What's in Your Stash?

First of all, let's clarify that by stash I don't mean what food or other particles of weird things are handing out in your mustasche. I know, I live in hippy Austin and we commonly refer to that weird eighties lip hair still hanging around on hipsters as a stash because we can't take the time so say the whole word but that is not what we are talking about here. I promise. By the way, I actually had to google how to spell that correctly. Sad day for me.

Moby wrap with itty bitty Hannah

Anyway, what is in your stash is a common question that gets asked in the babywearing world. Sometimes your super cool if you have a gazillion carriers and sometimes people totally judge you for spending all your money on these very potentially expensive items that you will only use for a few years of your babies life. Depending on what circle you run in, sometimes you are super cool if you only have a huge DIY stash that you poured your blood sweat and very little money into. It's all in the eyes of the beholder. I could care less what people's stash looks like. I don't lust over carriers just because they are popular or because they are super expensive or hard to find. I lust after carriers because they are pretty and functional. My obsessions in life have moved on with my life stages. Pre kids I would spend my money on collecting awesome shoes and purses. I still hold on to a few of my favorites but quite frankly high heels are horrible to walk in and cloth diapers don't fit into my cute little purses so off they went. I just moved on to things that were more functional for my time in life with those things currently being baby carriers. I actually started with cloth diaper's as an obsession but baby carriers are more fun to me...and also more expensive. Let me also say that being a baby carrier enthusiast can also be kind of embarrassing unless you are in the right crowd. Some of my friends are babywearers because they want to babywear and don't care how it gets done. To them I am know as the girl with all the carriers. They don't get my excitement over a new carrier or why I would

My very first wrap! A natibaby organic size 6 wrap in emerald

even need a new carrier. However, in the babywearing world there is no shame. There is no need for a 12 step meeting because you have more than one or two carriers. There is just an appreciation and an excitement that people now get to try out so many different other carriers because you have something that they don't. I have actually found it very similar to how pet owners are viewed. You can be a one or two pet owner and that's totally cute and normal. OR you can have 4 or more and you are an animal hoarder and possibly crazy. I am that possibly crazy baby carrier owner and I'm ok with that.

My homemade mei tai.

My project wrap :-) Size 4 didymos indio dyed emerald

Chrysalis Designs Table Cloth Mei Tai

Natibaby Fairyland Fenny Size 6

Beco Butterfly II visiting the San Antonio Zoo

Let's start with what has been in my stash because I have rotated the carriers out that didn't work for us. That is one of the great things about baby carriers, you can resell them for almost as much as you had into them! My very first carrier was a moss green moby wrap gifted to me by a friend at my baby shower. It was my gateway drug so thanks Rebecca!. The next carrier I bought I was a blue ergo organic carrier. It was a

Oscha Starry Night Orchid in size 6

demo version for a local baby store going out of business so I got a great deal on it and bought it with hubby's permission. Then, I borrowed a ring sling from our birth teacher and sadly I don't think I have a picture and of course that was a borrowed carrier. It stayed with me for a month or two though! This was the beginning of the downfall :-) It's all a blur from there but I have also owned a beco butterfly II, a Chrysalis Designs table cloth conversion mei tai, a table cloth conversion mei tai I made and a bunch of wraps. The wraps I have had cycle through here but currently don't live here include a natibaby organic emerald green in size 6 (my very first wrap), an oscha starry night orchid in a size 6, a size 4 didymos indio that came to me with a bad dye job and I redyed, a Hoppediz Pune Turquoise in a size 6 and a natibaby fairyland fenny in a size 6. I THINK that is it for ones that I don't currently own but have in the past. I may be forgetting something but it's been over a year since this process started so I can only remember so much!

So, are you curious about what is in my current stash? I don't blame you for being curious, I always want to know what is in people's stash. Which brings me to my request....I wanna hear what's in  your stash! Leave a comment below so we can share in our obsession even if you are a one carrier household I wanna hear because that's still awesome! No shame here :-)

HORRIBLE picture but here is my hopp pune in a size 6

Didymos indio dyed emerald green by me in size 4

Itty bitty Hannah in our ergo

What Have We Been Up To?

