Baby Wearing, Co Sleeping, and Cloth Diapering–Oh, My!

I remember in college, my family sociology class watched a video on attachment parenting. They showed “baby wearers” and “co sleepers,” and I was astounded. “Wear your baby?” I thought. “How will he/she ever learn to walk?! As far as co sleeping was concerned, that was just too attached for me. Babies need to sleep in their own beds… I mean, what if you roll over on your child?! We all laughed at the part where they interviewed parents and asked how they stayed intimate with little ones in the bed. They explained their need for creativity in that area and left the kids in bed while they took a backseat (literally)! I was appalled.

Fast-forward 5 years to when I became a mom… and not just any mom—a single one. Looking at my precious baby girl’s face, I instantly related to all the other parents out there who had chosen the attachment parenting method. Lily Claire loves her sling (although sometimes I still coax her in by breastfeeding). Co sleeping quickly became a must for me when breastfeeding my newborn at night. Furthermore, I never ONCE worried about rolling over on her. I don’t know what it is about moms and our innate sense of a little one next to us, but we just get it.

With all that said: for me cloth diapering also falls into the category of wanting to do what’s best for my daughter. I don’t have it all figured out yet, but I do know that cloth is definitely the right choice for us. LC no longer has irritated skin in her diaper area (no more gel balls!), we’re not spending money every week on disposables (AKA ‘garbage’), and they are just so darn cute—it’s ridiculous! I genuinely feel that I am not only contributing to the well being of my daughter, but to the world in which we live. And to be honest, that makes a mom like me feel good 🙂

~Jamie Lynn Kohut