When I was in college I majored in Sociology which meant taking a lot of classes about different cultures. And also this one class called Human Sexuality that most definitely should have come with a disclaimer.
In one of my anthropology classes we learned all about some tribe in some country that wears their babies. I obviously paid a lot of attention and really earned that B. All I remember about that class was that A) my teacher was a ninja. Like, he literally studied to be a ninja in Japan or something. And B) I became obsessed with babywearing and decided that whenever I had a baby, I was going to strap it to my body with a strip of cloth. My twenty year old self felt very hip and granola about it all.
My twenty-eight year old self sees the irony in feeling hip about doing something that you learned from women who have been doing it for centuries. Anyhow, I’ve been wearing Scarlette since we brought her home from the hospital which feels like a century so naturally I’m going to talk about it like I’m an expert. <- mommybloggersyndrome
I use the Balboa Baby Adjustable Sling by Dr. Sears because my friend Florica recommended it to me and showed me how hers worked. When we brought Scarlette home, I had to carry not only her but also a portable apnea monitor that she was attached to + a portable pump for her feeding tube. There is a pocket on the front of the Balboa Baby sling that the pump fit into and I found that really helpful. Most days I did laundry, dishes, etc with her sleeping against my chest in the sling and the $&*@!! apnea monitor banging against my hip. I do not miss you, apnea monitor, no I do not.
I discovered that I didn’t like the feeling of a wrap sling. Mostly because of my neurotic fear that it would somehow unwind itself and my baby would go twirling down to the floor like she was in a tiny little Cirque Du Soleil stunt. And we couldn’t use a front/back carrier because of her risk of hip dysplasia. So the ring sling worked best for me. I wore her cuddle style when she was little and keeping her upright helped a lot with her reflux. Now I wear her hip carrier style and she is so much lighter in the sling than when I just hold her myself. When we go to the doctor I clip a toy to the ring and she happily entertains herself until she sees them come in with the needles. Then she screams like a banshee and hunkers down in the sling to hide.
Scarlette loves being in the sling. When she’s feeling tired or overwhelmed she will bring it to me so that I will put her in it. I’ve found that it’s great for quarantine purposes. If we do get out, I wear her and keeping her that close to me prevents people from touching her. Well, except that one lady who lifted up my nursing cover to see her. That lady was crazy cakes. Why would she do that? Why am I wearing a snuggie in that first picture? There are so many mysteries in this life.
I won’t tell you about all of the benefits of babywearing because lots has been written about it by people who are way more educated than I am + they can tell you how to do it safely. And also because I’m not trying to persuade you if it isn’t your thing- I firmly believe families should do what works best for them. But since this works best for us, I thought I’d share what we do. If you have any questions though, I’m totally happy to answer them in the comments!
*It’s not really a snuggie. THIS is me in a snuggie. You. Are. Welcome.
