Babywearing is something that’s been done for centuries and really probably as long as humans have existed.

my daughter and the snugli

When my daughter was born I had already bought a SNUGLI  pouch and I had hopes of wearing her full

time and being a “kangaroo mum” this didn’t work out for us, I wore her quite a bit in the first few months, it helped with cleaning the house but I didn’t feel totally secure with her in it so it didn’t really keep me all that hands free!

By the time she was three months old her legs had become decidedly chubby lol the pouch suddenly became a two person job! Mine wasn’t one that had clips or anything you were supposed to just “slip” the baby legs first into the pouch and put it on and viola! DONE!  Well this was not how it worked in the end! The only time I could take it off (and chloe)was when another adult was with me haha! We had to have one person hold the baby and one person pull the pouch! NOT the most practical of things! The pouch also started to make my back ache and she just got “too heavy” for me to carry so I gave up the pouch with a lil sadness and moved forward.

my son and the snugli with clips!

Jump forward a few years and I had my son, this time I got a you beaut pouch this time! A SNUGLI again! But this time it had all sorts of adjusting bits and the baby could be put in laying flat and clipped in then unclipped to get out PERFECT! This would mean I could take him out by myself!

Unfortunately this was not to be the case! When my son was born I had separated stomach muscles and a space the size of a fist between the muscles, so for the first few weeks I could not use the pouch, then by the time I was a lil stronger more than a couple hours would cause me to be in SERIOUS pain! My lower back would throb with pain my feet would hurt and id spend my time shifting the pouch/my feet/myself! Or need to sit down!  i gave up!

another try

I didn’t understand because id managed to carry him pregnant? Why could I not carry him now? This time I didn’t give up! I saw other mums babywearing and became jealous! That’s what I wanted to do! Why couldn’t i! why could they? Then I started looking into it, I pulled my pouch back out! I adjusted it so it was up high on my chest and not hanging below my breasts, I made sure the padding was spread out properly and that the straps weren’t twisted at all and I started wearing my son on my back……. AHHHH much better! Still a lil pain so I tightened it more and made sure he wasn’t hanging at all BETTER AGAIN!

 As time went by I became stronger and built up a lot more tolerance to my sons weight in the carrier and this helped a lot the pain subsided, I still found the pouch somewhat uncomfortable but I wore it anyway. I started wearing sarongs around the house tied at the shoulder with tobias in them to help with doing the housework until….

the sling

 A friend gave me a ring sling! I loved it! It took a little bit of time to work out the rings but thanks to youtube. Com I worked it out a lot quicker than most would! The anxiety I had over catching a bus became a thing of the past! I started going out a lot more with my daughter and my son on trips on the bus to places we hadn’t been in awhile due to the fact I hated taking the pram on the bus and carrying my son in my arms could be difficult! Food shopping became a lot more fun!

the mei tai

 I still used the pouch for back carrying for walks, but I was looking more and more into babywearing and reading up on the different sorts of carriers and some of the articles really opened my eyes to the downfalls and dangers of some of the more modern carriers in camparison to the older types. I was still using my snugli but was still having a few problems with the comfort factor and the size of my baby (he was close to a year old ), I was also feeling slightly uncomfortable with some of the information I was reading in regards to my baby hanging by his crotch lol  so I started looking into a mei tai an asian backcarrier , I really liked how they looked and id heard that other than the difficulty factor with learning to tie the straps that they were terrific! They were also very expensive! I left it awhile and was lucky enough to be pointed to one selling quite cheap (thanks MCM!) so I got my mei tai!

The first time I tried the mei tai I practiced with a baby choo choo doll lol I was a bit worried about not tying it right! I actually found it easy but I still say the same words over in my head to this day when I tie it on! Around the waist double knot, over the shoulder, cross straps, under bum, under foot, tie at the waist! Lol

Must say this is my FAVOURITE carrier I will never part with it until I know I will never have another baby! It IS difficult to get used to tying but once its on its soooo worth it! Its comfortable for myself and baby and I often get comments from strangers when tobias is asleep in it how comfortable it looks for him. Tobias sits froglike on my back or front because he is a toddler( if he was a newborn it would be feet tucked up bum down), he is in no danger of falling at any time I feel totally safe with him in it and I am not in any pain!

 Babywearing has changed my life. I feel more connected to my baby and his needs, I am happier as a parent and I feel that I am following my instincts, I feel no guilt about going about my life and doing the things I need to do because my child is coming with me and able to share everything while I GET THINGS DONE! I do not have to listen to my baby cry he does not cry in the carrier very often unless there is a good reason ie. FOOD!lolmI can do non pram friendly things and both my children get to enjoy activities we could never do before we go on adventures and walks that before were inaccessible to us. I gave up babywearing once and my only regret was that I didn’t try again sooner or find another way.There are other carriers I haven’t tried yet and probably wont (at least with this baby), I do believe that trial and error is the way to go with these, if you can lend a carrier to test out first it will help you to decide the right type for you there are also TWIN slings! Im not sure I could manage one toddler on each hip but it might be nice for newborns and breastfeeding?

5 tips for babywearing

Don’t give up at the first carrier

 try a few different sorts if you can before you decide its defiantly not your thing, borrow from friends if you can or swap.

 Build up a tolerance

 wearing the baby for a long period of time the first time will only make you tired and sore lol like anything start slow like around the house and build to longer periods of time.

 Fit your carrier properly

Make sure that the carrier is high and supports the baby with little to no “hang” if the baby isn’t secure against your body he or she will feel heavier.

 Research

Read about babywearing, get advice from other mums who do and find out what sort they use and why it worked for them and how, you may find some helpful info

Above all enjoy it! If you have tried everything and you still don’t enjoy it don’t do it and chalk it all down to experience! babywearing like anything else is a great bonding experience for those who like it, its not worth doing if mums miserable.

 

sorry this is really long! Hope this helps someone!