To think the term Attachment Parenting.....

[Softlysoftly]

.....is offensive? Because the inference is if you don't follow that theory to the letter you are not attached, or as attached to your child?

and I really hope I am not sounding sneery.

I have only one child, I didn't have to be home at a particular time. I did spend hours doing stuff like putting my ds in and out of the carsear while trying to leave my mum's house and not being able to. i was on maternity leave so not really thinking that time mattered much. I suppose I just surrendered myself to the situation. DS now rarely cries in the car, maybe I am lucky and spoilt because apart from wen he was really young he never really has and if he did I would just feed him.

I have fallen into what I would call AP and I quite like it but it may mean different things to different people.

I found the label 'AP' a long time after I had started doing a lot of the things that come under that label.

I can't get my head around why people get so aereated about it all.

I have 3 children, I am aware that the younger two had to put up with a larger amount of 'mummy will be with you in a minute', but all 3 are parented in a very similar way because it reflects my values, my beliefs, and my emotions when faced with a tiny baby, or a very young child. It's not some kind of rule book I found and followed.

I want to go in the same (big) parenting box as kungfupaanda please.

What do mothers who want to ap do if the baby disagrees? Ds3 hated being in a sling or held when he wanted to sleep, he made it very clear very early on that he wanted to be put down.

Then there's the people who say it's just instinct to carry your child around with you all day, like those who don't do it are missing some sort of mothering skills.

Another here for that parenting box with Kungfupaanda. I BF, co-sleep, use a sling, cloth nappies etc, but not keen on EC, UP, I vaccinate, and the thought of HE fills me with horror!! so I don't know if I qualify as an "attachment parent" or not!

With the car sear situation, as we live in the city we don't drive, so not a problem. When we were on holiday in France last year we hired a car and DD absolutely hated it (she was 12 months at the time, but 3yr old DS loved it). We had to keep stopping and comforting her and I was leaning over her to feed her on the journey to keep her happy. We only drove when she was due a nap, so that was a ball ache, but for us, keeping her happy was the priority, so we were fine with adjusting the drive times. But we realised that we were lucky we didn't have to face that when we were back home on a day to day basis.

and in answer to the OP - YANBU. I don't particularly like the term attachment parenting that much, as it seems to imply that you aren't attached as much if you don't follow the rules.

Moominsarescarey - in that case I'd say if you were following your DCs needs, NOT to be in a sling, then you are meeting his needs, which is what APing is all about.
My DS didn't really want to be in a sling, he was happy in the pram, and happy to just lay in his bouncy chair when he was little. DD on the otherhand was almost permanently attached to me for the first 6 months as she didn't tolerate the pram at all, bouncy chair got no use at all and she wouldn't go to anyone else but me, although did tolerate DH if he wore her in a sling, which he did so I could get a break and sometimes spend some time with my DS!

I expect that you hope that you have a baby similar to you. As a person who has always liked my own space I think that some babies must long to have a rest from mother and just be put down!
One of my reasons for hating all those labels is that they are attached to a philosophy that people form before the baby. It is much better to have the baby and respond to their needs. They may be very different within the same family.
Some things also work very well with one DC but not more. The older DC wants your attention without the baby, it isn't fair to always have the baby attached and never be free. You can't UP if your decision to suit one impinges on the other. Generally it means that the quiet, easy going one, gives way to the self willed, kick up a fuss one.
You can be physically attached to your baby without keying into their needs and you can be very sensitive to their needs without having to 'wear' them. The whole thing is a nonsense.