Next Meeting, Coming up!

Date: Thursday, June 16

Time: 6:00pm

Location: Mississippi Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic waiting room (Thanks again, Dr. Saenz!)

Topic: AP Jeopardy (overall review of Attachment Parenting)

If you have been wondering what Attachment Parenting is all about, this is the meeting for you. We are going to use a fun game to review what AP is (and what it's not) and hopefully we'll have some time for open discussion at the end. This is my last meeting to lead, so I hope everyone who has participated so far will be able to come so I can hug your neck!

If you haven't come to a meeting yet, please come and join us. If you would like to come and listen, but aren't sure you are "AP enough" then rest assured that you are in good company, as everyone participating in the group so far is on a different part of their parenting journey, and you are welcome right where you are. Please feel free to take what you need from the meetings and leave the rest... like a buffet: no need to gorge yourself until you get sick; some of the "food" may look strange to you, just eat what looks good today and maybe try something else some other time...or not!

AP is an empathetic, compassionate, intentional parenting "style" that encompasses a set of eight principles:

(1) Prepare for pregnancy, birth, and parenting
(2) Feed with love and respect
(3) Respond with sensitivity
(4) Use nurturing touch
(5) Ensure safe sleep, physically and emotionally
(6) Provide consistent, loving care
(7) Practice positive discipline
(8) Strive for balance in your personal and family life

"Attachment Parenting" is an umbrella term, and each principle within the "umbrella" of AP can look quite different for individual families. AP prescribes no particular formulas for raising babies and children. It encourages you to listen to your instincts and to do what they tell you to do. It seems that parents who are doing things instinctually tend toward some of the same behaviors; these behaviors are categorized into these eight general principles and described in more detail within each. The principles have been studied and found to have positive effects on children (and the adults they grow into) and families. All eight have been shown to increase attachment and can be demonstrated in the lab via the "Strange Situation Test" as developed by one of the first attachment researchers, Mary Ainsworth. Sometimes our natural instincts can be skewed by our "nurture" or upbringing, and our brain synapses are connected in such a way that certain things may seem to come "naturally" but, when observed closely, the behavior is just a repetition of what you have previously experienced; this is a phenomenon that happens to everyone. Whether you had well-intentioned, loving parents or whether you might have had cruel, abusive parents, or anywhere in between, the tendency is to repeat what was done to you unless you think about it and make your mind up to change something you don't like. AP encourages you, through the "prepare for parenting" principle, to reflect on your own experiences and to distinguish between instinctual feelings/actions and the tendency to repeat the only thing you know, based on past experience. People who practice attachment parenting find themselves on an ever learning, ever growing adventure, and are oftentimes grateful to realize that they are not "grown up" just yet either and that they, along with their children, are exploring the world and learning how to best experience it with the people around them.

Join us! We are nothing if not a fun, eclectic crew, and we *might* have started a revolution :) Come and be part of the ripple effect of compassion, and maybe together we can effect positive change on the world.

Enrichment Meeting this Wednesday!

Date: Wednesday, June 8

Time: 6:00pm

Location: Franz home (FB or email for directions, ashleyfranz@gmail.com)

Topic: Christianity and AP -- Is there really a conflict?

If you are interested in discussing religious, specifically Christian, objections to AP, this is THE meeting for you. You may feel conflicted by a spiritual belief you have based on Biblical scripture, or you may feel that your parenting methods are in line with your spiritual beliefs but you are meeting conflict with family or friends over the subject. This is a place where you can bring your concerns to be explored and processed; there is no agenda to prove or disprove any theory, as this would have already been done if it was possible. We welcome you to come and openly, honestly, lay out your fears and longings before your God and this group, and hopefully go home with some food for thought that you can use to ultimately make your own decision about what you believe and make peace with yourself, if you are in conflict. Can not WAIT for this one! See you there!

Next meeting set for June 16

Date: June 16

Time: 6:00 pm

Location: Mississippi Breastfeeding Medicine Clinic in Madison

Topic: AP Jeopardy (This will be a fun way to give information to people wondering what AP is all about and allow AP veterans the chance to win a Maya Wrap!)

Everyone was so talkative today and we were having such great discussion, that we didn't get around to playing the game, so I thought we could play it at our next evening meeting. If anyone else has additional meeting topic requests, please let me know and I will make sure we talk about those first. We can always put the game off; I want to be sure everyones most immediate needs are met at meetings. Can't wait to meet up again on the 16th!

Meeting Tomorrow!

Just a reminder that the next meeting will be tomorrow, June 2 at 10am at Madeline's house. Email or FB me for directions or questions.

The topic will be open discussion on general AP specifics and a game of AP Jeopardy (with a prize!).