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So like, babywearing has revolutionized my parenting experience this time around...

1K views 17 replies 16 participants last post by  winter singer 
#1 ·
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.
 
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#3 ·
Just chiming in with a big YES!! I have finally mastered getting baby on my back in an Ergo (I tried back carries with DS1 and while I could do it, I couldn't get him on there in a way that was comfortable for longer periods of time). It has made each and every day more productive and satisfying for me...When DS2 gets fussy and tired, I put him on my back and start working in the kitchen, and he's out like a light in 10 minutes or less. He naps most of his naps on my back now (instead of in my arms - both my babes have not been good at napping alone). I am getting proficient enough that I am thinking of trying a wrap sometime soon....!
 
#6 ·
I completely agree. You know it instinctively when you have your baby on your back how right it is! I just shopped at Costco this weekend with my 18 month old on my back, although she could have ridden in the cart and might have preferred it just for the novelty. It was naptime though, so I wrapped her and sure enough, she fell asleep. Having her little cheek resting on my back, feeling her breathe... I just know carrying our babes this way is an experience millions of mothers have shared going back to time beyond history.

I recently finished reading Ashley Montagu's Touching: The Human Significance of Skin and everything in there on the topic of babies confirms that carrying is an important part of their physical development - it has to be, it's built in to be natural to both mom and baby, because of the extremely dependent stage at which the human infant is born. He makes the earliest mention I've seen that technically, human infants continue their 'gestation' for many months after they are born and how carrying helps them develop. He does write specifically about carrying and has some interesting passages about different kinds of carrying including one I recall about cradleboard use by a certain tribe of American Indian.

It should be required reading for everyone before they become parents, such a great book.
 
#10 ·
Yuuuup. I also have a 5yo and made do with the bjorn and nojo, but we were done with those by 25lbs which came so fast.

There are just sooo many out there that are just great. Honestly each time I see a frontpack I just don't get why people don't try newer ones that are more comfortable and versatile. I love my mei tais.
The ergo and connecta are super too.
 
#12 ·
is it me or my boys, but baby wearing in the infant stage has not worked for us. both boys wanted to be carried (in arms) in the football hold face down, or upright facing out. with little head control at this point i can not figure out how to carry them & have them happy. if either of them are facing inwards, they go crazy pecking at my chest & in the sling they hate lying or semi-sitting. ds #1 liked the trekker (forward facing) & backpack when he was old enough to hold his head. i want to be able to do things while carrying him but can not find a position he likes. not sure if this makes a difference, but both of them are big boys (long), so the infant holds do not seem comfortable for them. hmmm.
 
#13 ·
Yay! I experienced this revelation with my first - we did not use the stroller till he was about a year old and getting really huge and wiggly.

I want to get even better at it with my May '09 babe - I never mastered the back carry with DS, and I think that would be so much better for having my hands/arms free.

Wondering - why is a woven better than a gauze DIY? I was planning on getting some gauze instead of shelling out the bucks on a woven wrap (I don't sew), and I figured it would just be lighter weight (for summer) but not much different otherwise?
 
#14 ·
Your post inspired me, OP! I immediately put ds2 in the ergo on my back and it was perfect. Tried the moby, but ergo was easier. I'll have to work on it. It felt so perfect and good, definitely meant to be. Thank you for the reminder!
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by shambhala View Post
is it me or my boys, but baby wearing in the infant stage has not worked for us. both boys wanted to be carried (in arms) in the football hold face down, or upright facing out. with little head control at this point i can not figure out how to carry them & have them happy. if either of them are facing inwards, they go crazy pecking at my chest & in the sling they hate lying or semi-sitting. ds #1 liked the trekker (forward facing) & backpack when he was old enough to hold his head. i want to be able to do things while carrying him but can not find a position he likes. not sure if this makes a difference, but both of them are big boys (long), so the infant holds do not seem comfortable for them. hmmm.
. . . I also have a 'breast pecker' (in fact, my hubby can co-sleep with her cuddled up, but, she refuses to cuddle with ME without a nipple being involved --- not comfy for me to sleep that way overnight, but I will let her occ. for a nap ;-) ---- anyway, one hold she REALLY liked when she was a newborn is the 'kangaroo' -- place your baby torso-to-torso, with his head resting just under your chin (resting just above your chest) -- this kept the 'pecking' to a minimum (since there wasn't any direct access/potential access) --- and she found it very comforting -- she would go to sleep mere minutes after being popped in to the sling --- slings are GREAT for this completely upright position, since you can pull the fabric up around a floppy little one's head, and really snug him in next to you.

I use ZOLOWEAR -- you can buy them reasonably on ebay, and Zolowear's website has GREAT tips on properly achieving many different positions (incl. the one I just described) - - -

Now that my LO is 6.5 m/o --- she likes to hang out in the hip carry position (so she can See-the-World :)

Good Luck!
 
#16 ·
It sometimes takes trying different carriers, though I know that can sound really expensive. FWIW the pikkolo carrier allows a facing out position (I guess you can do that with a MT too or moby) if he really seems to like that. That's a very versatile carrier too. I can relate b/c my third HATED the moby at that stage. Something about the fabric over half the back of his head tosupport it drove him nuts. When I used a high-backed mei tai though, he was fine. I think maybe it felt less confining. My boys were big and long too, so that was an added challenge. (I liked tall mei tais! Kozy and Sachi esp.) Kangaroo carry never worked for long for us for size reasons, but they liked it while it did.

I know what you mean though. The nb period seems idyllic in hindsight b/c they just sit in the carrier and snuggle, but I know when I was actually wearing a newborn, there were a lot of frustrating, fussy moments. He liked the bouncy too.
I was so psyched to wear my third, armed to the teeth with carriers, and it was still challenging for me. I can see how a mom might give up if they didn't have different carriers to try. It's much more fun for me too when they have more head control and look around.
 
#17 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by alegna View Post


I'm working part time this time around and ds just hangs out on my back.

-Angela
DS was on my back at work (part time) until 2yrs
Occasionally he still is now as we still go to work together but now usually he's playing on the floor or helping.
 
#18 ·
I remember the first time I tried DD in the ring sling, she was five days old and immediately started howling. I'm so glad I didn't give up there and then! We tried it again the following day when we were both well-fed and rested, and haven't looked back since. (It helped to use tummy-to-tummy).

Yesterday we spent about an hour at a photo exhibit and DD was completely enthralled with the photos. I couldn't imagine being able to hold her in my arms all that time so that she could see the pictures, but with her in the beco I hardly noticed her weight. We haven't even bothered getting any wheels for her yet!
 
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