I feel compelled to say that Judi's example (below) demonstrates Erik
Erikson's stages of development. Erikson asserts that the stage of "Trust
vs. Mistrust" (infancy) absolutely must, must be accomplished before the
child can go on to the other stages, e.g., Identity vs. Identity Confusion
(adolescence). (And other stages in between, obviously.) In other words,
helping the baby to feel secure early on enables him to become independent
later when it is appropriate. Why parents would think that kids should be
emotionally independent when they are obviously not able to be physically
independent is a mystery to me.

I also feel compelled to say that this discussion has frequently implied
that the "family bed" is synonymous with sleeping with the mother only
(rather than mother/father) and this is not my understanding of "family
bed." I'll yield to anyone who can show me (I don't mean opinion or
interpretation, but showing me!) otherwise.



>Like most new things, you get so used to it, it becomes a way of life.  After
>she had moved to her own bed, my daughter used to come in to ours when she
>woke up in the middle of the night.  We never even knew she was there.  If
>people only realized, it is easier to just meet their needs.  I had a friend
>who told me I was making my son a whimp because he nursed forever, slept with
>us, had his "boo-boos" kissed and hugged away.  He is a wonderful
>independent 16 year old, not a whimpy bone in his body.
>



--
Marie Biancuzzo
Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist
[log in to unmask]
Resources to simplify breastfeeding management are available at
http://www.wmc-worldwide.com

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