Not that I was reading comments, because I don’t, but I did happen to see a comment as I went to post something the other day which I wanted to write about.

The comment was snarky (surprise surprise) and it was about Attachment Parenting. It said, “How could you practice AP as a single mom? Hmmmm?”

Well, I’m going to go ahead and answer this despite my eye-rolling at the snark factor.

The principles of Attachment Parenting are generally accepted as:

1. Educated birth choices, emphasizing the significance of an unmedicated birth.

2. Breastfeeding and educated bottlefeeding. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Uncategorized
• Tags: attachment parenting, divorce, featured, single mom

Yesterday on Raising Kvell, Tzipporah La Fianza wrote a post about her frustrations with attachment parenting, and why she stopped associating with AP. Today, Mayim responds.

Hey, Tzipporah. So… I’m kind of in the middle of a divorce and I am really stressed and it’s really the least fun week I’ve had in a long time, but did you think you could sneak this one by me and I wouldn’t respond!? I mean, come on, sister. I WROTE A BOOK ON IT!

In all gentleness and camaraderie, I would like to respond to some of your points as best as I can as someone who is not a perfect AP mom, or a perfect any kind of mom (ask Carla Naumburg), but just a plain mom who has also been through the parenting wringer, AP and otherwise, and lived to tell about it. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Uncategorized
• Tags: attachment parenting, beyond the sling, featured

Time Magazine put a picture of a mother breastfeeding her 3-year-old son on their latest cover, and the whole world started talking. Several news and media sources contacted me to get my opinion on the matter, and here’s what I had to say:

From CNN:

Entertainment Tonight, “The Insider,” May 10th:

Good Morning America:

Entertainment Tonight, “The Insider,” May 11th:

Jane Velez-Mitchell:

• Posted in Uncategorized
• Tags: attachment parenting, extended breastfeeding, media

I have never read Parenting Magazine. Well, maybe I have thumbed through it in a doctor’s office once or twice. I don’t tend to read “conventional” consumer-heavy magazines. Too much molding everyone and their kids to be the same image of “normal” that modern obstetrics and pediatrics wants to sell us: buy this, buy that, you need this gadget and that gadget.

Not my thing, but whatever. There’s something for everyone, and the “natural family living” publication, Mothering Magazine (now Mothering.com) was made for mamas like me, so fine. To each her own.

Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Uncategorized
• Tags: attachment parenting, featured

Hoo-boy. My book, Beyond the Sling, came out a few months ago. It went well. I was on The View, Nightline, and GMA. Big magazines interviewed me and the reviews were really positive overall. I didn’t make the NY Times bestseller list (seems you have to be a horribly mean/strict/abusive mama to really capture the interest of Americans!), but I was really pleased with the overall outcome of the book release: we went into a third printing the week it came out, Kveller threw me an awesome party at kosher/vegan Cafe Blossom, and seven of the Maccabeats came to the party (but who’s counting?). I mean, come on: in my world it does not get much better than that.

Imagine my surprise that I and my book have become something of a mini-sensation again in the past two weeks! First, Howard Stern (who I both am repulsed by and find utterly fascinating) mentioned he’d love to talk to me about how I “don’t believe in diapers” (his quote, not mine; we practiced Elimination Communication (EC) but used cloth diapers until we had the system down at about 15 months and much as I “believe” in hamburgers but don’t partake in them, I do “believe” in diapers). Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Uncategorized
• Tags: attachment parenting, beyond the sling, featured, publicity

These women are not gross!

I got an email from my dad the other day. Here’s what it said.

Subject: 2 things

Hey there

1. Did you know Alicia Silverstone chews up food and feeds it to her baby?

2. Eating placenta may not be good for you.

Love, Dad

If you know my dad, you know that this is well within the realm of “normal” for my father and his email communication with me. In fact, it’s one of the less bizarre emails I have ever received from him. But besides alerting me to the fact that if my dad knows about this Alicia thing, I should probably write about it, it brings to light a larger parenting issue that’s been on my mind lately about where our comfort zone is, and what happens when someone does something outside of it. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Uncategorized
• Tags: attachment parenting, celebrities, feeding, placenta

Cara Paiuk wrote a very touching piece on Kveller this week. It detailed some of her mother’s difficulty conceiving, birthing, and, ultimately, “attaching” to her infant. Cara described a series of events unfathomable to most of us, and bravely notes a sense of loss in the bond she and her mother ultimately shared. Whereas many would shy away from making a possible link between her birth and later attachment, Cara spoke up. Read the rest of this entry →

• Posted in Uncategorized
• Tags: attachment parenting, beyond the sling, birth

If you know anything about Mayim Bialik, chances are you know she’s a huge proponent of breastfeeding. And not just breastfeeding, but extended breastfeeding. As a certified Lactation Educator/Counselor, she’s more than comfortable with taking the scientific approach to the matter, and throughout her time writing for Kveller, she’s shared plenty of her stories and opinions. Here are some of our favorites:

1. I Breastfeed My Toddler. Got a Problem with it?

In which Mayim tackles the common questions from naysayers, like, “If he’s old enough to ask for it, isn’t he too old to have it?” and, “What does your husband think?” and, “Do you even have any milk anymore?”

2. It May Be Time to Wean My 3-Year-Old

In which Mayim discusses Fred’s shifting demand for milk, her “no ask no refuse” policy, day-weaning, Elimination Communication, and how it’s not actually time to wean her 3-year-old. Photo of Mayim nursing on NYC subway included.

3. New Moms Don’t (Usually) Need Breast Pumps

In which Mayim recommends new moms to stay away from the breast pump if there is no pressing need for it, for reasons including the science, the sensibility, and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

4. Mayim Bialik Not Done Defending Attachment Parenting Yet

In which Mayim assures you that breastfeeding is the recognized best way to feed and nourish your baby, and giving “an ounce or two” of formula statistically leads to more formula, less demand, and eventual weaning.

• Posted in Uncategorized
• Tags: attachment parenting, breastfeeding, extended breastfeeding, featured, weaning