alone in a sea of strollers - Page 2

[Mama Faery]

To be fair...sometimes there is a reason a mama is pushing her baby in a stroller instead of wearing him/her...from health reasons to ignorance (not the bad kind...just, not knowing about slings) to just not WANTING to...which bothers me but I'm thinking of the whole picture here...so, yes, all you awesome slinging mamas, keep on slingin'!
I have several baby carriers, a carseat, and a stroller...and half the time my little one is only content in my arms, so I'll be wearing a sling, but carrying Rowan. :LOL
Other times, he really likes being in the stroller, loves gazing up at me or DH while playing with a toy. We don't just throw him in the stroller and ignore him, KWIM? We talk to him, lean in close and involve him in whatever we are doing. Then when he gets squirmy we're right there, taking him out to hold him or sling him.
And even with my Hotsling, which I love, I HAVE to put him down to do some things, like cooking on a hot stove, etc. And my back still hurts sometimes, even with my slings. :

I rarely see slinging mamas here as well (except in yoga class! ) and I do like carrying Rowan in the sling when we're at the store or mall or whatever. But I have to go with what Rowan is comfortable with.
Like Erin said, I dont want to sling my baby for education or activism if it's not in my son's best interest at the time.
Anyway, just some thoughts. Ramble ramble...

[Mamid]

Renae... Our kids have the same name! DD is Rowan!

I too use a stroller, mainly because of the instability in my hips. But I prefer slinging even then.

[Mizelenius]

This reminds me of a place near Chicago . . .it's a cute (but somewhat small) children's museum. I have seen SO many moms pusing their newborns in huge strollers or awkwardly carrying around carseats. AP stuff aside, it really looks inconvenient in that situation!

I got my sister an AAFP and when she wore it on a trip to said museum, tons of moms came up and asked her about it. No one said a word about my MNM Pea in a Pod . . .I thought it was 'cause DD was a toddler (my sis had a newborn then) but my sister said it's because the KKAFP looks nicer. Maybe, but I much prefer my hemp! I do think it's just that babywearing doesn't occur to people sometimes. (I did spot a Maya at Target yesterday!)

[Tanibani]

Originally Posted by renae

To be fair...sometimes there is a reason a mama is pushing her baby in a stroller instead of wearing him/her...from health reasons to ignorance (not the bad kind...just, not knowing about slings) to just not WANTING to...which bothers me but I'm thinking of the whole picture here...

I totally agree. That's why I don't get too angry/upset/self-righteous about not seeing more babywearing.

If it wasn't for my first High Need baby (who I carried in arms the first 3 months because it felt wrong to put him down to hear him cry... I couldn't figure out my OTSBH because I didn't have the instructional video : ) I would have NOT became the sling goddess :LOL I am today. So I am grateful for the experience. THEN I read some books that explained to me that it helps their development so much!

Originally Posted by Mizelenius

I have seen SO many moms pusing their newborns in huge strollers or awkwardly carrying around carseats. AP stuff aside, it really looks inconvenient in that situation!

That just might a case of "monkey see, monkey do." I was guilty of that (hand-carrying my baby in the car seat) with the first. Of course it was awkward but I thought carrying him my arms would be more so. Later on, my elbows (OUCH!) started to hurt... and I stopped because an AP mama-friend warned me about that (as I was starting to feel it.)

I think if new mothers saw MORE women carrying their babies, they would do it too.

But today I still see new mommies carrying their babies in car seats.... meanwhile, I breeze in with my babe in sling and preschooler.

Originally Posted by renae

I got my sister an AAFP and when she wore it on a trip to said museum, tons of moms came up and asked her about it. No one said a word about my MNM Pea in a Pod . . .I thought it was 'cause DD was a toddler (my sis had a newborn then) but my sister said it's because the KKAFP looks nicer. Maybe, but I much prefer my hemp! I do think it's just that babywearing doesn't occur to people sometimes. (I did spot a Maya at Target yesterday!)

I'm kinda new to the "newer" sling abbreviations, please explain!

