Thursday, December 10, 2009

A Baby Wearing Beginner

When I first had Lydia I was given a typical front pack that I was so excited about. I had dreams of carrying my baby all over the place while I went about daily life; washing dishes, doing laundry, shopping etc.. Unfortunately it was about the most uncomfortable thing I had ever worn and getting a little one in and out of it was almost an insurmountable challenge.

I used it maybe three or four times before throwing it out for good. I pretty much gave up the dream with Bethany and as I only had two at the time I felt like I still had ample time for holding and snuggling. When Havilah came however I realized the necessity of needing to put her down to accomplish what I needed to in a day. I was reminded again of the dream having my baby with me as I went about the house without having my arms full.

It started when I ran into a friend that I only see once a year who strongly recommended a fabulous looking pack that she had her young son in. I researched quite a bit and decided that I loved what I saw and heard about the Ergo carrier. It has a soft shell and can be easily worn on the front, back or hip.
My amazing grandparents decided that they would buy it for me as my baby present. I have absolutely loved it! I am completely amazed at how comfortable it is. There are only two drawbacks that I have found with it. I never figured out how to use the infant insert very well ( or at least Havilah hated it!) so I had to wait until she was big enough to sit with her legs spread around my waist before we could really use it. The other problem is the waist strap which is wonderfully comfy, but only extends so far and my ever increasing pregnancy belly quickly outgrew it.
( My sister Anna sporting it with Bethany last summer)
Over all, I love it. But after hearing other reports I decided to look for something that would better accommodate a newborn or a round belly.
In our area the big thing is the Ring Sling. I know several mommys that absolutely love them. I've only tried one out a couple of times with not much instruction and I found it to be very uncomfortable and not very secure feeling, BUT like I said, I had no idea what I was doing! I'm sure that if I figured out what I was doing it would work great. I'll have to make one and try it out sometime. Who can resist picking some adorable fabric to make your own?
A little history ( I know we're getting long here!) on this next one. I am part of an online forum called MOMYS ( Mothers Of Many Young Siblings). I could write a whole post about it here, but won't take the time now. Check it out for yourself at http://momys.com/ . There are so many wonderful ladies there who are so encouraging. As I spent time there I kept hearing about "baby wrapping". After being very curious and asking a lot of questions, one of the sweetest ladies ever offered to send me an extra one she had and wouldn't even let me pay shipping! You can buy them for quite a bit ( they're called Mobys) but this one is just homemade and works fabulously!

There are a million different ways to use the wrap, but my favorite at this time is on the back. Keeps me completely free to do what ever I need ( even cook at the stove!) without having someone in the way, plus nothing goes around the belly. Here I am at 34 weeks and it was no problem. I find that it is not as comfortable as the Ergo, but I can still wear it for a remarkable length of time without getting tired or sore. It takes some practice to learn the wrapping techniques ( youtube is full of instructions!) but it is so much fun.

So anyway, that's what I've learned so far. I am so excited about starting out at the very beginning with this next one. If you have any tips, ideas or things you've learned I would LOVE to hear it!

4 comments:

Aly sun said...

I'm with you. My back gets sore really fast with typical baby carriers. I had a Bjorne with baby #1 and sling with #2. The sling I had was sewn to length and okay for about 20 minutes or so at a time. I got a Becko (similar to the Ergo) for baby #3. I also couldn't figure out the infant insert, so I wear the baby curved to one side. Because of the location of the straps, it works. It is very comfortable. Definitely convenient with 2 others to keep track of.

Melanie said...

This is a great post! I've seen so many variations of these, and I've wondered which ones really work. I like the look of the sling - so simple and compact when no baby is in it, but it would have to be comfortable for it to make sense to have one!

Anonymous said...

My mom used a sling with my younger siblings, and I know it was very helpful when we were out and about and she needed to nurse. She could just tuck the little one into the sling, throw a blanket over her shoulder and nurse on the go. :)

amandavital said...

I agree store bought pack usually have one thing or another that I dont like about them, the ring sling is quite uncomfortable. The moby is the way to go!!! I had my little girl a month before you had your ella, and a good friend gave me some beautiful material and instructions to tie it like a moby. I was INSTANTLY hooked. I could wrap her in it from the first month of her life, i didn't have to wait for her to grow into it. and i NEVER get sore or tired of wearing it. as soon as victoria fell asleep in it i would just slip her out an lay her in her cradle. Every time i go to the grocery store people ask me what it is... I should just start selling them LOL and just keep one in my car at all times... hope you enjoyed yours as much as i did mine