parents basement. What a relief that was! As much as I loved my family and enjoyed being around them, having two families under on roof is never easy.

Eventually, I became associated with the concepts of Attachment Parenting (AP). The basic idea behind AP is that parents attempt to do what is best for their children by parenting them naturally and by following their instincts. Parents following AP priniciples typically believe in breastfeeding, co-sleeping, and baby wearing. They do not believe in spanking or other forms of physical violence. Rather, they belive in gentle, though firm, discipline. AParents often believe in cloth diapers and other chemical-free products. They often believe in informed immunizations. Essentially, people who believe in Attachment Parenting are just trying to naturally raise their children to the best of their ability.