AAFP ?
MNM ?
KKAFP ? (Kangaroo Korner Adjustable Fleece Pouch?) OK got that one. :LOL

T Maybe we need a new thread in babywearing, explaining the abbreviations. :

[FillingMyQuiver]

Originally Posted by Tanibani

I'm kinda new to the "newer" sling abbreviations, please explain!

AAFP ?
MNM ?
KKAFP ? (Kangaroo Korner Adjustable Fleece Pouch?) OK got that one. :LOL

T Maybe we need a new thread in babywearing, explaining the abbreviations. :

I agree.

I don't get upset with the mamas when I see them toting their babies in carseats and pushing them in strollers, but I do admit, I sometimes feel bad for the babe. So often I see the babes in the stroller and no one is interacting with them. It's like their disconnected from their family I know that some moms aren't aware of babywearing and that some can't babywear for whatever reasons, it's the parents that ignore their kids that bother me.

[bethwl]

I had this experience when I took a class called Transitions to Motherhood offered at the hospital. It was a group for new moms to meet and make friends and talk. It was located downtown (Chicago) and I didn't want to drive because I'd spend forever finding parking or pay a ton for it. So I slung her every time, which was very easy since she was only about 12 lbs at the time. Everyone else came in huge "travel systems" and when a bunch of us would go out to lunch together afterwards, it was a nightmare finding a place to eat with 6 strollers, 7 moms, and 7 babies. The only time I was envious was when they could put their babies down and eat a little more freely. But once the group leader said something to the effect of "don't you all wish you could use a carrier like that" implying that a lot of babies weren't comfortable in them. Huh? Anyway, I'm not antistroller (I admit to having three), but I'm anti-letting baby cry and fuss in stroller when they don't want to be in one. And I don't understand why people are wedded to using their stroller even when it's really inconvenient. Especially with newborns--they're so light! I understand wanting to not have a baby on you 24/7, it's nice to have more freedom of movement sometimes, but when they're little, slinging is so easy. (And when they're big, I still prefer slinging sometimes to lugging a stroller or trying to maneuver it through a store.)

Beth
dd Annika 8.9.03

[Mama Faery]

Haha, thing is, my babe gets fussy in ALL SORTS of carriers, including my arms. Sometimes a sling gets a big ol' NO from Rowan, sometimes only my arms will do.
And yes, I'm anti letting baby fuss & cry in a stroller when obviously he wants to be held!! A "friend" of mine actually dared to tell me "your baby's cries don't ALWAYS mean "mom", so you should just let him fuss sometimes"
When do my tiny baby's cries NOT mean "mom"?? Or "dad"...or somebody, please attend to me!"??
But that's a tangent and this friend and I don't spend a lot of time together anymore...she openly wondered why i have to carry my baby all the time!!
She's childless, btw...and honestly, I hope she stays that way until she grows up. a LOT.
The way I do it is, I use what's convenient and makes everybody happy, and it works out.
I almost always sling him for LLL meetings, unless he's fallen asleep in his carseat. At yoga (the class Erin was talking about, incidentally ) I usually keep him in his carseat because either he's been sleeping or because I have to check people in the first 15 min so he sits quietly and watches the parade of people while he wakes up and mama "works".
LLL meetings & yoga are about the only times I see a whole bunch of slinging mamas in one place.

[Benji'sMom]

Someone gave me a stroller as a shower gift, but I keep it in the garage. I can't imagine having to lug that thing around everywhere! Why do people think they are so convenient?!

[maymom2b]

love this thread

Hi all!
I just wanted to suggest to those of you that want to cook while slinging baby try a Kozy or an Ergo.
I have been wearing dd on my back in my Kozy lately and she is silent as a church mouse! I chop, cook, wash dishes etc!
She's letting me hold her there for longer and longer!
I love it!
My dd is like pp......sometimes she would fuss in the sling and I thought there was something wrong with me.
She is one for action though so most of the time if I'm moving she's happy.

