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Do you cook in your sling?

post #1 of 37
10/4/04 at 8:57pm
Thread Starter 
I have been cooking dinner with my newborn in the sling. When I went to put my maya in the washer I noticed on the tag that it says, DO NOT cook with baby in sling! It makes perfect sense and I feel like a nut for not realizing how dangerous it *could* be! Does anyone else cook in their sling? I think I'll stop now!

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post #2 of 37
10/5/04 at 2:26pm
i make sandwiches or pack my lunch (did this morning) with the baby in the sling. but when i'm doing anything with hot grease or water on the stove i stick him in the johnny jumpup in the kitchen doorway so he can watch me

i'm wanting to try the back position for doing dishes. i think he might be getting big enough
post #3 of 37
10/5/04 at 2:50pm
No Way! But, I hate to cook and my kid is 25 pounds. THat and I'm scared to death of hot grease....
post #4 of 37
10/5/04 at 2:53pm
not anything hot, not EVER.

I know people don't 'think' of it happening to them but one little slip could have boiling hot water ON your baby and let me tell you the sling is NO protection from something like that! I had an accident with boiling water a while back (about a year ago) and litterally the time it took for me to jump and pull the shirt off my chest was enough to burn me with 3rd degree burns on my breast! Trust me it is SO not worth it, eat out, use the mic, make cold cereal for dinner if baby can't be put down or held/worn by someone else. I couldn't imagine putting a BABY through even a fraction of the pain/healing time I went through last year! (and I was nursing my 1 yr old at the time it happened- I had to put him on one breast for the time it took the other to heal, it was never the same nursing experence) but it could literally kill your baby to cook with them in the sling. Accidents do happen, no one plans for them so PLEASE don't cook with baby in the sling.
post #5 of 37
10/5/04 at 3:27pm
House rule is no children in the kitchen while cooking/baking anything hot - that includes in the sling. My 3 year old helps me prepare things then out he goes when it comes time to put it in the oven. I might be a spaz but I burned my fingers on our stove when I was almost 4 and I remember the pain.
post #6 of 37
10/5/04 at 5:35pm
The most I will do in the sling or pouch are quick foods, like sandwiches, or heating something in the microwave that does not have water in it; like cheesburgers, pizza, etc. But not while I am doing 'real' cooking, like cooking chicken or something.
post #7 of 37
10/6/04 at 11:03pm
My DS once grabbed a knife when I thought I was being very careful. He was fine, but it scared me to death.

Now, I do very little cooking with him in the sling.
post #8 of 37
10/7/04 at 1:44am
I will confess I do cook in the sling from time to time, although if I am working with hot water or oil I do not. My son likes to be all tucked up inside the sling, with his arms and hands enclosed, do grabbing things isn't an issue. But truly, if I didn't use it while preparing food to some extent we would never eat.
post #9 of 37
10/7/04 at 2:17am

Am I the only one??

I always wear my baby while cooking and always have. Though I will say that we don't fry things often and if we did and I had hot greese then that would be another story.

I think it is about using your head ya know. You don't want to have a little one in the kangaroo carry while you are cutting veggies where they could reach out and grab a knife. You don't want them to be able to reach out and grab a boiling pot either. But if you have them securly in a back carry that is different.
When dd was smaller I wore her every evening on my back while I cooked. She was usually asleep. If there was no one else here to hold her and she was crying . . . there was no option as far as I am concerned.

When I start cooking again (have not done much since baby) I will put ds on my back in the wrap or mei tai where he is completely covered with fabric (not that he could really grab anything at his age though).

I let the kids help me cook too (though not near the stove when it is hot, they can help mix). I will even let ds help cut stuff and I let dd sort the knives (not the sharp ones). I guess maybe I am more of the CC (continuum concept) mindset on stuff like this. I mean tribal women did everything while wearing their babies.
Heck I pressure washed a house in near 100 degree weather with my dd on my back and didn't think much about it, though I was extra careful!!

Sling makers have to give "warnings" and stuff with their products. I know I do too. But I take the warnings as "guidelines" not "rules" (and Maya doesn't want to say that they didn't warn you if your baby gets hurt while cooking). And if you can cook in a safe way while wearing your little one then I see no problem with it. Of course that is for me, I wouldn't recommend it to others unless it was something they felt OK with too. I think I worry more about falling down the stairs when I am wearing baby, LOL!! I have been so clumsy lately

JMO of course
post #10 of 37
10/7/04 at 2:37am
I was about to say that cooking with baby in the back carry was okay but now I'm rethinking that. The one time that I put my baby in a back carry to cook, I noticed that as I turned and reached and moved around he would sometimes get close to dangerous things without me realizing it at first. He is old enough to sit up and reach for things. Maybe it would be okay for a newborn that will be sleeping and can't reach out. I thought this would be a great thing to help me out since I never seem able to get dinner ready. But, I have decided it's too dangerous and won't do it again.
post #11 of 37
10/7/04 at 7:13pm
I cook with baby on my back in the Baby Trekker. When I'm cooking hot stuff, I'd rather have him on my back, up and behind me, than trying to squeeze himself between my legs and the stove.

