Babywearing while pregnant (x posted in "I'm Pregnant")

[sarahtdubb]

Hey babywearers!

I am 9.5 wks pregnant with baby #2 and already starting to show a bit. My son is 22 months and I still wear him A LOT... and I love wearing him! Do you have any recs for carriers that are useful and comfy when pregnant? we have a ringsling that I can use for hip carry, but I'd like to be able to keep wearing him on my back sometimes. We have a Beco, but I'm concerned that the buckle will start pushing into my lower belly and be uncomfortable.

Maybe a mei-tei would work better?

Any ideas? Thanks!

[almadianna]

I used wraps alot while pregnant, there are ties that dont go across your belly but that tie around your chest area and those worked fine when I was pregnant.

[Ruthla]

I wasn't able to babywear while pregnant. It was just too hard on my back. And those carriers that go across the chest area never worked for me- they cut into breast tissue, they weren't comfortable, and I was afraid they'd lead to plugged ducts.

As determined I was to babywear, I really had no choice but to put DD1 in a stroller when I was pg with DD2. AFter she was born, I used to put them in the double stroller and alternate who got worn in the sling, based on who needed it most at the time.

[Quirky]

I was able to BW all the way to 38 weeks when pregnant with dd#2. I used mainly buckle carriers (Ergo and Beco 4th Gen) and just pushed the buckle under the bump. It's def. uncomfortable to have anything pressing on your bump as you get bigger. It's also possible to do carries with wraps and MTs where the ends/straps are tied over your chest (aka Tibetan), but I never found that as comfortable as it put all the weight on my shoulders.

I found that I really needed chiropractic care in my second and third pregnancies to keep my pelvis in alignment, but when I was well-aligned I didn't have pain issues. In fact, it was actually quite comfy carrying dd1 on my back, as her weight helped balance out the huge belly in front! (dd3 ended up being 10+ pounds and my belly was BIG.)