Front facing in a carrier- how soon?

[pear-shaped]

My 2 1/2 month old dd needs to be held pretty much all day long, which was fine with me until about three weeks ago when my back really starting hurting me (sometimes when I wake up at night I can't move right away.) I have a Baby Bjorn that a relative gave me, but dd really has not liked it. I'd love to try a sling, but our finances right now don't really permit us to buy anything that may not work, and I have reason to believe she wouldn't like a sling because she really doesn't like anything that restricts her or her movement. I'm actually thinking of making a sling and may do it get started on it this week if I can find some good bargain fabric, and if I can find some time when I don't have dd in my arms. Those are actually pretty big ifs.

Lately dd likes to be carried facing forward, and I thought she might accept being in the Baby Bjorn if she weren't turned toward me. I tried it for just a couple of minutes and she actually loved it! She has very good head control, actually has had for quite some time, even her ped remarked on it at our last visit the other day. I asked the ped about whether dd's head would be okay if she were faced forward in the Baby Bjorn, but she didn't understand me (language difficulties)- she told me to keep her turned toward me to minimize stranger's touching and breathing on her. DD weighs 12 1/2 lbs and is about 24 inches long. Is that, together with her good head control enough to have her forward facing?

[RunnerDuck]

Originally Posted by pear-shaped

I asked the ped about whether dd's head would be okay if she were faced forward in the Baby Bjorn, but she didn't understand me (language difficulties)- she told me to keep her turned toward me to minimize stranger's touching and breathing on her.

Confession... we are dirty birds. My son sucks his fingers ALL THE TIME. People tell me he needs to stop because of his teeth and because he'll get sick... and I just glare at them. He's 4. I sucked my thumb till I was 12. I figure it comforts him and he'll give it up when he's ready. Because I think some germs are good for us - build immunity - and because of the finger sucking - hand sanitizer tastes NASTY - I go ape sh!t if anyone tries to use hand sanitizer on him. My house is not spotless... if it's ever said you can eat off my floors, it's only because there's enough stray cheerios to make a meal.

You know what? My son has hardly EVER been sick. I'm not just talking major illness, I'm talking he hardly even ever has colds! By way of comparison I know some clean freak, hand sanitzer loving people whose kids are sick a LOT. Ear aches, colds, strep... all the time. So I *personally* don't have a lot of faith in the "oh, keep strangers from breathing on her, she'll get germs!" philosophy. Whether it's because we breastfed or because DH and I don't smoke (supposed to increase risk of ear infections) or because we're dirty people or because of luck... I don't know. But I personally don't feel the need to shelter my kids from germs. Germs are exercise for the immune system. (FWIW I don't buy antibacterial products EVER for this reason...)

SO I would not worry about front facing from that angle, but that's just me.

Now that said... I know there is a movement against the baby bjorn... hanging by the crotch damages the spine... facing out means you can't read signals... etc... erm... well... everyone is free to believe what they want to believe. FWIW my son LOVED being in the bjorn, loved facing out, never had a problem, he is not walking around seriously deformed. So while I know some in the hard core babywearing community may not approve of the bjorn in general and facing out specifically... for us it worked well and if it works well for you, go for it.

The earliest pic I can find of my son facing out in the bjorn is 2/21/04 - he was born 11/16/03 - so a little over 3 months, and he was just fine. I am pretty sure that was not his first time facing out in the bjorn, just the first pic I can find. He was in the bjorn A LOT from 8 pounds on because he was so fussy, high needs, wanted held... all the time... he was happy there, I was happy with him with there. people commented all the time on what a GOOD baby he was - and DH and I would laugh because we knew what he was ike at home LOL. It worked FOR US. If it works for you, go for it.

[pear-shaped]

Thanks for your detailed response! Yeah, they're kind of germ and dirt obsessed here in Italy, which is interesting because they also think you get sick by being cold, sweating or sitting in a draft. I'm not too worried about anyone breathing on dd- she's very healthy- resisting some really nasty illnesses this winter when everyone around her succumbed. I agree that kids need some exposure to build their immunity. Of course, that makes me weird (or even a bad mom!) around here!

I had heard some negative things about the Baby Bjorn, but didn't know the details. I'm reassured to hear that nothing happened to your son. I don't want to use it all the time because i do love to just carry her, I just need to give my back a bit of a break. So I'm not too worried. I think I'll start putting her in it now just for really short periods of time and see how it goes.