Babywearing is Freedom

October 10-16 2011 is International Babywearing Week

“Don’t you ever put her down?”

How many of you have heard this ad nauseum?  My answer: “Why should I?”

A common assumption about babywearing is that you’ll spoil the baby because you don’t put the baby down. Or that you have no time to your self because you are always with the baby. Or that it’s too uncomfortable. Or that it’s too complicated. Or Or Or

How is it possible to spoil a baby when you are providing it’s most basic needs? Warmth, love, attention, food, safety. Even older babies, this is all they really want. How is cluttering up your house with every baby accoutrement ever made to put down this little being better than simply wearing your baby? They grow out of that stuff in a matter of months anyway. Consider this: would you be happier hanging out on a warm chest with rhythmic beats & waves looking around as you please, or would you rather be on a thin mat on the floor with a bunch of bright  colored things hanging over you? What is the environment this baby just left? A warm, wavy, rhythmic belly. It makes sense on a fundamental level.

Babywearing doesn’t tie you down. In fact, it frees you. You don’t need to lug a big stroller everywhere. It’s convenient to unsnap that car seat & just leave the baby in there, but you still have to carry that big honkin’ piece of plastic around, at least until you snap in a cart. But car seats are supposed to be for the car, not for all purpose use. Snap baby in the car seat, snap car seat in the stroller, snap car seat in on the cart, bring baby into the house, leave baby in the car seat while you do what you need to do. After a little practice you can just slip the baby from place to place into your baby carrier of choice without much fuss. You will be happier, your back will be happier, your baby will be happier, your car will have more room in the back of your vehicle.

Yes, your back will thank you. A proper wrap, sling or other carrier will distribute the weight evenly across your back & chest. Simple adjustments will help distribute the weight more evenly as the baby gets bigger. If the carrier isn’t comfortable it’s either on incorrectly or it’s made poorly.

You can breastfeed on the go, easy peasy. And, if you think you need to feed with a cover, most carriers offer a fair amount if not as much privacy as a cover would with even more discretion. There’s no big cover over you saying, “Hey! Breastfeeding here, Don’t peek!” You simply make a few adjustments et voila! instant discrete, hands free (did I mention hands free) breastfeeding!

If you’re like me and single parent on a regular basis, babywearing becomes the literal fabric of life. I am a military spouse. My husband just spent the last year in the Middle East, again. Once again we were living in Germany. The baby was 8 months old when he left this time. I have 2 older children. How did I get anything done? Babywearing. Not just me but the older children took the opportunity to learn that they could wear their sister too. Did this save my sanity on a daily basis? You bet it did. I took her everywhere, prenatal & postnatal visits, breastfeeding visits, support groups, shopping, big kids’ activities, teaching comfort measures, doctors’ appointments, she was the perfect prop to teach babywearing in the breastfeeding class, I took her everywhere except to the births I attended.

Babies grow up soon enough. They all find their independence. Keep them close while you can, it’s for a shorter time that you can ever imagine. Let babywearing free you.