Well, you know the drill by now. It's Friday which means I have survived the chaos of Tuesday - Thursday working and living. On Monday we went to a playdate with TONS of littles. The only time I babywore on Monday was out to the car because I had brought all my current carriers so a mom could try them out. I did try our this amazing ring sling my friend just bought but unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of both! I'm totally slacking on pictures but it's because both my camera batteries have died and my phone camera is really horrible. 

I don't remember anything about Tuesday, I'm not going to lie. On Wednesday, Hannah and I had a play with with a friend and they destroyed the house with toys. It was super awesome and there was lots of happy screams in the house. Seriously, my favorite. We also went to the Mall in the evening and my loving husband took me to buy new bras. This is a huge process for me because bra's are like jeans, you have to try on a gazillion to find just one that fits right. Anyway, he wore Hannah at the Mall so I could try on by myself. Yesterday we didn't babywear at all because Hannah spent most of the evening with Meemaw and Peepaw while we worked on the sink because the handle randomly broke on me on Wednesday! 

Stay tuned because tomorrow I'm going to unleash my current stash on you. Prepare for your mind the be blown...or for the opportunity to totally judge me and call me that crazy carrier lady! Don't forget to leave a comment :-)

But There's SO Many Options!!!

True statement, there are so many different baby carriers. Different types of baby carriers, different brands of baby carriers, different size, different fabric and on and on and on. As people who are super involved in the babywearing world baby carriers and the habit of collecting them is often referred to as the black hole. A rightly so because once you jump in it's over, your hooked! To keep it simple I'm just going to touch on the most basic carrier groups. If you have questions we can go from there and PLEASE feel free to ask questions. If you have issues commenting on my blog please let me know by visiting my facebook page at facebook.com/512cherrylane.

Whats Out There?

Buckle Carriers

Let's start with the basic most well known type of carrier. The buckle carrier or ssc (soft structured carrier). Well known carriers that fit into this category include carriers like the ergo, the beco, the boba, the bjorn and most of the infantino carriers. There are tons of other awesome brands within in this category including the lillebaby, catbird baby pikkolo, action baby carriers, babies beyond borders, and my two most favorite the kinderpack and tula. This is not an extensive list, I am literally just pulling these out of the air from memory so I know I have left some favorites out and probably named a few random and obscure ones. The buckle carrier is probably the most daddy friendly carrier  because it's pretty simple to use and it looks like a backpack! They also come in super daddy friendly prints even if that just means black. You can generally find these carriers in stores locally as well as online. Although most people may think that this type of carrier is a one size fits all carrier they are not actually. Buckle carriers are all build slightly different which means they all fit different body types differently. Some are better for petite people while others are a better fit for plus size wearers. Some people find that they like lots of structure and others may find that the less padding the better. With that said in general you can usually make them fit most body types but they may not be comfortable for extended wearing. I will also note that in the babywearing world there is lots of controversy around non-ergonomic carriers like the bjorn, chicco, evenflo, etc. Don't let that deter you. My stance is that all babywearing is good babywearing however all babywearing is not created equal :-) I always tell parents looking at these types of carriers (and I have been known to stop unsuspecting people looking at them at target) to just be aware that these types of carriers will become very uncomfortable the bigger baby gets because of the lack of support for the wearers back. This is a true story and not just a sales tactic I promise. Additionally, if you are going to spend $60-$80 on a carrier, get one that you are going to be able to use past say 15-20lbs! Why shouldn't you get your money's worth?

Mei Tai's

Another type of carrier that is similar to a buckle carrier but a bit more customizable in size is the mei tai. Mei Tai's are basically a square piece of fabric with four long straps, two for the waist and two for the shoulder. They are super great if you have a couple that is very different in size or stature and they both want to carry. They are not easy to find in local stores but easy to find online and you can usually get a pretty reasonable deal on them for well under $100 which is a plus because most buckle carriers cost around or over $100. They also fold down pretty small so you can easily stuff into a bag and go. Brands of mei tais include the infantino mei tai that you canusually find at places like target, the baby hawk, freehand mei tais, cat bird baby, etc just to name a few. 

