Oh wow mamas. I just want to plug babywearing, springing for high quality carriers if you can afford them, and just really learning the skills and incorporating them. I wore my 5 year old a lot, but with my current babe I kinda got forced to wear her more and so develop my skills, as this time I am doing the solo mama gig and well... a girl's gotta eat sometimes kwim?
I got bit by the wrapping bug actually, and acquired a woven (which I found out is sooo different from a gauze or diy wrap, just way more useable IME). I decided to reverse my stroller and carrier budgets, and I have a $50 stroller this time that sits almost entirely unused. I found learning a bit daunting at first but vowed to wrap once/day even if it was just for two minutes. And damn did the learning come pretty quick when doing that.
Now I wear my babe every day, sometimes several times, sometimes for hours. It allows me to go places strollers just can't (nature walks, my very inaccessible school campus), and it allows me to meet my own needs while keeping babe close at the same time (chores, cooking, just generally not being sat in one spot holding a baby).
And she loves it. LOVES it. If she is fussy, the perfect reliable cry-stopper around here is to put her in a back carry and just walk or bounce a bit. She often feels overwhelmed when out and about, I notice she can't fall asleep with a lot going on and so starts to cry. But wrapping and nursing, or a back carry, is the perfect fix.
I swear they are made to ride on our backs. She liked front carries best til about 5 mos and now back carries are so soothing to her. I put her up there and she just molds in and does these contented bounces with her legs and goes into silent/interested mode. I didn't put my 5 year old up there til over a year, and now I think of all I missed although I did carry her and thought I carried her a lot. Babywearing as a daily part of parenting rocks!
Anyone who wants to learn, there are TONS of resources over on www.thebabywearer.com, including a Carry of the Week thread in the wrapping forum, and carrier making threads in the DIY forum. I am starting to see mamas wearing more, but it is still not that common, and I'm growing convinced that it is so important to bonding and infant development. And mama sanity - LOL!
Anyway, just a plug.
I got bit by the wrapping bug actually, and acquired a woven (which I found out is sooo different from a gauze or diy wrap, just way more useable IME). I decided to reverse my stroller and carrier budgets, and I have a $50 stroller this time that sits almost entirely unused. I found learning a bit daunting at first but vowed to wrap once/day even if it was just for two minutes. And damn did the learning come pretty quick when doing that.
Now I wear my babe every day, sometimes several times, sometimes for hours. It allows me to go places strollers just can't (nature walks, my very inaccessible school campus), and it allows me to meet my own needs while keeping babe close at the same time (chores, cooking, just generally not being sat in one spot holding a baby).
And she loves it. LOVES it. If she is fussy, the perfect reliable cry-stopper around here is to put her in a back carry and just walk or bounce a bit. She often feels overwhelmed when out and about, I notice she can't fall asleep with a lot going on and so starts to cry. But wrapping and nursing, or a back carry, is the perfect fix.
I swear they are made to ride on our backs. She liked front carries best til about 5 mos and now back carries are so soothing to her. I put her up there and she just molds in and does these contented bounces with her legs and goes into silent/interested mode. I didn't put my 5 year old up there til over a year, and now I think of all I missed although I did carry her and thought I carried her a lot. Babywearing as a daily part of parenting rocks!
Anyone who wants to learn, there are TONS of resources over on www.thebabywearer.com, including a Carry of the Week thread in the wrapping forum, and carrier making threads in the DIY forum. I am starting to see mamas wearing more, but it is still not that common, and I'm growing convinced that it is so important to bonding and infant development. And mama sanity - LOL!
Anyway, just a plug.