babywearing

Firstly, I have taken a look at my life and realised that I am on the internet WAY TOO MUCH. I have cut down to one hour at night and occasionally during the day if Henry is asleep and all my "chores" are done. So I may not be around as much.

Secondly, I just read a brilliant article on babywearing and I would like to write a post about it. I am OBSESSED with wearing my child. I love everything about it. I don't remember how I came to decide when I was pregnant that I wanted to wear my baby but I know that at 17 weeks pregnant I bought my first wrap.

We all know that my birth was less than ideal. I had a slow physical recovery and could barely walk for the first few weeks. As a result, I used my stroller/pushchair/pram (whatever you want to call it!). I was gutted that I couldn't just pop the wrap on and go. I bought a cheap, second hand pram off of eBay because I knew deep down inside that using a pram just wasn't going to be my style.

I entered my postpartum days with a hybrid wrap called a "papoozle" made in Scotland by the Tots Bots company. I also bought an Ergo second hand at the recommendation of my friend. The papoozle didn't offer my newborn enough support and the Ergo felt too open and stiff for him. So I bought my beloved Moby wrap and it was love at first wrap. I used this wrap nearly every day for six months. I wore him at home when he was fussy and out for walks. I wore him when we went out to dinner or to the pub. He went everywhere with me and was always so happy and calm. I liked having my hands free and my baby within kissing distance. The Moby and I were a match made in heaven.

I decided that I wanted to try a few other kinds of carriers and bought a cheap mei tai and a babasling. Neither of them did it for me the way the Moby did. I knew though, that eventually Henry was going to get too heavy for me to use the Moby so I planned ahead and bought a Didymos woven wrap. Oh my goodness. This wrap is like a diamond for most women. My husband bought it for me on my birthday trip to Germany. It cost about £100 (more than my engagement ring!!! haha) and is way more than I would normally spend on anything baby-related but I am not ready to stop wearing him!

Two weeks ago the inevitable happened. I was about to leave my house and little Mr. Strong Baby took both of his shoulders and got himself out of the wrap. That was the end of the Moby. It was such a sad day for me. I then pulled out the didymos and had a go. The learning curve for woven wraps is a bit intimidating as you need to actually hold the baby and wrap the wrap around him BUT this leads to an amazingly tight and sturdy carry. It is brilliant. He is so secure and so happy in it and my back feels much better!! :)

So back to the article that I read today. It is great! It validates how I have felt about carrying my baby. I will include it at the end but just wanted to mention why I like it so much. As a babywearer you sometimes get some rude looks or comments. A few of my favourites are: "You are ruining his spine by wearing him like that. There is not enough support." OR "He is squished in there- poor child."I would like to print this article out and read it to them. I also encountered a lot of strange looks from my family members when I was home for Christmas. They soon understood when Henry would drift happily to sleep or calm right down in it. He has been in his pram a few times. Daddy and Grammie usually take him out in it and when I don't have any trousers washed and need to wear a dress- he goes in the pram! (Luckily it doesn't happen too often).

So, have a read of the article. Babywearing is an amazing bonding experience that I hope to continue for as long as possible.

Awesome babywearing article. It takes you to the middle of the article. You need to scroll up :)

Here are some pictures of me, Daddy and Grandpa wearing Henry!

Moby

Ergo

Grandpa with the Ergo

Daddy with the Ergo

Moby

Didymos hip carry