Ring Slings and Pouches

You will most likely need to purchase a ring sling online or you can sometimes find great deals on them used on places like craigslist. Ring slings are awesome for newborns and toddlers and pretty much all stages in between. They are basically one long piece of material with a set of rings attached at the end. The one downfall to these carriers are that they a one shoulder carry so they may not be ideal for long term carrying if you have back issues or as your baby gets older. They are awesome for itty bitty babies because once you have adjustments down you can easily pop them in and out and it's just one layer of fabric. For toddlers they are great for quick up and downs where they want a little attention but mostly want to be down involved in all the fun. Some of the more popular brands are the maya wrap, sakura bloom ring sling, zolo wear, and my personal favorite sleeping baby productions ring slings. 

Pouches are similar to ring slings in that they are a one shoulder carry. They are just a piece of fabric made into a loop that you can form a pouch to put your baby into. Pouches are SUPER easy to find, especially used for very little money because most people buy pouches only to find that they have bought the wrong size and give up on them. And that my friends, is the biggest downfall to pouches. They can be really hard to find the right fit but when you find one that fits it's magical. They are fold down super easily and like I said, they can be really cheap so they are great car carriers. One word of advice, do not fall for the seven slings "deal". Most people find seven slings incredibly uncomfortable and wish they would have just saved their $12.99 shipping or whatever the cost is. 

Wraps

There are actually two catergories of wraps, stretchy and woven. Most people have heard of the stretchy wraps including the moby wrap, boba wrap and baby k'tan. These are especially great for newborn babies and are very forgiving to people interested in this type of baby carrier because you can prewrap them and then pop baby in. These types of wraps are markets to be used up to 35lbs however they generally sag after about 15lbs and have to be readjusted often to the point of not wanting to use them once baby gets heavier. Stretchy wraps are NOT SAFE for back carries either. DO NOT BACK CARRY WITH A STRETCHY WRAP. It is very dangerous as your baby can easy push out of the carrier and fall out. 

Woven wraps on the other hand are completely safe for back carries and are customizable to all sizes and shapes of both baby and wearer. Woven wraps however do have the largest learning curve and take practice to use seamlessly. Woven wraps are woven specifically to safely hold large loads and have been tested to hold over 200lbs! They come in all sorts of colors, designs, fabrics, price points, etc. If you have ventured into the world of woven wraps you have been bitten by the bug. Our BWI president at one point said, "If you want to wear your baby buy an ergo, if you want a hobby buy woven wraps". It's true. My husband won't touch my woven wraps. That's fine because that means I don't have to ask his advice when I'm buying them in terms of colors or designs, they are allllll miiiiine!!!! 

What have we been up to?

I'm not going to lie. Yesterday we had a no babywearing day. Hannah did however sleep through the night and take a three hour nap so the day was a complete success! 

Meetings Can Be Fun!!!

Lets first take a moment to celebrate that I'm sitting here in my pajama's on a Sunday morning while my child is actually taking a nap...in her bed....that was NOT preceded by lots of crying and fighting sleep. This may not happen again soon but I will relish in the few hours that I get to regenerate my patience!

On to the topic of the day. Yesterday I went to one of our monthly babywearing meetings. These are seriously one of the ONLY meetings that I actually enjoy. The group I'm involved in is Babywearing International of Greater Austin. I'll share some quick and dirty details but if you want to learn more go here. And if you want to join our facebook page please do! We love having new people join us. Just click here for the facebook page.

Do you want to find a babywearing group near you? Head over here and see if there is one locally. If not, feel free to join one of the several babywearing groups in facebook like babywearing 102 and I BET that you will find at least one other person who is also a babywearer in your area.

So a little about how our local group works and please know not every group does the exact same things but if they are associated with Babywearing International then they do follow some of the same rules. We have two official meetings a month where we have trained educators who run workshops along with a library of carriers available to check out for the general public. We have an awesomely huge library selection and you can check out one carrier a month for only $5 per rental. Considering that carriers range from $30 on up to $100+ that's a great deal especially when it comes to trying to find a carrier that fits your needs. You can also become a member for the year and if you choose to go that route you get to rent a carrier a month for free with your membership.

Beyond just the educational and library piece it is also a group of great women. A place where parents can come and feel accepted and let their kids run around like banshee's without being judged. There is lots of conversations that happen that aren't always just about babywearing but parenting or just life in general. It's a great outlet. We also try to do a few social gatherings a month that are just play dates for those interested. This is one of the only parenting groups that I have stuck with since searching out a community when Hannah was first born. I tried a lot out too. I love this group and they get me.

