The Seven Baby B's: (3) Babywearing

Babies are meant to be carried. Which bring us to our third Baby B: Babywearing. Since infants are quite immobile during most of their first year, parents have been forced to find efficient ways of carrying babies around. Unfortunately, humans don’t have much hair for the little ones to grab onto, so the work must be done almost exclusively by the parents.

Thankfully, humans are very creative and have found many different ways of carrying their babies while still having the full use of both of their hands. How, you may ask? By using different materials, such as leather, plant fibers, cloth, etc. to securely tie their babies to them.

Babywearing aides the bonding process by allowing mother and child to be close to each other, both creating physical contact as well as helping the mother-baby pair to become more familiar with each other. Babywearing also allows time to have skin to skin contact with your baby while still being able to stay mobile. Research has shown that babies who are worn often are much less fussy and do not cry as much. And you can nurse your baby in a carrier without anyone even knowing...

When I was pregnant with my first child, a baby carrier was on my baby registry. Not knowing anything about them at the time, I relied on the ratings the product had received online and thought I was purchasing a great carrier. Unfortunately, soon after having my baby, I learned that my carrier belonged to the category of carriers that babywearers like to refer to as ‘crotch danglers’. After some research, I came to find out that baby carriers in which the baby is basically dangling on a narrow piece of fabric by their crotch are not only uncomfortable (for all involved- my back was killing me and I was carrying a newborn…), they can actually cause damage to the baby’s hips and spine.

Wearing my sick baby boy in December 2011

Thankfully, there are so many wonderful carriers out there that I didn’t have a hard time finding a good alternative. There is such a huge selection available and you can choose from so many beautiful fabrics and designs. If you are interested in the subject, www.thebabywearer.com is a fantastic resource.

I still wear my 28 lb son regularly! Tomorrow: Bedding Close to Baby

If you have a babywearing post you would like to share, please link up!