There are aspects of attachment parenting that I don’t hold to, but the guiding principal - that of including the baby in the activity of the day is one I love. Petka likes involvement, she likes to be a part of everything I do. When I sweep with her in the sling, she likes to wrap her little hands around the handle and help. In the grocery store, she’ll lean way out of her sling to join in at pushing the cart, beaming at everyone and bringing joy to the other shoppers. Apart from splitting and hauling wood, feeding the fire, and cleaning under things, I like to have Petka helping as well. The work goes slower, she’s often in the way, and there’s nothing at all she’s really able to help with right now, but her joyful little laugh is infectious, and her excitement at being in on the work is fun to watch.
Right now, I have to remind myself that she should have time to crawl around on the rugs, pulling out pages of Mother Earth News, and trying to share her teething fruit with Luba - who loves tossing Mr. Banana around almost as much as Yarrow does. Being included in most of our daily tasks has certainly encouraged Petka’s very interactive personality. She loves people, loves babbling to them, proudly standing tall for them, and laughing at their attention. She loves taking ‘sips’ of my drinks and grinning proudly. I’m excited to see what continued involvement in life, from checking the chickens to cooking to chasing Luba around the yard will do with her enthusiasm for life.
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