This is just my stash....we are so geeky we all bring our carriers to the meetings

Yesterday I made the trip out to round rock so Hannah could have some play time with her buddies. Since I am an educator I rarely get to go to meetings without having some duty to complete which is fine because I actually love teaching. Yesterday I taught mei tais, not to be confused with the drink Mai Tai's however delicious they might be. We will get into the different types of carriers in another post I promise. We discussed nursing in carriers as our special topic yesterday which prompted some epic pictures (see below). This group has also directly contributed to my comfort level with boobs in public. They are not afraid to nurse their babies and this group is a safe place to do just that. We generally have a large very mixed group at this meeting which I highly appreciate. I got to talk to parents of itty bitty babies, pregnant parents and parents who were trying to learn new tricks and tips but had been babywearing for a while. I was able to help a couple rent a carrier to try out for both mom and dad. I was also able to demonstrate how to modify a front carry to fit a newborn better, how to hip carry and how to back carry with getting baby on your back in 3 different ways. I love when I feel like I actually helped people! After we were done some of us stayed around for about an hour and just chatted and played with carriers. These were mostly leaders but not all.

One of the epic things that happened was that I was able to try out my first handwoven wrap. This may mean nothing to you. Let me try to explain. Before we had kids I was obsessed with nice shoes and purses. I'm not talking like $40 purses from any store. I'm talking like Kate Spade (my fav), Cole Haan, maybe a little Betsy Johnson here and there if it's not too crazy. I loved touching them and looking at them from afar or close up. I would wait for the yearly clearance sales so I could maybe score something awesome or just dream about owning something awesome. At one point I owned two Kate Spade diaper bags, one with polka dots and it doesn't get much better than that. So, this obsession has moved on to baby carriers. I'm also a fabric geek. Like one of those people who will buy an item of clothing just because it's ridiculously soft. I will pay a stupid amount of money for something bamboo because it's so soft. So my excitement over a crazy long piece of fabric that also allows me to use it for a practical reason really makes a lot of sense. Handwoven wraps are coveted because they are super supportive and someone takes hours and hours of their time to lovingly create this one of a kind product for you to love your baby with. They are not cheap either so they should be coveted. Well, I got to try this beautiful Woven Rainbow and it made my 25 pound baby feel weightless. It was so soft and I may have fell in love. I'm now stalking their facebook page in hopes of one day getting a custom slot before I'm done babywearing! The stupid piece to all of this is that I was so excited I actually forgot to take a picture! Ugh!

Outside of a quick carry into and out of the meeting yesterday and our brief foray with the pretty Woven Rainbow we didn't actually wear a whole lot. Will did wear Hannah at target last night on our trip for a sugar splurge but that was our day!

It's All About Saftey

I get questions all the time about safe babywearing. My non-babywearing friends especially like to question if carriers are safe. I'll admit, it can look pretty scary at times if you don't understand what is going on. You will find that most carriers are rated up to at least 35lbs and woven wraps can actually carry a full size adult safely! There are certain rules that we follow by. The best way to remember the basics of babywearing saftey is TICKS.

Tight

In view at all times

Close enough to kiss

Keep chin off chest

Supported back

These are all super important, especially when wearing a newborn because they are more prone to potentially dangerous breathing positions when in carriers. Also, as a side note some carriers are just downright dangerous. One that I will point out are the bag slings. These can be found often on craigslist and if you have purchased the infantino brand you can actually send it in to be exhanged for another type of safe carrier. Because of the baby laying in the cradle position in the carrier babies airways may become restricted and cause them to stop breathing. THESE ARE DANGEROUS, PLEASE DO NOT USE THEM! If you want to read more about these carriers or want to make sure your sling is safe head over to one of my favorite ring sling companies, Sleeping Baby Productions and read away. As a babywearing educator, we do not recommend carrying a baby in a cradle hold regardless of the carrier because of potential dangers that come along with this position. The only time that cradle carrying is ok is while breastfeeding and the baby should be moved into an upright position immediately after they are finished. If you are breastfeeding in a cradle position please keep an eye on your baby at all times. 

