This is where I sing the praises of baby-wearing. Let me describe the last 4 years of my life in a nutshell.......working (usually full time) and taking my baby with me. I didn't get my own "office" until the last 6 months I worked. I am not exaggerating at all when I say my office was a re-purposed closet. Seriously. I crammed a play pen in there so poor Sedona could stretch out for naps, but otherwise, she was tied to me. When I was taking Sierra, I had no office space of my own and she needed to be with me as I moved from place to place. That's where baby wearing came in. In my situation, it was just plain convenient to have the baby safe, but have both hands free. Then I learned the benefits. Mostly--there is very little baby crying when I'm baby wearing. I don't like baby crying. It doesn't make their lungs strong, it makes my brain feel like it's being stabbed with 10 ice picks, and I don't believe in babies learning to "self-soothe" (if you're really interested, email and I'll get out my "self-soothing" vs. "giving up on anyone helping me" soapbox).
Baby wearing gets a fair amount of flak (mostly from non baby-wearers, I've noticed) as just being the new "in" thing to do. If you take the time to find the method that works for you, it truly is comfortable, even for hours at a time. The best thing you can do is find friends or a baby-wearing class that will let you try out different carriers. My personal favorite is the Moby Wrap. It can be worn lots of different ways and it's super easy to spread the weight out across a wide area of your shoulders, back and hips. Sedona practically lived in the Moby Wrap. Well, okay, I admit, I just made my own. I'm not going to tell you how because I'm assuming there might be some legal ramifications to that, but it is super easy and requires no sewing. I'm sure you can find it somewhere else on the internet. The homemade version may not be nearly as pretty, but it can be done for $3.
For the first time in her life, Sedona is starting to experience some separation anxiety. Yes, it's a tad annoying, but I'll give her all the time in the world to test the idea that I really am there for her when she needs me because I remember her older sister being glued to me for 2 years (much worse than Sedona is) and how confidently she moved on when she was ready. They grow up so quickly and I'm a fan of letting my babies be babies and letting them explore the world at their own pace. SOOO I've spent of lot of time in the last 2 weeks or so holding a 23 pound kiddo on my hip. My arm's sore. Time to break out the good ol' Moby again. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh We tried the hip carry for the first time---Sedona was in the same position she's used to, but I didn't have my back popped out of whack to perch her there. Since her weight was distributed to the opposite shoulder and across both hips, it was like I wasn't really holding much of anything. She was excited to see the Moby again (she LOVED that thing) and laughed and snuggled up against me.
If you want to look up more baby wearing info, check out The Baby Wearer or look for a baby-wearing class in your area.
3 comments:
I loved my ring sling. Don't know what we would've done without it with an infant and two year old!
I was always amazed at how adept you were at using that thing!!! I never got that good with it, but it was convenient when Sierra got older---at about 18-24 months, she'd perch in the ring sling in a "budda" position (cross-legged, facing out) and watch everything going on!
LOL!! And I couldn't get the Moby Wrap to cooperate!! I could never get it snug enough to feel secure. Just goes to show that it pays to have baby wearing friends who will let you try out their style of carrier before purchasing, huh?
Post a Comment