25 weeks pregnant and Attachment Parenting

25 weeks and feeling great! I feel so blessed to not have any real pregnancy pains that most women do. I never really had morning sickness, I was tired in my first trimester but not overly so where I would fall asleep in the afternoon. I have a little back pain but nothing terrible. I really haven't had any pregnancy headaches or stuffiness. I do have a little pregnancy mask on my face but that really is my only 'symptom'. I started this whole journey at 116lbs, and now I am 120lbs. So I have gained a total of 4 lbs so far (well that was at my 24 week appointment). If I stay on this schedule, I will gain a total of about 30 pounds which I will be totally happy with!

School is starting in about a week and I am trying to get as much done for Eloise that I can before I have to go back. We have registered at Pottery Barn Kids, Buy Buy Baby, and Target. We have signed up for three classes at the hospital: breastfeeding, infant care, and childbirth preparation. We have sent in our pre-registration forms to the hospital. We have painted Eloise's room and are waiting for the furniture to arrive (it should be any day now!). We have filled out my maternity leave paperwork and handed it in--my last day of work is November 19th. Now, I am looking into different parenting styles and I have come to really love the idea of AP or attachment parenting.

Attachment Parenting has a couple components. Breastfeeding, baby wearing, bed sharing, sleeping and scheduling.

Breastfeeding: I plan on breastfeeding on demand. I will nurse as long or as short as Eloise will want. She will know when she is hungry, and as long as I follow her cues to a certain extent then things should go pretty smoothly. I also plan on breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months. After that, Eloise will start solids and maybe some formula and only nurse once in a while. We will see how this plan goes. I will update you once I am actually breastfeeding.

Baby Wearing: I have registered for the moby wrap and a hotsling. Being able to wear her should make things easier on everyone. I can do everything I need to do in a day and Eloise will be close by at least for the first month or so. Then, we can look into trying to nap in other places besides on me or in my arms.

Bed Sharing: Now, bed sharing is something we are NOT going to do but I am not against it. We are going to room share which has a lot of positives as well. With Julian's crazy dreams/sleep habits I wouldn't want our baby in the bed with us. But she will be right next to us in a bassinet. That way in the middle of the night, if she wants to nurse I can lay her down with me and nurse in a side lying position and go back to sleep for a while.

Sleep Habits: We don't plan on doing any sleep training as of right now. I feel that babies cry for a reason, and as their mother you should respond to these cries immediately. Most babies aren't going to be sleeping through the night, especially if they are breastfed.

Scheduling: I think scheduling is important but I don't want to overdue it. I don't want to force Eloise to take 3 scheduled naps a day if she isn't tired, or if she is tired. I plan on following babies cues. If she wants to take three naps...great. If she wants to take 4 or 5 naps...great. As long as she is healthy I think that getting on a schedule isn't important. As far as bedtime goes, I think there should be a schedule. My plan of a routine is starting at 7:30 with bath, lotion, nursing, book, swaddle, sleep. But other than that I feel like going with the flow and responding to what babies needs are at that moment are most important. Of course, as babies get older they do need a more structured schedule. So I will let you know how that goes :)