I thought something I put in Carrie's comment box needed repeating:

I don't believe (nor have I said outright, although you may have thought I implied it) that "Attachment Parenting" was simply any of the "things" that AP'ers may or may not do- using cloth diapers, nursing, co-sleeping, etc. No, it's not a "laundry list". My thoughts have always been that my ways of doing things aren't much different from any of those who believe that those things are what Attachment Parenting is all about- and I have found that there are some women who do in fact believe that.. to those who have so eloquently put that AP is about forming an attachment to your child, then I hardly consider myself different in that respect, either.

After I gave birth, I joined up with a number of parenting chat sites. One board in particular, seriously disappointed me and my view on the types of people we have roaming around in society. There were women who actually told a few of the moms there (who weren't too sure about extending nursing- a serious bone of contention there), that they were not "Attachment Parents". At the time, I had no idea that the majority of the women there had any particular form of parenting- I wasn't there because I wanted to bond with mothers who fed their kids the same way, diapered their kids the same way, and so on. I was there to bond with MOTHERS in particular. However, that particular discussion brought out a truly horrific side of some of these women. In turn, it led me to question the whole labeling of the way people parent. As I have said previously, I don't put a label on how I parent. I simply do things the way I do them. I love my child, I comfort her, I feed her, I hold her close when either of us feels the need to be close. I'm bonding with my child.

If Attachment Parenting is more of a way of loving and being attached to your child (shortly put), than of just the means of changing, feeding, etc.., then I do have to wonder why some women feel the need to set themselves apart from all of the other mothers out there who not only choose to do things differently but also who still love and bond with their children. I have heard first hand from mothers who feel that you cannot be considered a true AP'er (as if it's some special club) if you do not follow particular "guidelines". I'm not sure who set up these "guidelines", nor do I see why some women are put down if they don't follow them. At times I admit I get a sour taste in my mouth about the subject, because from what I read more and more, it's like a "clique". It just seems silly to me.

What I find a bit irritating right now is that it seems some think I'm being "rigid" in my own beliefs (and what exactly are those beliefs, anyway? I don't know. Are they much different from anyone else's?). I don't think I'm being "rigid" at all. I think I'm open to other ways of thinking. If someone can't see that, then I feel they're truly blind and have no idea who I am.

Oh, and again, I really do love what David said about it:

Attachment Parenting = Being "attached" (in other words, bonded) to your kids, and actually caring about them.

I think that's the definition of any good form of parenting.