[redhedded]

ping, I wanted to say that your post was beautifully written and the perfect response ; hopefully it was just what Bea needed to hear! I agree completely that the bond is created with those who are providing the care and love and hope that my post never implied that any specific philosophy or any special process should be followed in an effort to create bonding. It occurs naturally, and I, for one, never worried about it during the process or for a moment when my daughter arrived. We did exactly what you did, responding immediately to all of her needs and providing lots of contact, stimulation, "conversation" and love.

For the record Bea, we took only a few things from attachment parenting and discarded much more; mostly we just responded immediately, like parents have been doing for centuries. After rereading my post from last night, it seemed as though we gained much more than we did from AP practices. (Chalk it up to my being very tired) Bare skinned contact is one of those things that I thought silly and unnecessary for us; I never considered breast feeding for a moment, and our daughter, while occasionally willing to "be close" in the Baby Bjorn, hated the sling and preferred riding in the infant carrier, distant from us, so she could view the world. She also slept in her crib until she began having night terrors at 12 months. Like ping said, she is no more/less bonded to us than the biological children of friends who gave birth at home, breastfed, carried in a sling constantly and co-slept from birth.

Try not to worry another minute. Wishing you peace during your wait.