The Practicalities of Intentional Babywearing

I don’t know where I first heard about babywearing, most likely in an attachment parenting book. I liked the idea of having the baby close by so that he felt secure and taken care of. A week after Ze was born I took him for a test run in the moby wrap. The first day it was kind of awkward and felt like it was kind of slipping off but by the next day we were set. Ze practically lived his whole life, including naps but not nighttime sleep, in the moby for the first two months.

Brad has a Beco carrier which he loves. There were many nights those first few weeks where Brad would walk Ze around the apartment to get him to sleep.

Things I have learned since starting to babywear:

• It’s okay for naps to take place in the carrier. We gradually worked on helping Ze take naps in his own room, but I wish I would have realized that naps near mama early on are helpful for the babe and won’t mean that he will never nap on his own. Knowing this would have saved me a lot of grief.
• Babywearing gave me a lot of freedom. I could get chores done while he slept in the wrap. It is also so much easier to carry him about in the wrap than haul around a bucket carseat.
• It is a bit inconvenient to have to unstrap him from the carseat, put him in the wrap, then strap him back in the carseat when we are out running errands. BUT he enjoys being close to Mama or Papi and has learned to nap in the carrier even when we are out and about.
• Keep it tight. The carriers work best and are most safe when the baby is super close to your body.
• Babywearing keeps you and the little one warm. When Ze is in the wrap we are sharing body heat. I’ve learned to wear a light shirt under the wrap and put any sweaters/sweatshirts on over the wrap because I can get super hot. He also gets pretty warm so I don’t dress him in as many layers. When it was winter I wore my maternity coat and buttoned it up around him.
• I’m still not sure what to do with the diaper bag. Babywearing is so comfortable, and my moby really helps distribute the weight so he doesn’t seem so heavy. But the blasted diaper bag is so inconvenient. I’m tempted to try a backpack. I just want to have my hands free and not have to deal with the shoulder strap always slipping down.
• Babywearing helps the little guy calm down when he is especially overworked. I think he has always known the carrier to be a safe place close to Mama or Papi. When all else fails I turn to the moby and walk him around the apartment.

All in all, I’m glad we’ve intentionally chosen to babywear and even though I did go out and by a basic stroller for when he is larger or I need to go shopping, for now I turn to my moby wrap much often. The lighter I can travel, the better. Oh, and here’s a sweet shot of Ze with his new Sophie teether. He doesn’t really know how to hold it in his mouth but he loved gnawing on it today. I think it’s the start of a beautiful relationship.

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