I really think it's a common sense thing and how distractable you are.
post #12 of 37
10/7/04 at 7:34pm
I always cook with my 4mo in the sling. Front or back carry depending on how intense it is. Yes, I use knives and the stove. I am very aware of where she is on my body, and I only use my extra long wrap. She is tied down very tightly against my body -- her hands are loose enough to suck on but can't wiggle free and she can't fling herself out of the tight carries. I am comfortable with it, I did the same thing with my now 3yo. It works for me, but I am pretty CC about these things as well.
post #13 of 37
10/7/04 at 8:35pm
I also cook with DS in the back carry (either sling or kozy). You have to use common sense and be careful, but you have to use that a lot in life.

I don't usually fry things, though, I probably would not feel comfortable with that since he likes to be pretty high on my back.

It's all a matter of knowing what your baby is going to try and do, and what is in his/her reach, and where they are at.

The whole "do not cook while slinging" thing is a CYA issue IMO. They have to put all kinds of warning labels on stuff to protect themselves legally. It's up to us parents to use common sense and translate that into the real world.
post #14 of 37
10/8/04 at 3:11am
No, EnterGently, you are not the only one.

It's all about common sense/understanding the development stage of your child.

This issue was discussed recently: Cooking and slinging?

I haven't cooked with her lately though, because I move much more slowly/carefully with her in the sling (OTSBH or Maya Wrap) in the kitchen... and since I'm usually in a rush, it's just easier to keep her in the bouncy seat.

But when I figure out how to use a WRAP - Back carry OR my Kozy/Mei Tai... heck yeah, my baby will be worn on my back.
post #15 of 37
10/8/04 at 1:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnterGently
I guess maybe I am more of the CC (continuum concept) mindset on stuff like this. I mean tribal women did everything while wearing their babies.
Heck I pressure washed a house in near 100 degree weather with my dd on my back and didn't think much about it, though I was extra careful!!
Kelley, I am with you on this. I have started to think about this issue and I think in a lot of ways, our culture goes way overboard to protect children from anything that could possibly harm them in any way, and this may be to our detriment sometimes.

I know an awful lot of 10 year olds who can't be left home alone for a few hours because they have no judgement skills... heck, my mom had to work so I had to be home alone for a few hours!

Anyway, I have tried to take more of a laid-back approach... my DS is only 10 months old, but I know he is smart enough to figure some stuff out on his own. We've babyproofed and put up the chemicals, but we haven't put padding on the corners of all of the tables and stuff like that, and we still have tile in the kitchen that he crawls around on.

I am going to try not to protect him from EVERYTHING and let him form some judgement skills on his own.
post #16 of 37
10/8/04 at 1:29pm
Cooking with heat is probably the one thing I don't do with her in the sling. If she rode on my back in a wrap, I wouldn't have a problem, but on my side or in front, it's too easy for her to get burned. She isn't old enough to reach for things yet (soon), but anything that may splash and burn her presents a danger I'm not willing to expose her to. It all depends. I don't overprotect my children, but I do use common sense.
post #17 of 37
10/8/04 at 7:50pm
My common sense tells me not to cook while wearing my baby. If that makes me overprotective, so be it. I'd rather be overprotective of him than have him get injured.
post #18 of 37
10/10/04 at 1:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarineWife
My common sense tells me not to cook while wearing my baby. If that makes me overprotective, so be it. I'd rather be overprotective of him than have him get injured.
I hope you don't think I was implying that those who don't cook while wearing their baby are overprotective. I was just relating with Kelley on a whole philosophy that I have started to adapt. Every mama knows her cooking environment, her own risk tolerance, and most of all, her baby, and I'm sure you're making the right decision.
post #19 of 37
10/10/04 at 4:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KristiMetz
I hope you don't think I was implying that those who don't cook while wearing their baby are overprotective.
A little maybe. I just wanted to clarify. I know everyone has their own comfort zone and we should all use our own common sense about what we do. Now I know why my dh gets so upset with me when I tell him something is just common sense. It's my common sense, not his.
post #20 of 37
10/11/04 at 4:21am
Not if it requires using the oven or stove.
Becky
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › Babywearing › Do you cook in your sling?