Tuesday, November 01, 2005


We had a great Halloween yesterday. Emma, who was a bumblebee, wouldn't say trick or treat but offered a very convincing "buzzzzz" to everyone she encountered. She got TONS of candy, none of which I want her to eat. Last night she got ahold of a Tootsie Roll. I put her in her chair and sliced the Tootsie Roll into a bunch of little pieces, thinking it would take her awhile to eat it. Nope! In one swoop, she grabbed up every single piece and shoved them all into her mouth at once. So much for that.

I recently joined Parents as Teachers and today was our first visit. I was somewhat apprehensive about joining in the past because I was worried the educator might push sleeping in a crib, drinking cow's milk, getting vaccinations, etc. It turns out the lady was really nice and wasn't like that at all. At one point we were talking about nutrition and I mentioned that Ems was still nursing. She asked how long I planned to let her nurse and I said "as long as she needs to" and she just said okay. Then later she asked if Emma ever gets to play with other kids. I told her we belong to a group with lots of other moms and kids, a group that usually has several playdates each week. She asked about the group, then about attachment parenting. I tried my best to explain it, then I got my Attachment Parenting Book off the shelf to show her. She paged through it with interest, then asked me what the book said about getting your children out of the family bed when the time comes. I said that the book doesn't really say anything specific about that; you're just supposed to do what works best for your own family while respecting everyone in involved. She then said that some families have a hard time moving their children into their own rooms and asked what we plan to do about that problem. I had to think for a minute, and then I said something like, "Well, I don't consider a child wanting to be with it's mother a problem. We're planning on getting Emma a bed of her own when we're expecting again, but she'll always be welcome in our bed. Maybe it's hard for some families because they have more rigid rules about the child staying in his or her own bed. Telling a child who could very easily get lonely or scared in the middle of the night that he or she isn't welcome in bed with the parents would be very difficult for the child, I think. I don't ever want Emma to feel like I'm not available to her." She nodded like she thought I was making sense, but I wonder if she was mentally writing me off as some sort of nut job. Either way, I think Emma had fun playing with her so we're looking forward to her next visit in six weeks.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I consistently write you off as a mental nut job.
Emma looks pretty darling, I suppose

Katie said...

LOL your brother cracks me up.

I lovbe the new look of your blog. Emma is adorable!

I think you explained AP really well. Good for you!

I hope you get to travel with Steve! That would be really cool!

Anonymous said...

Good for you for presenting an interesting point of view to your Parents as Teachers visitor.
I also really enjoy Studly D's comments!
mom

Anonymous said...

I'm totally impressed with how you explained AP. My Parents As Teachers has NEVER asked about that kind of stuff. Its always "developmental" stuff. I would probably freak get become a militant, defensive mama for no reason. lol.