Friendship: Quality over Quantity

Lunch at Peninsula

I’ve made a decision. I’m going to stop trying so hard to be your friend. I don’t know if it has to do with living in CA for five years now and having to make so many new friends, or having a kid, which has left me with less time for friends, or the years of therapy that have finally built up my resilience, but I’m ready to stop trying to be friends with everyone. Continue reading

Is Attachment Parenting Extreme or Calm and Nurturing?

Bonding

In my [previous post about the reactions to the Time magazine issue about Attachment Parenting](http://katiebonn.com/2012/05/24/honest-discussion-of-attachment-parenting-or-journalistic-theater/) (AP) I put “techniques” in quotes because, although people are discussing it that way, it does not feel appropriate. A technique seems to me to refer to something that is developed after research, not something that comes naturally.

When I was pregnant, my husband checked out “The Baby Book” by Dr. Sears from the library. As I read about attachment parenting I grew confused, looked up at my husband and said, “I don’t understand what attachment parenting is. To me, this just sounds like parenting”. Continue reading

Honest Discussion of Attachment Parenting or Journalistic Theater?

The Calm Nursing Toddler

I haven’t read the recent issue of Time magazine that covers attachment parenting (AP). I glanced at the website, took the quiz, and read the cover story up until it told me that I needed to create an account to continue. I have, on the other hand, read a lot of the feedback in reaction to the issue, mostly the cover photo.

The first I heard about it was from a friend who was shocked that they could turn something so important to us into something so awkward. Continue reading

To Epidural or Not to Epidural

Early labor, before the pitocin increase

I answered a question on Quora, ["What is it like to have an epidural"](http://www.quora.com/Childbirth/What-is-it-like-to-have-an-epidural) and thought I’d share it here:

I am glad that it was available to me, but if I have another child I will try not to have an epidural. It was necessary in my situation so I don’t regret choosing it, but I do believe that it contributed to the fact that my labor ended in an emergency C-section. Continue reading

Breastfeeding: It Gets Better

Way easier than nursing a newborn

[My husband](http://davedash.com) pointed out a blog post about breastfeeding on [Ask Moxie](http://www.askmoxie.org/2011/05/nursing-it-gets-better.html) in which she was asking readers to comment with their “it gets better” stories. A while back, I began writing a series of posts on my [adventures in breastfeeding](http://katiebonn.com/2010/08/20/adventures-in-breastfeeding-part-i-surviving-day-two/), but haven’t made much progress lately. The comment I made on Moxie’s blog summarizes it probably as concisely as I ever will. Devoid of details that I’ll hopefully add in future posts, here is my “it gets better” post about breastfeeding: Continue reading