[eirual]

Okay, I don't know if that's neccessarily the right term, but lately seeing babes in strollers and diapers seems so foreign to me!!

We went to a little town-festival and there were hordes of parents and babes. I did see one other babe in a snuggly, and had one mom inquire about my MT, but there werw seiously hundreds of children in strollers. And my DH reminded me about how weird it was seeing my 2.5yr old nephew in dipes when we were at my cottage a couple weekends ago. I used to work in dayacare with toddlers, I've changed countless diapers without a second thought!

It's so bizarre how one's norms can change. Before I had my babe we bought a stroller, a crib, a diaper stash, etc. Those are the things babies need right? WE USE NONE OF IT!! (except for a few prefolds here and there, mostly as rags)...Seeing all the gizmos, all the plastic, all the gear, multiplying it by millions for most of the children being raised in NA or other cultures where these things are the norm...it just seems so wasteful and rather unneccessary. I also got to thinking, my brother who has three children under the age of seven has been buying diapers for the last SEVEN YEARS!! It just blows my mind, the money, the waste. And it's obviously not just him, it's the way the majority of people do it...It hurts my brain to actually try'n grasp it!

Well, there's my thought of the day!

 

[Tori Gollihugh]

I totally get you. However, even though I loved wearing DD, she rides in a stroller when we go for long exercise walks now... my hips are not good enough to carry my (ONLY) 25 pound 2 year old.

I knew I looked like an oddball carrying DD in a sling when she was a little baby, but it felt so RIGHT for us...

I totally see the wastefulness of our society in the excess it seems to "require" for babies and children!

So sad, really!!

 

[bdavis337]

Yep, I know what you mean. I must say though, once your babe gets more mobile and less sling-able, you might find yourself using an umbrella stroller for longer walks, etc. We dont' go anywhere w/out ours, and the 5 year old even rides every now and then when his legs fail him. The big bulky strollers though - even though I own one and use it on rare occasion - those really annoy me! They're huge and hard to manage.

 

[eirual]

You're right- I see where strollers have their place. It's just those huge travel systems (which we also have since we thought we'd need one before babe was born) bug me to no end! I can see if you have twins or a few kids, or even a condition that makes babywearing difficult. I'm certainly not judging any ONE mama, it's just the general trend that I don't get.

 

[InJoy]

Just makes me so glad and grateful to know what I know!

 

[lacysmommy]

I think it would be totally weird to have my barely-2 year old in diapers still, but everyone assumes that she is still wearing diapers. I didn't EC her, but I was planning on potty training her right around her 2nd birthday, weather she was "ready" or not. I also hate seeing so many tiny babies in bucket carseats (yes, they are a necessity, just only necessary in your car!) and strollers all the time. We do put DD1 in a stroller quite a bit because I'm not talented enough to sling two babies, but sometimes DH puts her in the hip hammock, so no stroller.

Now that I'm catching almost all DD2's poos, it grosses me out thinking about blow outs or poopy diapers, even in newborns. I changed a poopy diaper last night, first one in several days, and it kinda made me sick. But I thought nothing of it when DD1 was a baby. Because babies wear diapers, right?

 

[bdavis337]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eirual You're right- I see where strollers have their place. It's just those huge travel systems (which we also have since we thought we'd need one before babe was born) bug me to no end! I can see if you have twins or a few kids, or even a condition that makes babywearing difficult. I'm certainly not judging any ONE mama, it's just the general trend that I don't get.

I very much know what you mean, the overall trend is kind of alarming, but it is right in keeping with American society in general. Such extremism - all or nothing. My neighbors are from Russia, and this evening while visiting I picked up the baby and noticed he was wet, as he is STILL refusing to sit and pee on the potty other than at the odd random time. She asked right away if I was potty training since it was obvious he was in a cloth diaper, and we talked briefly about babies and diapers. She says her son was fully potty trained by age 1 or so, with just random accidents. She asked why don't I just use the potty, let him run naked and forget about it? Makes me wonder - why DON'T I just do that?

I don't do it b/c I'm not the only one who takes care of my baby, and none of the other caregivers on my family are really in line with it. But she makes a good point. And we both agreed that diapers and babies just don't make sense.

 

[khristle]

I have a question for you. I have many slings, and I love them! But I'm just curious what other baby-wearing mommies do when they get to a destination and the baby is asleep in the car seat. Do you let the baby sleep and put the carseat on top of the cart or do you wake the baby up to sling them? I always feel slightly guilty for just letting her sleep in the carseat! It is just so much nicer if she can get a nap in while I am shopping. If I woke her up to put her in the sling, she wouldn't go back to sleep since there is so much to look at!

 

[eirual]

I always take him out...unless we're seriously only going to be two minutes and he's already had a lot of ins and outs and another would just frustrate him. Otherwise I figure he'd be more comfy sleeping next to me, and if he does wake up it's easier to nurse in the sling than to fiddle to get him out of the seat and into the sling half way through our trip- I'd rather just do it in the parking lot and lighten our load by leaving the bucket behind. Not to mention I'm disasterous with a stroller...I'd be taking out everything in my path- I love how mobile I am with just babe in a sling.

If he wakes up in transition into the sling I figure he wasn't tired enough to sleep anyways, and that he'd rather be up and see what's going on and learn a ltittle more about his environment, and that's fine by me! It's a guarantee that my DS will wake up and stay up for the grocery store- doesn't matter how sleepy he is, he's fully alert for grocery shopping- always!!

