Grocery shopping, walks on the beach, pumpkin patch visits, vacuuming, walking around the Iowa State Fair, baking, visits to the Farmers’ Market, and homeroom parties…. are all places we’ve been and things we have done while babywearing.
Babywearing is a century’s old tradition for a reason. Moms, parents, and babies alike benefit from this practice every day. It is truly an essential part of how we function in our daily lives with a five-year-old and five-month-old. It has allowed us to keep up with our busy life, travel, and enjoy extra bonding time with our babies.
With my oldest, it allowed me to keep up with household work, enjoy family sporting events, and try and attempt to continue to multitask like I had pre-baby.
Now, with my second, babywearing allows me to work from home more efficiently, do dishes while he is being held after dinner, and enjoy activities with my five-year-old that are quite difficult while holding a baby or dragging along a stroller.
7 Babywearing Tips
If you haven’t considered baby wearing, consider these things:
- Find a carrier that works for you. There are classic carriers, ring slings, wraps, pouches, and backpacks.
We love our Ergo, a classic carrier, for everything outside of the home. It resides in my car, and I use it every time I go to the grocery store, we walk to the park or make Target runs. It is a lifesaver when I make my weekly store run, and prefer to not fill half of my cart up with a car seat. It’s also very easy to adjust between myself and my 6’4” husband, and It’s easy for me to get on myself. We tend to use our Moby wrap at home. It’s a little cozier for our five-month-old, is easy to clean, and a great place for baby boy to take a nap. Carrier choice really comes down to comfort and what fits your lifestyle. If you haven’t found one in the past that works for you try a different style before throwing in the towel! - Make sure you are wearing your baby correctly. Check the instructions or watch a video online. There are tons of tutorials to help make it as easy as possible and make sure your baby is being worn ergonomically correct.
- It helps with milk supply, and baby’s weight gain. For those mothers who are nursing, it gives easier access and enables more skin-to-skin time.
- It helps with weight loss and exercise. Carrying around an extra eight to thirty pounds is a great way to strengthen that core after childbirth.
- It is a great tool to use when multitasking. Trying to play or assist with older children, and pick up the house is a lot easier when you have the use of two hands.
- Babywearing lets you go just about anywhere with your older children. Keeping up with an energetic five-year-old is done a lot more easily with the baby strapped on my chest. When attending festivals, or crowded events, it is much easier to have the baby strapped on versus using the stroller.
- Traveling. We love to travel, and our carrier is always a must-have on our packing list. The ease of transporting our Ergo versus an entire stroller really does make it much more appealing when we have a car full of bags, snacks, a cooler, and family.
Don’t get me wrong, it is not all snuggles and cute baby coos. The closer you are to your baby, the closer you are to their messes. I have been puked on countless times, have had blown out diapers down my shirt, I have to be careful of anything in arms reach, and frequently get my hair pulled on, but it comes with the territory.
I love the ability to lean down and kiss my child’s head whenever I want to, to have the baby smell available on demand, to see when his eyes light up and take in all the new colors and wonderment around him, and to feel his soft breathing against my chest. It reminds me of what a privilege it is to be this little person’s mother, and how those moments are only available for so long.
Babywearing is a part of our parenting lifestyle.
It allows us to share experiences with our children from a perspective outside of a stroller, it gives us flexibility in our hectic lives, and it enables us to bond with our babies in the small window we are given in a special way.
