by Corinna Craddock

Created on: June 20, 2009

Securing the Bond of Attachment, without Breastfeeding, Co-Sleeping, or Spoiling.

Although the theory of attachment parenting has evolved to mean doing whatever it takes to make your child happy; the bond of attachment to a caregiver during the first year of life is of special concern.

The bond of attachment that a baby forms with a caregiver is crucial for the development of a baby's trust in the environment. In addition to building trust in the environment, a solid attachment lets babies know they are worthy of being loved. Loving a baby, teaches a baby to love himself. These become the adults able to form healthy relationships in life, with the ones they love.

The caregiver's role in making a baby feel safe and loved becomes the baby's foundation, needed for all that must be coped with in life. Babies who have consistently had their needs met by their environment, through the actions of a loving caregiver (who does not fail to respond in expected ways), are babies better able to adjust to all the things life may throw at them.

The bond that is formed between the baby and his caregiver this way, is a positive tie of love that is stronger than the threat of relationship issues that later years may bring. The bond of attachment will hold the parent-child relationship together, after it seems to have been ripped apart. It is an underlying foundation that allows a child to know, from somewhere in the most basic corners of their soul, that their place in this world is valued and was meant to be.

Attachment without Breastfeeding

The bond of attachment is not created only by those who breastfeed. Non-maternal caregivers, fathers, and mothers who choose a bottle can bond with a baby also. Breastfeeding is Nature's way of making sure that a bond develops during feeding.

Aside from the obvious physical contact, Nature has designed things so that a woman's face is about nine inches from the eyes of the baby feeding at her breast. This is the same distance that babies can see during the early stages of vision development. When a mother breastfeeds and looks into the eyes of her child, she communicates the warmth and safety associated with unrushed nourishment. She feeds her baby's stomach and also his sense of worth and trust in the world.

Bonding without breastfeeding requires special understanding of attachment goals. It is very important to never prop" a baby's bottle. Aside from health risks such as rotten

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