This week we’re talking about parenting philosophies at Natural Parents Network. For Wordless Wednesday, we asked: What does your natural parenting philosophy look like? If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, please link up below!  Read More…

11 Comments | Posted in Attachment Parenting, Babywearing, Breastfeeding, Continuum Parenting, Cosleeping, Feeding With Love, Natural Learning, Nurturing Touch, Parenting Philosophies, Safe Sleep, Starting Solids, Wordless Wednesday

Throughout my pregnancy I had this vision of a baby sleeping peacefully all snuggled in a bassinet. I had no idea that some babies didn’t just stay asleep when you put them down. I also had no idea that newborns had a Moro reflex or even what a Moro reflex was! We never intended to bedshare, but our family bed has …  Read More…

4 Comments | Posted in Balance, Breastfeeding, Cosleeping, Family Structure, Feeding With Love, Nighttime Parenting, Safe Sleep

We have loved sharing a bed with our first son, Everett. The snuggles are an immediate reward, the attachment and sense of security in him is the long term reward. So when our second son, Kellan, was born, without a thought or doubt about it, he joined our bed every night. Since then, however, I’ve had friends and acquaintances ask how we handle bed sharing with two kids.  Read More…

9 Comments | Posted in Attachment Parenting, Consistent Care, Cosleeping, Family Safety, Nighttime Parenting, Parenting Philosophies, Routines and Schedules, Safe Sleep

This week we asked: What does cosleeping in a family bed look like? If you have a Wordless Wednesday post, please link up below! And tell us: What do the sleeping arrangements look like in your family?  Read More…

23 Comments | Posted in Breastfeeding, Cosleeping, Feeding With Love, Safe Sleep, Wordless Wednesday

Cosleeping, also known as “sharing sleep” or having a “family bed,” is a parenting practice that still smacks of taboo in our Western culture. But recent scientific studies are building a much stronger argument for the benefits of sharing sleep with our children.1 Yet even with the scientific support and the changing cultural perception of cosleeping, the subject is typically …  Read More…

180 Comments | Posted in Attachment Parenting, Consistent Care, Cosleeping, Gentle Discipline, Nighttime Parenting, Parenting Philosophies, Responding With Sensitivity, Safe Sleep

An NPN reader asks our natural parenting mentors: We are struggling with sleeping right now. My youngest son is 26 months. My eldest son is nearly 5 years old. We coslept with my eldest, and then he moved into his own room when I was pregnant, but he often ended up back with us. I am tandem breastfeeding. Now he …  Read More…

6 Comments | Posted in Ask an NP Mentor, Attachment Parenting, Balance, Breastfeeding, Breastfeeding Past Infancy, Cosleeping, Feeding With Love, Gentle Discipline, Nighttime Parenting, Parenting Philosophies, Responding With Sensitivity, Safe Sleep

Growing up in Hinduism, I am thankful that I was taught by my parents to always be inquisitive and always strive to learn lessons that are placed before me. It seems that while my parents were on their path to becoming “natural grand parents”, so they were also setting me on my path, of the desire to become a natural parent.  Read More…

8 Comments | Posted in Balance, Belief, Breastfeeding, Cloth Diapers, Cosleeping, Ecological Responsibility, Feeding With Love, Safe Sleep

Breastfeeding is the perfect opportunity for true multitasking! Here are eleven things you can easily do at the same time as you are nursing your baby.  Read More…

3 Comments | Posted in Breastfeeding, Cosleeping, Safe Sleep

People I know have been forcing their babies to cry it out since I’ve known people with babies. I rarely voice my objection publicly.  Read More…

8 Comments | Posted in Attachment Parenting, Babywearing, Cosleeping, Nighttime Parenting, Nurturing Touch, Parenting Philosophies, Responding With Sensitivity, Safe Sleep

It’s an evolutionary trait that moms are wired to be responsive to their baby’s cries. Babies wake up at night because it is what nature intends them to do. Nature also intends that babies drink breast milk. Contrary to what you might hear, it is not normal for a baby to sleep through the night. And breastfed babies wake more frequently than their formula fed counterparts because breast milk gets digested more quickly, thus making them hungry. When we nurse them back to sleep, not only are we satiating their hunger, we are letting them know that they are safe and that their cries will be heeded. We are building a trusting connection with our babies based on respect and responsiveness.  Read More…

56 Comments | Posted in Attachment Parenting, Breastfeeding, Cosleeping, Feeding With Love, Nighttime Parenting, Parenting Philosophies, Safe Sleep