International Babywearing Week 2012

In honor of International Babywearing Week, I thought I'd do a post regarding my thoughts on babywearing.  This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of ins and outs of babywearing; rather, what our experience has been as parents who babywear. If you interested in learning more, Babywearing International has a fantastic website with a ton of info.

Don't mind the awkwardness of this photo. Here's Ella hanging out in the Ergo before we went out to rake leaves. 

Why do you wear your baby? Well, why not? Babies love being held, yet it isn't always practical to do so. There are days when Ella is fussy and crabby, and all she wants to do is be in my arms. As much as I wish I could, I can't stop everything I have to do to carry her around. On those days, she goes in the carrier. If she's up against my chest, it often soothes her enough that she will fall asleep. If she's on my back, she thinks it's fun to ride around. 

Babywearing also increases and enhances our time together. When I wear her, she's up at my level, and she can more easily hear what I am saying and see what I am doing. On the flip side, it also allows me to more easily read her cues. Is she hungry? Bored? Excited? I'm pretty good at figuring these things out now, but when she was a newborn, having her closer to me helped me learn more about her faster than I think I would have otherwise. 

Why not put her in the stroller? I do. A lot, in fact. Contrary to what some believe, most parents who choose to babywear don't have some grudge against The Stroller. There are times, though, when it's easier to wear her or I think she would enjoy being held more than hanging out in the stroller. 

Think about it this way. Say you were to go out to the zoo. Would you rather spend the day staring a other people's behinds, or to be up on adult level where you could actually see things? It's not a tough choice.

Other times, I choose not to take the stroller because the vast majority of strollers are heavy and bulky, and it's not worth it to drag the stroller out for a short trip (and I'm sometimes lazy. And I have arms like a T-Rex). Quick errand can go one of two ways. Option one: Lug the stroller out of the car, wrestle her into it, navigate the stroller through the store, go back outside, get her out of the stroller, wrestle her into the car seat, collapse the stroller, and have the super-human strength necessary to lift it back into my trunk. Option two: Toss her in the carrier, run into the store, wrestle her into the car seat, go home. *Side note: If anyone knows any tricks to convince my child that her car seat is not a torture device, please let me know.*  

There are also places that it's simply impossible to take her in a stroller. Like the Smoky Mountains. 

Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in April 2012

 

What carriers do you use? We own two carriers. The first one is a Moby wrap. The Moby was fantastic when she was a newborn. It's one big long piece of fabric that looks super intimidating. In actuality, it's quite easy to learn how to do the various wraps. Jim got to be the master Moby wrapper. I swear he could put that thing on in record time. 

There are a couple of downsides to the Moby. First, it can get really hot. Since Ella was born in December, it didn't matter that much. I can see, however, if you lived in a warmer climate or had a baby in the summer that you might not want to use it. Second, it has a relatively short use-span. We used it a ton for the first three months, and once she got bigger and squirmier, I simply did not feel as comfortable using it as when she was a newborn. 

Ella passed out in the Moby after a several-day long nap strike. She's about 2 months old here. Oh how I miss my snuggly little baby! 

Our second carrier is an Ergo. I seriously could write a novel about my love affair with my Ergo. These days it comes pretty much everywhere with us, and it's extremely rare that she doesn't hang out in there for at least a bit of each day. I can have her in there for hours upon end without my back hurting. It has a little hood that I can pull up over her head to make it darker so she can nap in peace, protect her from rain, or so I can nurse discreetly. There's a nifty little zipper pocket that I can toss things into instead of having to drag our gigantic diaper bag in everywhere. You can do front, back, and side carries with it. It comes in neat colors that look neither too girly nor too masculine. I really can go on and on about everything I love about my Ergo. 

There is one thing, however, that I did not like about the Ergo- the infant insert. Others may like or love it, but it simply did not work out well for us. I never felt like she was particularly comfortable in it, and I never felt particularly comfortable wearing her with the added bulk. Because of it, we didn't start using our Ergo much until she was big enough to use it without the insert.  

I'm sure I could say a lot more about babywearing. If my scintillating observances about the world of babywearing haven't convinced you to give it a try, I'll leave you with this last thought. It's great exercise and what I swear helped me lose the baby weight so quickly. On days when I'm too tired/lazy to work out, I figure that I pretty much did weights all day long, which totally justifies eating the cookies I've been eyeing for the past half hour.