I have shared pictures of my love of baby wearing, and I thought I should write about it. BW is what it sounds like, and has become almost a movement of late. I’m not anti-stroller (like Maggie Gylenhaal’s character in Away We Go) but I much prefer wearing my baby, and spend many hours a day doing so. I wear him around the house when I’m putting away laundry and making dinner, and other tasks that don’t involve a lot of carrying and bending over, which seem to be the difficulties of BW. Since my guy was colicky and gassy for a while, having his legs tucked against his belly combined with the motion of my movement was soothing and helpful. His basic newborn baby need to feel, hear, smell, and touch me were all met by wearing him on me, and it is quite enjoyable for me as well. 🙂 I love that my hands are free to do things and that we are enjoying some great bonding time.

I always pictured that I would BW, but I imagined a sling-type carrier. As it happens, I found those kind to hurt my back. I love my Moby wrap, which I know I’ve talked about before. It’s one long piece of fabric that you wrap around you and place the baby in. There is a learning curve to the wrap, but once you have it down you can get baby in quickly. I wear him for all if my shopping and it’s wonderful! He is close to me, and is usually lulled to sleep by my walking. I know he s safe, and I have both hands free to grab vegetables. The cart isn’t full with the car seat and I don’t have to worry about it falling over. I bring my clutch with money/phone/keys and nothing else. I’m free to roam in a right aisle without the cart and return to it. I never have to stop and deal with an upset baby. If he fusses, I bounce. The health benefits are great, too. 🙂

Baby wearing leads to an independent child. This seems counterintuitive, and I have gotten some comments from strangers that I’m spoiling him or making him dependent on me. It’s not true. (according to doctors–not just my opinion) BW is another way of teaching your child that they are safe and secure with you. They trust that you will be there to comfort them when they need you. Biologically, the hormones released from the physical contact between you and baby make her feel safe ad secure. In the early, hazy memories of your child’s life she will remember a feeling of security. This is why BW leads to independent children. The soothing feeling of your heartbeat and the rise and fall if your cheat as you breathe reminds baby if his time in the womb, where he felt extremely safe, so it typically calms baby J down immensely. I also think it is a good way for J to see me doing a variety of interesting tasks. He sees the world almost as I see it, not just the inside of a car seat or blanket. He sees me cooking, cleaning, and putting things awAy. He sees the world as I walk the dog or explore Costco. I think this satisfies his intellectual curiosity while teaching him things about his world. It’s good to expose your baby to things that aren’t just made for babies. Not everything is brightly colored and squeaky! He loves to look at people and trees…and is frustrated if I don’t let him!

The Moby can hold up to a 35-pound child; although I can’t imagine that I would be able to! I face him in toward me if I want him to sleep, and out when he wants to look around. He’s still young and squishy enough to have his legs tucked in, but when it’s warm I’ll let them dangle out. later I can wear him on my hip. People love to see and talk to him, and typically ask me if I need help, which is nice (and rare!)

I am fairly informed on the different types of carriers out there, as well as carries (positioning) and BF in a carrier(can be done!) Any questions on BW? Ask in the comments!