I love my choice to parent with intuition and connection, but it comes with its trials. Following are ten AP challenges I've encountered so far…

10. Trying to explain how a baby carried in a sling will, indeed, learn how to crawl, walk, dance just like babies in strollers.

9. Feeling something's wrong when there's no one attached to my boob.

8. The Questions. On top of vegan-related questions ("is it really healthy to raise her vegan?"), people just naturally have questions about AP practices. "When are you going to wean her?" "When will you put her in her own bed?" "When are you going to put her down?" I should design a t-shirt that simply says, "When the baby wants to."

7. Public Displays of Boob (PDB). Nursing while grocery shopping, baby gets distracted, resulting in PDB.

6. Waking up shivering with half my body off the bed, next to baby and husband both splayed out with arms and legs outstretched, like sleeping jumping jacks.

5. AP Competition. "I've been wearing John for five days straight, nursing the equivalent of 20 gallons of milk and have mastered the art of changing his diaper in the sling!" "Ha! That's nothing! I just hiked Mount Shasta with Suzie in the sling, nursing her the whole way while dictating my book about the pros and cons of co-sleeping."

4. AP terminology. I'm not really "attached" to by baby; she nurses before she needs to "demand" it; and "co-sleeping" just sounds so academic.

3. Those fleeting feelings of doubt about this parenting style. Could she really crush me in my sleep? What if she doesn't wean until she leaves for college? Can I still call her vegan even though she drinks milk? What if after all this work she hates me?

2. Trying to convince my husband that I do really need a blue sling to match my blue dress… and a slick black sling to go to that wedding… and a white sling for summer…

1. And the Number 1 Challenge About Attachment Parenting. Those times when I feel so… well… detached.

--Caity McCardell and her daughter, Gianna, are staunch proponents of hypnobirthing after a wonderful home birthing experience on Halloween 2005. They live in Martinez, California and enjoy daily walks in the hills, avoiding the local malls, oil refineries, and angry dentists.

I practice AP and I have absolutely no support on it; right down to my husband, so to read this made me feel a bit more confident. My daughter is now 20 months old; still nursing...out of the sling but still cosleeping and I dance her to sleep every night. The criticism I receive is rapid fire so articles like this reaffirm what I chose to do for my daughter. thank you.
-Jennifer

This article made me laugh until I cried. It’s so nice to see parenting humor that I can relate to.
--Monique Withers

I loved the AP article. It's not surprising, but I got a lot of the same questions when my son was a baby. But I have to say it was all worth it. He's four-and-a-half now and is an incredibly confident, happy, bright and healthy child. I know that AP isn't for everyone, because some parents prefer a bit of distance between themselves and their kids, but I do think it is the most effective, rewarding way to parent a child.
--Julie

This article had me laughing out loud! I especially like the AP competition. Although most of the time I am probably just competing with my own thoughts on how a baby should be parented, there are those times when I wonder if am I AP enough. You know, if I let the baby nap in bed while I am doing something else, is it OK? Will she be well attached? Then I think of all those mommies who let the baby fall asleep in a different room of the house with a bottle stuck in thier mouths and think to myself, yeah, my baby will be OK.