I Wear Babies

I do! And I like it! I like it A LOT!

When I was pregnant with Kaija I was doing some research and was a member of a parenting community on-line and kept coming across moms who used slings or other carriers to "wear" their babies. This was totally foreign to me but made so much sense! You mean I can have 2 free hands to do things AND carry my baby? Sign me up! So I set out to find a sling to carry Kaija in. Then I discovered that they are expensive. Crazy expensive for the amount of fabric you get in some cases. I just couldn't justify it. One day we were in TJ Maxx for reasons I don't remember, but I came across the Parents of Invention Ultimate Baby Wrap for $20. I figured that was a price I could handle and it looked interesting. I'd heard a little about wraps, they seemed pretty complicated, but I decided to go for it. I watched the DVD that came with it and looked up more videos on Youtube. And as tricky as it was I practiced putting it on while pregnant. I had it down! I was so excited for Kaija to be born so I could cuddle her in it! Then she was born and HATED it... So I packed it away for about a month. When she was a bit bigger I got it back out and lo and behold she LOVED IT! She sacked right out and slept for hours snuggled into my chest. I typed an email with 2 hands. I loaded the dishwasher. I even made dinner (Note: this isn't really recommended!)! Yee haw!! I could tuck her into my coat and go for long walks. It suddenly became the best $20 I ever spent. The main downfall I found to it is how looooong it is and it is a bit complicated to put on. I've got it mastered now, but for me it's not really something I can easily put on in a parking lot while shopping. And she pretty much topped out of being carried in it comfortably at around 7 months.

Fast forward to being pregnant again. I got my wrap out and washed it and got it all ready to use for Kolbie. This time I was not disappointed at all the first few weeks! See, Kolbie is a snuggle baby. She WANTS to be held. She WANTS to cuddle with you. I've called her my baby Spider Monkey more than once! When she was 2 weeks old I strapped her on, threw a jacket on, and walked across the street to sit around a bonfire for 4 hours. She slept the entire time. ENTIRE TIME. Someone who arrived after it got dark didn't even realize I had a tiny baby in my coat until she squeaked to tell me she was hungry and wanted to be in bed. I think I wore her for a part of everyday for weeks on end.

A few weeks ago Dean asked how much longer I thought Kolbie would be in the wrap. He thought she was looking a bit big for it and I didn't disagree. How I managed to carry Kaija in it as long as I did I'm not sure. So we started talking about maybe finding something else. I started looking at making my own Mei Tei. I started researching other carriers so I could gently approach him with how much they are. Three days later had Ergo Baby Carriers available for too good a price to pass up. I ran up the stairs to check on the budget with Dean and found out that it was something I could get. I ran back down the stairs, wallet in hand, only to find that Google check-out was down at that moment! No!! Fortunately it was back up only minutes later and I made, hands down, the best $70 purchase EV.ER. I expected it to take 2 weeks to arrive. I ordered it Wednesday and had it the following Monday. I've used it every day since. We can grocery shop with one cart now. It's so easy! I'm so in love with it.

With both carriers I've gotten lots of compliments and strange looks, but mostly encouragement. One day while wearing Kaija in the wrap a man yelled from the other side of the street and asked if I had cotton candy in my coat! Nope, just a baby wearing a bright pink hat! Wearing Kolbie in the wrap led to an awesome discussion on baby wearing at the Farmer's Market over Memorial Day weekend. I passed on info to make your own and websites to go to to learn how to put it on. At first I thought that woman and her mom thought I was weird! Nope, they wanted to be like me! And that was 20 minutes after my mom questioned if it was all worth it to put it on. Yup! You bet it is! Now with the Ergo I've had a number of positive interactions. A few women at church have told me that they have them as well. A nice woman at the grocery store seemed pretty excited at the idea of getting one for her daughter and her first grandbaby. Mysteriously, the odd looks I've gotten from people have been from other mom's wearing their babies in Bjorns or other style carriers... weird. We're all in this together! :)

Mostly, I am proud to spread the message of baby wearing. It's healthy for your baby AND you. Um, hello squats with a 15 lb. weight strapped to your chest?! My abs hurt this weekend and I couldn't figure out why, until I took Kolbie off of me and relaxed a bit. You can not slouch while baby wearing! I wore Kolbie while handing out lunch at church last weekend and the older man that was cooking the hot dogs made a great observation. He said, "You know, those are so great! I mean Native Americans wore their babies on their backs! Now your baby just curls right up and falls asleep listening to your heartbeat." How can that be wrong?