What Do You NOT Do While Wearing Your Baby?

[bumblecat]

I am a first time mom - my DD is 2.5mos. I imagined slinging her all the time at home and doing whatever I needed to do - I figured I would need to put her down to shower and use the stove/oven, and that would be about it. However, I just haven't gotten the hang of doing dishes while wearing her, and our laundry area is in the basement, which I don't feel comfortable walking up and down the stairs with hampers and her in the sling because I can't see the stairs in front of me. I don't like wearing her when I'm doing general tidying, as it involves a lot of repetitive bending over which disturbs her if she's drowsy. Vacuuming is too loud for her to be so close, etc. As it turns out, I pretty much never wear her at home. I hold her a lot when I'm not doing any of the things I mentioned, but I only use the slings when we go out.

When I want to do something that I can't hold her for, I wait until she is either sleeping, (she usually naps in her bouncy seat) or if she is content I will put her in her bouncy seat and leave her looking out the window while I run a load of laundry down or something that only takes a minute. I always pick her up if she starts making unhappy sounds, but I just haven't gotten the hang of being the babywearing mama I thought I would be, and I don't know if I ever will.

Some of it may also be because I am rarely alone with her all day. DP works from home most of the time, only being gone 3 mornings a week until about noon. So a lot of the time if she is awake and I need to do something, I can have him hold her for awhile because he doesn't have a set work schedule and can take breaks to help me out and doesn't mind. So it's often easier for me just to wait until he can take her, rather than try to do things while wearing her.

So I'm just curious what you all do and don't do while wearing your babes. I'm wondering if I'm missing something that would make it easier.

[zinemama]

True confession: I never got the hang of doing anything with a sling. The kid just felt too vulnerable and sticking out.

But at six or seven months, when I started using a backpack, it all changed. With the baby on my back, I could cook, vacuum, everything!

[potatofairy]

i couldnt do anything with him on the front.

once i could wear him on the side or back, i could do dishes and laundry.

[batsister]

I wear my 5.5-month-old while doing some things around the house and also for laundry (I don't have much choice, since we live in an apt without a washer and dryer in our unit... can't leave baby in the apt. alone while I go down the hall!), but I also find it difficult to wear him on my front for things that require lots of bending, I don't wear him when cooking, etc. I am starting to wear him on my back some, which helps a lot. A few thoughts/suggestions:
1) I find it easier to do things around the house using a two-shoulder carrier (e.g., a mei tai) than using a one-shouldered ring sling.
2) If you are comfortable starting to wear your baby on your back sometimes, you can start doing a high back carry in a mei tai. I don't have personal experience with this, but you can find instructions, etc. online.
3) If having your partner hold your baby, putting her down sometimes, etc. is working for you, I would not worry about how much you are babywearing. You may also find that you wear her more as she gets older.

[isabchi]

That was my main reason to get a Mei Tai and Woven Wrap to wear DS in my back. with the exception of vacumed. DS hate the lousy noise of the vacum,but I know many babies that loves the noise...LOL

[lifeguard]

I never mastered doing things with ds around the house. And he was so content to be put down for short periods that it wasn't necessary. I think with our next baby I will need to more because he'll have me so busy!

[4JMJ]

I would def. recommend trying a mei tai. They are super easy to use and very comfortable! It took a little getting used to, but I can get the dishes done with him in the front(though it takes a little longer!) My LO is 3 mos. I haven't put him on my back yet, but I imagine that would be easier for getting more things done!
Good luck!

[lalemma]

Maybe try a mai tei? I can only get things done if I'm wearing my 2mo in a mai tei or a stretchy wrap, not in a sling. With the sling I always feel like I need to keep a hand on him unless I'm just walking around, so it defeats the whole hands-free purpose.

Dishes work fine in a mai tei (although it takes longer) and I can do or fold laundry as long as I've put him down for two minutes so I can take the basket downstairs and run back up to get him - like you, I feel that it's not safe to walk down stairs carrying him in a front carry and a basket of laundry. Basically, I can do most household chores (except for anything using the stove) so long as it's okay that I take a bit longer to do them.

[Satori]

About the only thing I didn't do was wear her when cooking something that might pop then when she got bigger I stopped when cooking on the stove because she started trying to grab stuff but other then that I wore her for anything else. I used a Mei Tai for the baby baby stage and started wearing her on my back at 2-3 months old I think then switched to strictly the back carry in the Ergo from about 7 months on.

[almadianna]

I do not fry or saute with a baby strapped to me. I will mix and chop and prepare but thats about it. I do not mow the lawn either. I do just about everything else, including exercise on the Wii fit because he loves it. But I do most everything with a backcarry, front carries made it all too hard for me.

[newlywaaz]

I think being a babywearing mama is sometimes more about the relationship between mother and child more than the actual "wearing" of the baby. you are willing to stop what you are doing to care for the needs of your baby, and you fit everything else in around that. She's not stuck on the floor all day, and a lot of times I think wearing in public makes SO much more sense than wearing at home anyway! And, you'll find that babywearing goes in waves; some months it's all you do, and other times you will realize days have gone by without a carrier seeing the light of day. For me, it's all about what works for each situation, and it sounds like you've got that figured out already. keep it up and, maybe try a back carrier if you haven't already...

