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Our Babywearing Evolution
Posted on July 19, 2012 at 3:35 PM |
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"This post was written as part of The
Breastfeeding Cafe's Blog Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go
to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com.
For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate,
contact Timbra Wiist landslidephotography {at} hotmail {dot} com.
Today's post is about babywearing practices. Please read the other blogs in
today's carnival listed in the comments section at www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com The
Carnival runs July 16th through the 31st!" I have memories of my father carrying my
sister in a backpack when we lived in Europe and did a lot of sightseeing. In fact, there was a time when I convinced my
sister she was adopted because there are so few pictures of her. Since she was comfortable and asleep in the
backpack, my parents, like many parents, chose to leave the baby sleeping
instead of waking her up - for a tourist photo.
I think that it was a gift from my aunt that put the
babywearing seed in my mind. She gave me
a hip carrier that would work when a child was able to sit up on its own
(usually 6-months old+ to hit this developmental milestone). After reading the insert, the allure of being
able to carry our child hands-free was appealing.
We added a Baby Bjorn to our registry so we
could use it before baby was sitting up.
We got one of the ones that are “not recommended” nowadays since they
dangle the baby’s legs instead of allowing the baby to assume a seated
position. At the time, the educational
diagrams I lined to below were not widespread.
It would be years before we met our chiropractor who advocates for the
carriers that allow for the hips-knees to emulate a seated position for the
baby.
See the diagrams and read the explanations here I also registered for a sling since it looked interesting in
the store. Although it was a plain gray
color, the mom and baby looked happy (advertising!) It was our first baby and what did we
know? Not much as it turns out. While the big padded shoulder pillow that was
attached to the sling seemed like a good idea, it turned out to be a bit
awkward to work with. Since I did not
know enough to know that there were different options, I got accustomed to it
and learned to make it work.
I found that I loved wearing our baby. I loved her sweet smell. I loved how she snuggled into me to
sleep. I loved being able to talk to her
and show her what we were looking at. I
definitely think it shaped our breastfeeding relationship. I knew her and I could read her cues. A baby dive-bombing for your breast is pretty
hard to confuse with a baby who is gnawing on her hand just because she is
curious. Speaking on gnawing the hand, I
also learned to tell the difference between “curious” and “I’m getting hungry”.
After I started babywearing, I noticed that there were other
moms out there doing the same thing. I
started to have carrier-envy. Some of
them had pretty slings in pretty patterns that looked a lot less cumbersome
than mine. As we had more children, I
noticed a greater variety in styles: carriers that looked like the baby was
tucked like a kangaroo in a pocket, back carriers, wraps…the variety seemed
endless. I saw other people using
Bjorn’s so at least we were not alone in using the wrong carrier for our
child. I thank God that children are
resilient – I know our little one does not seem to have suffered permanent
damage to her limbs and joints – hopefully the other children are okay, too.
My knowledge in this area grew as our family grew. With our second child, I ordered two
lightweight cotton slings with long tails that had pockets on them for my
keys/wallet/whatever little thing I needed to tuck in there. With our third child I used a rebozo from
Peru – my mom brought it back with her from her Peru adventure. It’s the Spanish word for a wrap-style
carrier. I learned how to tie a really tight knot! Our fourth child wanted me to grow again. She wanted nothing to do with slings or wraps
and by this time we knew better than to put her in the old-style Bjorn. My new favorite is our Beco Butterfly that allows me to
carry her in the proper seated position.
We have a couple more months in the front-facing position – I just love
that snuggle bug. We do not even use a
stroller anymore – it’s just so much easier to strap on the carrier and go
about our errands. Learning to nurse a baby that is sitting up in the
front carry position was definitely
challenging the first few times. I persisted through the learning curve - having seen other moms accomplish this
feat I knew it was doable. I practiced at
home first, and now that I know baby and I have a system, we can nurse discreetly
in public, too. Sometimes so discreetly
that people who pull back the hood to see the baby without asking get to see
her nursing :) I am getting braver about trying the back carry. I miss seeing her face, although she is
repeating history…baby seems to fall asleep quickly and for extended periods of
time when I carry her on my back! The
back-carrying cultures of the world know this – something about the rolling of
the mom’s gait seems to rock children to sleep.
I love seeing the different ways mamas carry their babies on their back
while moving through their day.
Do you feel that sharing traditions across cultures unites
us? It’s a yes for me. Just like I thought about all the women who
had gone before me when I was laboring with our children, knowing that we chose
to carry our children like other babies are carried in other parts of the world
gives me a sense that maybe we are closer to that elusive dream of world
peace. If not world peace, at least we
are all agreeing on some basics.
LINK LIST: Disclaimer: It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult her or his healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation. Krystyna and Bruss Bowman and Bowman House, LLC accept no liability for the content of this site, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided. This blog contains information about our classes available in Chandler, AZ and Payson, AZ and is not the official website of The Bradley Method®. The views contained on this blog do not necessarily reflect those of The Bradley Method® or the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth®. |
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