My Little AP Baby

Quick story about tonight...tried to go out to dinner with some friends, but Aaron had to call me to come home after an hour and a half.

It's sort of strange to be mothering Molly right now. I have lots of friends who separate from their babies all the time. The babies never seem to have trouble with it, and the mamas have no trouble leaving them. But this is not the case for Molly and me. And I accept it fully.

I have chosen to "AP" Molly and Ben. For the unfamiliar, AP means Attachment Parenting. It is a form of parenting that, in general, supports keeping moms and babies as close together as is comfortable for both. If anyone is ever interested, I would be happy to share my reasons for deciding that this is the way I would like to parent my children. But, suffice it to say, I am happy with this choice, and think that it is right for me and my children. The problem is that Molly is...well...attached to me. So, when she wouldn't go to bed for Aaron tonight, and I had to come home to put her down, I can't really find any frustration with her, because I have actively taught her to rely on me to meet her needs and to expect that I will be there for her. She is doing exactly what I have helped her learn to do.

Now that she is 4 months( I am laughing as I am typing this, because, really, in the grand scheme of things, that is really still SO young) I do think that we need to work on her relationship with Daddy, because, though I don't need to be out all the time, I do need to feel like she and Daddy have a good relationship (he needs this too) and I need to know that I can go out for dinner here and there.

So, starting tomorrow, Aaron and I are going to put her down together from now on. Molly has been so attached to me, and SUCH an easy baby for me, that we have just fallen into a pattern where I put her down and take care of the vast majority of her needs. With Ben, we shared so much of the parenting, and so I think we just need to get back to a little more shared parenting.

Hopefully this will bring a new, and more bonded, phase for Molly and Aaron. But I do have to admit that I LOVE how attached Molly has become to me. With Ben, I never knew if I was really meeting his needs, but with Molly, it is so great to know that I can meet all of her needs to effortlessly! It's truly amazing!