We've actually switched to a convertable car seat that stays in the car now, so there really is no bucket anymore and we've had no problems with it.

 

[clovergirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by khristle I have a question for you. I have many slings, and I love them! But I'm just curious what other baby-wearing mommies do when they get to a destination and the baby is asleep in the car seat. Do you let the baby sleep and put the carseat on top of the cart or do you wake the baby up to sling them? I always feel slightly guilty for just letting her sleep in the carseat! It is just so much nicer if she can get a nap in while I am shopping. If I woke her up to put her in the sling, she wouldn't go back to sleep since there is so much to look at!

i'm now a die hard "let sleeping babies lie" advocate! i'm also a die hard babywearer.

with my first DD we almost always took her out of the carseat and that was OK with her... she usually stayed asleep. with DD#2 i learned that it was often easier to just leave her in the seat if she was asleep as she would always wake up if i tried to transfer her. and if she woke up she would then be cranky and restless until she finally conked out again.
of course after we switched to a regular car seat at around 6mo it wasn't an option anymore, but until then i had no guilt about leaving DD#2 in it while sleeping. it really did make things easier for our whole family, as many times it allowed me to have a little more one-on-one time with my older DD, get in and out places much faster, and even to get a chance to eat or something without DD#2 in my arms or on me.

 

[accountclosed3]

i find strollers and those plastic baby carriers that are huge and unweildy as very, very odd too.

and people think i'm strange because i think it's odd. it just looks completely inefficient and it seems like it's heavy and uncomfortable to carry.

i can see where a stroller has it's place, though most people in the crunchy community use wagons. two year olds can drag them until they get tired, then be dragged in them once they are tired.

my husband and i do daily 4 mile walks--we plan on carrying and perhaps backpack style for older children or using the wagon.

 

[clovergirl]

on the orginal topic...
yeah, EC really does change your perception about babies! i swear, sometimes it's hard for me to turn the EC part of my brain off when around other peoples babies. and i'm the type of EC'er who does have a good sized diaper stash as i like using back-up... yet it's weird to me to hear about people trying to figure out what the best nighttime CD set-up is or how to best stuff a pocket diaper so that they can go 3+ hours bewtween changing.

:
we had a stroller with DD#1 (who wasn't too fond of being worn or carried, especially after starting to walk at 7&1/2mo old) but gave it away when she was almost 2... and we didn't have one at all with DD#2. now with #3 coming i have moments of weakness when i think i want a stroller (mostly so DD#2 can ride in it on long walks). but truthfully, we probably won't get one, as any extra money will probably be spent on carriers instead.

 

[Tori Gollihugh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by khristle I have a question for you. I have many slings, and I love them! But I'm just curious what other baby-wearing mommies do when they get to a destination and the baby is asleep in the car seat. Do you let the baby sleep and put the carseat on top of the cart or do you wake the baby up to sling them? I always feel slightly guilty for just letting her sleep in the carseat! It is just so much nicer if she can get a nap in while I am shopping. If I woke her up to put her in the sling, she wouldn't go back to sleep since there is so much to look at!

I always got her out of the seat and wore her... moving that clunky seat just wasn't an option I considered... and if she was really sleeping, she fell right back to sleep in the sling - if she'd been just sort of dozing, she would wake right up and take note of everything.

 

[KittyKat]

I learned my lesson with trying to leave sleeping babies in the carseat.

DS1 loved his carseat, he'd happily sit in it for ANY amount of time.

DS2, HATED the carseat. He fell asleep in it one time when I was out with my mom, and I made the (HUGE) histake of just leaving him in it, and LEAVING MY SLING IN THE CAR!!! So when he woke up screaming 5 minutes after getting in the store, I had no sling to pop him in.

My baby bucket seat expired before DD was born, and I just bought a convertible rather than another bucket. Really, the noise of the van door opening usually wakes her anyways, and she prefers being in the sling. My back also prefers the sling over lugging around the heavy bucket seat too.

Kathryn

 

[marvelous]

I didn't really learn about slings and babywearing until after DD was out of the infant seat, but I was so glad that I did! I'll admit that I did like the infant seat frame stroller that I had. I could pop her in and out of the car and let her sleep and go for a walk or something, but once she was supposed to be in a regular stroller, I dispised that thing. I have used it maybe 5 times and I always find I'd rather wear her even as she is approaching 30 lbs.

I also look at other parents and their strollers loaded down with cups (both for the baby and the parent) packages and what not and I just think, not for me. Granted I do agree there will probably arise a situation where a compact umbrella stroller will be needed, but until that time, its me, DD and the patapum.

As for the EC thing, I'm still kinda new to it, but I'm starting to notice when younger babies fuss and think to myself, "she probably needs to go."

 

[mezzaluna]

oh i was definitely into letting sleeping babies lie. though DS outgrew the bucket at 4 months, so it was just a little blip in his life. believe me he was slung or just plain held a lot of the rest of the time, so i didn't worry.

having done EC with my first it does really weird me out to see kids his age and older in diapers. i just have no first-hand experience with that. i automatically feel embarassed for them, even though i know it's just different choices people have made.

we never got much into the stroller habit... the ergo has gotten good use until about 18 months where DS wanted to walk everywhere. i keep wondering if we'll find we need an umbrella stroller, but so far we manage with letting him walk for the most part, and ergoing him if he's really tired. though i guess i won't be able to keep up the ergo habit much longer now that i'm preggers again! but we don't even use it once a week anymore.