[dharmama]

I just wanted to suggest to those of you that want to cook while slinging baby or even attend the yoga class to try a Kozy or a Podegi.

I think I'm about 1/2 way through the six week wait for my Kozy slot. (Trying not to think about it so it will just hurry up and get here :LOL)

[RiceMomma]

Everyone uses strollers because they don't know about slinging. I personally am coming to this forum from the "mainstream" way of life. So-called mainstream moms are good women who love their babies, but are simply ignorant, as someone else said, about things like slinging.

I never considered using a sling because I had a snuggli that hurt my back and I thought a sling would too, and while I had seen slings in catalogs, I had never seen them in real life (still haven't!) and didn't know how to use them- worried that the baby would fall out, ect... Basically, I was ignorant.

So I'm sorry some of you hate being stared at, but you're teaching people, you're doing a real service to all mothers. The more "mainstream" parents see slings, the more they will wonder about them, and maybe will become educated about them, and even more importantly, maybe they will use them! Maybe slings will someday become mainstream.

I do put my baby in a sling now if he's needing to be held and I need to do something, but he really doesn't like it for long stretches of time- he isn't used to it. He truly does like riding around in the stroller. I wish I had been educated about slings when he was born- and when my other children were born.

As for a stroller being convenient- I now have 3 children, 3years and under, and I use my double stroller almost every day. It is a necessity at this point in my life.

But with one baby, the sling is the way to go, compared to dragging the kid around in a heavy carseat all day. And if my baby got fussy, I would be carrying the baby while pushing an oversized stroller or lugging around the carseat. But this is the way we're "supposed" to do it.

I WISH I HAD KNOWN!!!!

[Tanibani]

Originally Posted by RiceMomma

So I'm sorry some of you hate being stared at, but you're teaching people, you're doing a real service to all mothers. The more "mainstream" parents see slings, the more they will wonder about them, and maybe will become educated about them, and even more importantly, maybe they will use them!

Andrea!

I TOTALLY agree with you. Have you seen this site? They got amazing photos of step-by-step babywearing instructions for different types of carriers.

Mamatoto.org

I LOVE being stared at! I love talking about my sling to mothers who come up and ask me. It takes guts to walk up to a stranger and start up a conversation.

Yesterday I was in Toys R Us pushing an empty carseat, carseat stroller, while my baby nursed to sleep in the Over the Shoulder Baby Holder sling (OTSBH). A mom was pushing her 1 month old in the huge stroller, grandmom was walking behind with the toddler. She said, "Hey! How do you use that thing? I can't seem to figure it out...." I offered her my # to show her in person (and I regret now not telling her about the babywearing party I'm going to have). She didn't have the instructional video. That is my # 1 pet peeve about slings... I didn't have it the first time either, and couldn't figure out my sling alone for the first 5 months. I cursed the money I spent on it. I eventually went to a LLL begging for sling help, 'cause DS was High Needs.

Originally Posted by maymom2b

I just wanted to suggest to those of you that want to cook while slinging baby or even attend the yoga class to try a Kozy or a Podegi.

But wouldn't some of the poses be impossible? Downward dog, etc...?

T I just saw this book and ordered it from half.com
Baby Om: Yoga for Mothers and Babies

Dharmama - I * just * got on the Kozy Carrier watiting list: 2 months. I wish I was reading this board BEFORE I gave birth. My baby will be 5 months old, not too bad.

Originally Posted by RiceMomma

But with one baby, the sling is the way to go, compared to dragging the kid around in a heavy carseat all day. And if my baby got fussy, I would be carrying the baby while pushing an oversized stroller or lugging around the carseat. But this is the way we're "supposed" to do it.

Yup, that's the problem.

[Mama Rana]

i hope i didn't sound judgmental of stroller use in general. i have a stroller and there are circumstances where i do find it useful. and of course there are physical reasons not to use a sling. i just know in that class of 17 that they didn't ALL have a disability, and strollers definitely weren't the most convenient in this situation. ya'll are right of course, people just don't know about babywearing, or if they do they associate it with the 3rd world or something.

