Because I didn't speak up to the mama I saw at the store today who was wearing her baby (I thought) incorrectly. She had a thin wrap, and the fabric was all twisted up where she had crossed it in back (rolled like a rope, really) and the strap parts were similarly twisty. She had her babe (5-ish months) front-facing and a hand on her but the babe looked like she didn't have a good seat or chest support. I'm not a fan of outward-looking carries, period, but this one seemed especially bad. I sort of glanced, caught her eye, and she looked away. I rolled to the next aisle, then thought about it some more and by the time I worked up the guts to approach her, she wasn't anywhere nearby. The baby didn't seem like she was dangling by a thread or anything, and no airway concerns as she was holding her own head just fine, but it just looked...wrong. I'm not a pro; maybe she was doing something just perfectly normal that I've never seen?
I felt weird...mainly because my son wasn't with me. I probably would have felt more comfortable approaching her to give her some input if I'd had my wrapped son on my back. I think she might have felt more comfortable too.
I just moved to a pretty small town with not a ton of babywearers. Most folks use Bjorns, if they use anything. I've been thinking about starting a babywearing get-together, but that's beside the point.
The question is: what would you have done in my shoes? Is there a graceful way to approach this with strangers in public? Have any of you had an experience where a stranger noted a problem with your babywearing technique? I'd like to get a little script in my head on how to do it in the future. Or, should I just mind my own business?
Thanks mamas!
I felt weird...mainly because my son wasn't with me. I probably would have felt more comfortable approaching her to give her some input if I'd had my wrapped son on my back. I think she might have felt more comfortable too.
I just moved to a pretty small town with not a ton of babywearers. Most folks use Bjorns, if they use anything. I've been thinking about starting a babywearing get-together, but that's beside the point.
The question is: what would you have done in my shoes? Is there a graceful way to approach this with strangers in public? Have any of you had an experience where a stranger noted a problem with your babywearing technique? I'd like to get a little script in my head on how to do it in the future. Or, should I just mind my own business?
Thanks mamas!
