Why Do You Do That? (Baby Wearing)

Baby-wearing has become quite trendy recently, with baby carriers appearing on various “must have” lists for expectant moms.  It’s part of attachment parenting due to the closeness it provides between parent and child.  

3. Baby-wearing. It's been utilized around the world throughout history, when women continued working while caring for their infants.  The idea is to keep baby close by at all times, in order to provide her with the reassurance of your presence, while at the same time leaving your hands free to do other things. It can be used in combination with skin-to-skin contact, and depending on the carrier, may make breastfeeding more convenient, as baby can nurse while mom's hands remain free.

Baby wearing is also very convenient in certain situations. On rugged terrain, for instance, maneuvering a stroller is more of a headache than simply walking, with baby in tow.  Jumping on and off the metro, running errands in an urban environment, hiking... these are some of the scenarios where baby wearing is really easier than pushing her in a stroller.

Natalia getting some outside time on our balcony.  You can see the dog park in the background.

She will only stay quiet in the stroller if I talk to her.

But other situations make the use of an infant car seat and/or stroller more feasible.  Whenever you have to spend any time in a car, it makes no sense to wake baby up while trying to move her from car seat to baby carrier and back again.  Coming home with a sleeping baby in a car seat provides a great opportunity to simply take baby into the bathroom with you and take a shower when you have the chance!

However, apparently some babies like being in a carrier more than others, and some carriers tickle baby's fancy more than others.  Natalia has her moments.  When we go for a walk as a family, she usually settles down for a nap either in a stroller or in a carrier.  Around the house, she rarely lets me wear her, even though in theory she should enjoy the closeness and the added perk of being higher up than in a swing, giving her a better view of everything.

We have three carriers, each with their own benefits and level of success. The Moby was supposed to be the only carrier we would need.  I did lots of research to find a carrier that would let us wear Natalia in different holds and grow with her.  In her early days, we did utilize it to help with skin-to-skin contact.  It’s a bit cumbersome to wrap, so we haven’t used it outside the house much.  

Skin-to-skin with daddy, week one.

 

See that little green hat?  That's Natalia!

 
The Bjorn we got I believe from Natalia’s cousin, Andrew :)  Oscar prefers this one, and since it requires various settings to fit properly, I don’t like messing with it to have it fit me.  Instead, this is the carrier we use when on walks, and Oscar wears Natalia.  

On a walk with Daddy.

There’s a third carrier, which I call a pocket carrier, that I got from my mom.  It was a bit tricky to put Natalia in it, as it’s literally like a pocket that doesn’t open, so you have to put it on baby as you would a pair of pants.  The ties are very long, like with the Moby, and I guess Natalia gets impatient with me trying to wrap them correctly once she’s already in.  Sometimes she settles in just fine, while other times she’s only in for 5 minutes and then insists on getting out.

Here we are on Natalia's first walk.  It was unseasonably warm in early December!

So why do we wear Natalia?

We find it more convenient in some circumstances, and we like the closeness to Natalia.

What’s hodgepodge about that?

Well, if you knew some of the gung-ho baby-wearing families out there, you’d see how much they can get done with baby in tow, versus how little we are able to use this tool.