Natural Bonding

Check out the Grand Rapids Babywearing Group! Meet other local babywearers, get tips, and try out carriers from the carrier library.

Babywearing Mama
Owned and operated by our own Tessa!

Are you tired of reading children's books filled with images of babies being fed with bottles, sleeping separated from parents, and always in some contraption rather than being held in arms? Are you looking for books treating the topic of birth in settings other than a hospital? If so, then here's a list for you! Some of the books below completely embrace natural or attachment parenting philosophies, while others at least contain some attachment images and ideas. If you come across a children's book that is attachment-parenting friendly, please add it to the list!

Childbirth
How You Were Born by Joanna Cole (real photos, neutral birth setting)
Welcome With Love by Jenni Overend (homebirth, siblings at birth, family bed)
Baby on The Way by William Sears M.D., Martha Sears, R.N., and Christie Watts Kelly (natural childbirth, breastfeeding)
My Brother Jimi Jazz by Chrissy Butler (homebirth, siblings at birth, family bed)
My Mommy's Midwife, by Trish Payne CNM and Hayley Holland (midwifery care, sibling)
Runa's Birth by Uwe Spillman (homebirth--German)
Waiting for the Sun by Alison Lohans (homebirth, sibling)
Grandfather's Christmas Tree by Keith Strand (includes homebirth, breastfeeding)
All the Places to Love by Patricia MacLachlan (includes homebirth)

Sibling/New Baby Books
And After That… by Jeanne Ashbe (image of a breastfeeding baby, but has crib sleeping)
What Baby Needs by Dr. Sears, et. al. (attachment parenting focus)
Rosie’s Babies by Martin Waddell (breastfeeding baby, nurturing care, but bottle for doll and crib sleeping)
Hello Benny by Robie H. Harris (breastfeeding image and information--bottle feeding mentioned in a side box)
Hello Baby by Lizzy Rockwell (pregnancy, birth, & breastfeeding)
Will There Be A Lap For Me? by Dorothy Corey (breastfeeding)
We Have a Baby by Cathryn Falwell (breastfeeding)
Welcoming Babies by Margy Burns Knight (features various cultural welcoming ceremonies, breastfeeding)

Attachment Parenting
Snug in Mama’s Arms by Angela Shelf Medearis (toddler rocked to sleep)
Click! (cosleeping image of mom and young son)
A Ride on Mother's Back: A day of baby carrying around the world by Emery & Durga Bernhard (babywearing, breastfeeding)

Breastfeeding
Mama’s Milk by Michael Elsohn Ross (about breastfeeding)
Near Mama’s Heart by Colleen Newman (nursing, tandem nursing, babwearing, cosleeping)
Saturday with Mez by Lauren Serafin, Jason Rohrer, and Mez (a day in the life of a breastfeeding toddler)
I Love My Mommy Because by Laurel Porter-Gaylord (breastfeeding, nurturing)
Supermom by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom (breastfeeding, cosleeping)
I'm Made of Mama's Milk by Mary Olsen (nursing story from nursling’s pov)
If My Mom Were A Platypus, Animal Babies And Their Mothers by Dia Michels (breastfeeding, nurturing)
Mama, Mama by Jean Marzolla (animals nursing)
Baby Whales Drink Milk by Barbara Juster Esbensen (breastfeeding focus)
Mariana and the Merchild, a Folk Tale From Chile by Caroline Pilcher (breastfeeding image)
Maggie's Weaning by Mary Joan Deutschbein (breastfeeding toddler, weaning process)
The Best Gifts by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (breastfeeding focus)
Breastmilk Makes my Tummy Yummy by Cecilia Moen (breastfeeding focus)
We Like to Nurse by Chia Martin breastfeeding focus