I first learned about baby wearing when Aviana was a newborn. Someone had given me a padded ring sling, and I tried to wear her on walks and when we were out and about. She was an extremely fussy baby and it seemed to work better than leaving her in her car seat carrier when we were running errands.
I didn’t like that particular sling though. I found it extremely uncomfortable and annoying. I still tried to utilize it as much as possible because I wasn’t aware of other options. When she was about 9 months old, I read Dr. Sears book, The Fussy Baby and High Needs Child. I cried all the way through it simply because someone finally identified with me. I finally knew I wasn’t crazy or doing anything wrong and this was just who she was.
Babywearing is one of the things Dr. Sears recommends to all parents, but especially to those who have high-needs children.
It’s worked wonders in our family.
Baby wearing is helpful for me because I can
- do household chores while soothing and quieting my baby
- keep the baby close and happy while playing with my other children
- breastfeed hands free
- walk or do the gazelle while the baby naps on me (extra points for more weight right?)
- be treated to an easier outing with a sling or wrap than with the heavy carseat
Baby wearing is helpful for the baby because
- worn babies cry less
- he spends more time in a quiet alert state while carried and that’s the ideal state for learning
- his senses are stimulated, yet he can retreat
- he sees the world from our perspective
- he can quickly develop a sense of trust and security
- it helps newborns adapt to life on the outside
And I’ve since found out, it’s even helpful for moms who are depressed! I had a pretty severe case of post-partum psychosis after Brielle’s birth, so it’s good I wore her, even though I didn’t know that would be a benefit to me.
(the research footnotes are here.)
I like our bouncy seat and our swing, and the exersaucer is helpful too, but my favorite is to wear the baby. I have lots of options: the only kind I have yet to get is a true ring sling. I need to try one out first before I fork over the dough. I’m cheap like that.
Aviana at 2 1/2 and Cadrian at 6 weeks in my homemade wraps (simply long pieces of cotton) One of my friends calls this multi one my bed sheet. ;-)-photo by Aviana-
Brielle in the MeiTai at six months–a friend of my sister’s made this for me for about $35.
Dancing at the Labor Day festival with Cadrian in the New Native Carrier, a one piece sling. Smudgy picture thanks to Miss B’s greasy fingers on the lens.
I never knew the wonders of baby wearing with my daughter but after talking to tons of mommas, I purchased a mei tai for my son. He has always been a very needy baby and I really feel that it has saved the whole family. I don’t know how anybody lives without them.
Your talented. I could never get anything done with a baby strapped to me. AND if she was actually sleeping…I didn’t not want to be tied to her! Nap time was my time when they were little. I can’t believe how you can do all that with a child tied to you! Doesn’t your back hurt?
I had a New Native, lucky baby, a ring sling and a mai tie. I liked the ring sling and mai tie the best. SO helpful! My friend has discovered wraps and I wish I could have done that. ALMOST makes me want to have another so I can use more wraps….ALMOST!
I love babywearing. I also read The Fussy Baby book and cried because I related to it. My daughter was as high needs as they came. I had to leave Wal-Mart in the middle of a shopping trip because she was screaming her head off in the car seat. Started wearing her and that never happened again.
hi–i LOVE reading your blog, and i’m new to this baby wearing business. actually, my boys are
4 1/2 and 2 1/2, and we’re waiting to adopt for the first time, so lord willing, we’ll soon have a babe for me to wear! anyway, i made my ring sling and i do occasionally use it with my
2 1/2 year old and i really like it. since i made it, it’s custom to the length that i wanted. so, i thought i’d pass along the blog that provided the directions for the making of all of the slings that i have (i also have made a pouch sling and i’m going to buy the fabric for the wrap that she demos as well). the web address is: http://www.slingyourbaby.blogspot.com. the gal has posted youtube videos which proved to be super helpful while i was sewing my sling projects.
anyway—thanks again for a great blog! blessings, tamara
I am a babywearing fool!! And I love it. Daniel has gotten in on it with Judah and Eliza… He has used the Moby Wrap, the ring sling, and the backpack.
I love your homemade sling! My mom made my Moby wrap – for 6 dollars! It has been invaluable.
Love all those pictures! You and Kevin make such cute babies 🙂
-Andrea
I love slings! My favorite with my son was the peanut shell when he was a newborn up to 4 months and from that point on I liked the Mei Tai. My daughter only liked to be in the sling when we were walking and she always wanted to face forward so it was awkward because I felt like I had to hold her in all the time. My daughter was also extremely independent and rarely wanted to be held. Totally opposite of my son who co-slept until he was 16 months.
Colicky/fussy/high needs baby here. We learned very early on not to even try going somewhere without bringning something so that we could wear her.
We had a Snuggli with Sam and Evie … and I hated it. Hated. It. But before David was born, we were kind of drastically changing some of our baby-minded thinking. Homebirth. Much stronger commitment to breastfeeding. (Sam nursed four months, Evie two, and David almost 14!!) I decided to try out the whole baby-wearing thing, and while I don’t think I could be classified at a dyed-in-the-wool baby wearer, I loved it!! We got our sling from Slinglings.com; I think it was the best purchase I’ve made when it comes to baby stuff. I recommend it to everyone I run across.
I’ve tried some of the ring slings, and the ones with all the wrap material, but I love the Slinglings because they’re one piece of fabric (you measure your size, and it’s a custom fit) and you can put in on with one hand while the baby is crying in the other.
And yeah, I loved the fact that I could nurse in the middle of church, at the grocery store, and even one time during a wedding ceremony and no one ever knew! 🙂
I didn’t wear him as much around the house, and never during nap time (unless we were out and it was nap time, or he fell asleep while we were walking around). But it was a godsend when he had a cold and was really little and just wanted to be held, but I still had a ton of things to do … like feeding my family and cleaning the house!
~Brea
My mom introduced me to your blog about 2 weeks ago. I loved the story about your son’s birth. My first son was born at home with 2 midwives. I wore my first son some but started out around 4 months. I’m due in December and plan to wear Gabe from day one, especially with a very active 2 year old to take care of. I bought a moby wrap and can’t wait to try it. I used “over the shoulder baby holder” with Alex but the size was too big and so it didn’t fit as close to me as I would have liked. Some days that was the only way he would sleep, especially when he was sick his first winter.