[almadianna]

Originally Posted by newlywaaz

I think being a babywearing mama is sometimes more about the relationship between mother and child more than the actual "wearing" of the baby. you are willing to stop what you are doing to care for the needs of your baby, and you fit everything else in around that. She's not stuck on the floor all day, and a lot of times I think wearing in public makes SO much more sense than wearing at home anyway! And, you'll find that babywearing goes in waves; some months it's all you do, and other times you will realize days have gone by without a carrier seeing the light of day. For me, it's all about what works for each situation, and it sounds like you've got that figured out already. keep it up and, maybe try a back carrier if you haven't already...

I think for me it was mostly about convenience. My daughter was intense and high needs, if I hadnt been a babywearer I would have probably jumped out of a window!

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by newlywaaz

I think being a babywearing mama is sometimes more about the relationship between mother and child more than the actual "wearing" of the baby. you are willing to stop what you are doing to care for the needs of your baby, and you fit everything else in around that. She's not stuck on the floor all day, and a lot of times I think wearing in public makes SO much more sense than wearing at home anyway! And, you'll find that babywearing goes in waves; some months it's all you do, and other times you will realize days have gone by without a carrier seeing the light of day. For me, it's all about what works for each situation, and it sounds like you've got that figured out already. keep it up and, maybe try a back carrier if you haven't already...

Ditto to all that. I wear my LO when it's convenient to me (usually when we're out & about) and the rest of the time, he's in my arms. I set him on the floor for a minute or hand him to DH when necessary. I don't "do" things while I'm wearing him -- I'm tiny and have back issues so bending etc. with the extra weight is too tough & awkward anyway. I don't think babywearing is about the "wearing", it's about having your baby see the world from your perspective. It's about her being close to you. It's about her having her needs tended to quickly. It's about her not being left in a playpen or bouncer all day long. You don't actually have to "wear" your baby for all those benefits. The only time I find baby-wearing to be significantly more beneficial than carrying my DS is when I'm trying to get him to sleep (then my moby-style wrap works miracles!)

[MittensKittens]

I second the suggestions about gettingf a mei tai and doing a back carry. Personally, I have never liked ring slings or ouches much... Mei tais and podaegis feel so much safer to me.

[funkymamajoy]

I can't do anything in a front carry, except go for walks and nurse.

In a back carry, I do everything except for laundry and going to the bathroom. I'm short and have to bend over really far to get clothes out of the washer. And I prefer to pee alone.

[AustinMom]

I do the kangaroo carry with my son

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44snbbszTps

Get 5 yrds of jersey knit fabic, cut it in half long was (so you have two 5 yrd strands) and you will have two wraps.

He was very high needs, as a littler baby (3-9 mo ish) and vacuuming always put him to sleep. And yes, his hearing is fine, but I can see how you would be concerned. Personally, I think a lot childhood toys are much louder.

Doing the dishes and cooking, and laudry, I all did in min, although I didn't have stairs. It totally covers them, even their legs in multiple layers, no no worries there. Also I found it's kinda like being pregnant again, only baby is on the outside, it's pretty much the same size.

It was purely out of convenience, and I loved every minute of it.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by AustinMom

Also I found it's kinda like being pregnant again, only baby is on the outside, it's pretty much the same size.

YES!!! LOL!! I think it's so funny when I'm out in public, people do a double take -- his feet will be hanging out so they think I'm pregnant but the feet stick out of my belly!! It's hilarious!! (Not quite as funny: trying to get up from the couch!)

I wish I could wear him more but he's like 25 pounds and my back just can't take it except when I'm walking.

[transylvania_mom]

I can't do the dishes either. I can vacuum because dd doesn't mind the noise. I can go downstairs with dd in a wrap, because I can bend to see the stairs, while with her in a sling it would be more difficult.
I'd recommend a wrap or a mei tai for back carry. We got our mei tai but dd likes only the wrap. I think I'll keep her in the wrap for another month or two, then we'll graduate to mei tai

[Pepper44]

My DD would scream anytime I put her down as an infant, so I wore her constantly. (Except while pooping or showering.) I wore her in the Moby wrap and she would nurse then fall asleep, then wake up and nurse again...

It was a little harder to do dishes, but not too bad once I got the hang of it. The vacuum didn't bother her. It didn't even wake her up! I was careful when cooking things that popped, but usually I could tuck her in well so that she wasn't exposed.

I don't know what I would have done without my wraps! Lost my mind for sure...

[MsVyky]

When I'm doing things around the house, I use the moby.

I can tie her tight to me and when she falls asleep, I tuck her head into the cross fabric to keep it to my body and not flopping out when I bend.

And if anything, I find she sleeps best there- I can vacuum, do the dishes, the laundry, and then lie down on the couch and have a nap with her when it's all said and done


(She is 2.5 months, 11-12 pounds and I wear her in a snuggle hold)

os it bad that I do wear her when I'm pooping? LOL. She'd scream bloody murder if I put her in the play yard or a bouncy seat. I have to wait for my husband to get home to take a shower