Mizelenius, i had ds in target in my maya on sunday!! and i was pleasanty surprised to see a mama with her dc in some sort of asian baby carrier.

i wish that our culture was different. i mean whose job should it be to educate parents on the benis of baby-carrying, breastfeeding, no-circ, etc.? i think the majority of parents defer to their docs but i'm more and more becoming convinced that docs are as uneducated as the general public. i wish i could find a doc i can trust.

[RiceMomma]

Tanya, thanks for the welcome! And the link. I know how so use my sling (kinda... It's a handmedown from my SIL, and it's too big for me, and one of those bulky padded ones...) now, but the boy wants to be free to roam to world- pick me up, put me down, pick me up, put me down... I think he might feel differently if he had been slinged (slung?) from the start.

I plan on slinging the next baby. I'll be doing research and shopping for the perfect sling when that time comes.

[Mizelenius]

BTW, I just wanted to add that I also do NOT intend to sound judgmental of stroller use . . .I own 2 and I definitely think they have their place. In fact, DD got to a point where she fussed so much in the sling (once she got walking) that she preferred the stroller when walking wasn't an option. It was sad, but I felt that being AP meant going by what SHE wanted, not what I wanted.

I also never mind if I get stares or asked questions-- I stare at moms in slings, too! Unfortuntately, I rarely got stares or questions when I was slinging DD. My slings must not be showy enough!

And UUCC-- are you in Chicago (well, it was an Evanston Target) . . .maybe that was you!!!

[Mamid]

i've owned 4 over the years. A stupid umbrella stroller that had no strength to help me walk after a car accident and then three others that are far more solid, far heavier and far more combursome. but they all are strong enough for me to use like a walker. I destroyed two of them with all the walking I did.

I still prefer to sling all I can though.

[RiceMomma]

Well, I didn't mean to sound like I thought everyone sounded judgemental- lol. Did that make sense?

I just sometimes feel like there is an attitude on the Mothering boards that mainstream anything is bad and mainstream parents don't care enough about their children. So I just wanted to throw it out there that so-called mainstreamers are just doing the best they can, most of them anyway, with what they know.

And another thing- if I saw a slinging momma, I would be staring too- trying to get a few tips on how she was using it, because I'd be afraid to approach her. I'm kind of shy.

Happy slinging!

[dharmama]

It was sad, but I felt that being AP meant going by what SHE wanted, not what I wanted.

I totally agree!

RiceMomma ~ Good reminders. I try to think of that when I catch myself being judgmental of mamas who are doing things differently than I am (particularly if it falls into more of the "mainstream" catagory).

With only a few exceptions, I think ALL parents are doing the very best they can with the information that they have.

When I am slinging my dd I see "the look" all the time from mamas struggling to carry carseats around....kind of like...huh? Well that looks easier than what I'm doing. I didn't know those things existed. I have had SO many people come up to me and ask for information. My DH says I should start selling slings :LOL because I spend so much time and effort promoting them.

Fussy baby...

~Erin

[Mama Rana]

Originally Posted by Mizelenius

And UUCC-- are you in Chicago (well, it was an Evanston Target) . . .maybe that was you!!!

haha, no i'm in md, musta been another mama.

well, i'm off to yoga today. we'll see how they come!

[Mama Rana]

back from yoga....

well my friend used her snuggli and told me she's ordered a mamaroo, but otherwisw there was a roomful of carseats and strollers (more carseats than strollers this week it seemed) one woman said to another about me, 'she's got the right idea--her hand are free.' i smiled and said, 'well i didn't want to say anything, but....yeah i do!' we laffed but that's as far as it went unfortunately.

my friend and i will just have to continue setting an example!

(T oh, also, i don't know why this surprised me but i was disappointed how few people raised their hands when the instructor asked who was bfing. she's european and i think she was surprised too. the babies are between 6 weeks and 9 months, so it's not like it was that far out there *sigh* i guess to some extent babywearing and bfing past a fw weeks go hand in hand)