The babywearing industry has been making additional strides at really regulating baby carriers so they are as safe as possible for the consumer. Baby carriers are only as safe as the person doing the wearing chooses to be however so please keep this in mind. You should not do anything while babywearing that you would not do while pregnant. These kind of activities include jumping on a trampoline, running, riding a bike, riding horses, and so on. Use your imagination and you can probably think of a few more. This may go without saying but you should also not babywear while driving a car. All babies are required to be in car seats in the US. Please follow this law. Car seats is a whole other topic we can tackle if you want, just not now. 

What Have We Been Up To

Yesterday was a heavy babywearing day for me. Hannah has decided that she still does not like her naps and I ended up carrying her for several hours throughout the day including while she napped. She also hung out on  my back while I roasted chicken and made lunch. 

A quick note about cooking and babywearing since we are discussing saftey. Some people have a pretty strict no babywearing and cooking rule. Babywearing while cooking does open your child up to things like splatter from hot liquids, grabbing height of things like knives, etc. We babywearing while cooking because my child is running around the kitchen while I'm cooking anyway and has a stretch armstrong reach while on the floor so regardless we have to be concerned about these things. I just proceed with caution and if I'm cooking bacon she gets to hang out with daddy far far away.

It was a pretty gorgeous day yesterday with temps in the 60's at least if not in the 70's. Our neighbor invited Hannah and I on a walk so we walked the neighborhood while babywearing and ended at the park so Hannah could get dirty and play. While we were on our walk we passed the local elementary and had a dad mention our babywearing and how he loved to wear his baby when they were little. I love comments like these. In top of that we got a pretty decent workout so I can't complain. 

As soon as we got home, Will decided he wanted to go shopping so we headed out for blackout curtains in hope that would solve our napping issue (it hasn't by the way). Since Will brought his carrier in the house and forgot to grab it for the trip, I actually ended up wearing while shopping which is fairly abnormal for us. We enjoyed our nice quiet trip and finished off the day eating dinner at Mama Fu's. If you one of these by you and you haven't went yet I highly recommend them. Not only is their food delicious and not too badly priced they are so amazingly child friendly. We had at least three staff stop by just to interact with little stinker and they gave us an extra fortune cookie for unborn baby. This all makes this mama super happy.

It's Going to Be Historic!

That's a lie. The last few days haven't been historic at all unless you are simply counting the fact that they are not HISTORY! Thank goodness. Tuesday through Thursday around this house is pretty intense. I work 6am-4pm both Tuesday and Thursday and Wednesday is the only day of the week that we get to spend as a family so it usually is spent catching up or doing something as a family out of the house. With that said, we have some catching up to do!

I have all of these awesome topics I want to talk about while we are taking this journey together. And it's about time we talk about the history of babywearing. This topic isn't just something that I randomly came up with. It's a topic close to my heart because of how many comments I hear saying that it's a new fad. I may have mentioned this before but I have a friend who is really into pole dancing lately . She makes pole dancing beautiful and emotional. She is about as passionate about pole dancing as I am babywearing and the one topic we can both get heated about is when people call our passions a new fad. NEITHER are new or fads. Both have been around for centuries! I won't go into the history of pole dancing but I'm sure she would be happy to tell you all about it if you asked. This is also why I love her. 

History of Babywearing

There are a few things I learned while researching this topic. First of all, you will probably hear references to hippy day babywearing as a blanket discussion about the Snugli. That's because the Snugli was really the first carrier that was mass produced in the United States and it's been around since 1969! The woman who designed and sold this carrier got the idea from her time in the Peace Corps. If you want to read more about her story feel free to visit here. The interesting this is that the company ended up going in a direction that she didn't love so she moved in to a carrier called the Weego. Most of us avid babywearers know that Snugli is still around and although maybe not the most ergonomic product, is fairly widely available and used. 

I'll make the statement again. Babywearing has been around for centuries. Here is a brief history of babywearing to start with.  There are articles talking about early humans wearing their babies as modeled after chimpanzee's and yes I'm jumping around but I think most of us have seen the pictures of Native American's wearing their babies in a large leather structure. Strollers weren't actually used or invented until the late 1800's so people had to get around with their babies somehow. Out of necessity, many cultures developed forms of babywearing in order to meet their every day needs and meet their babies needs. This included carrier with pouches, scarves, woven material, blankets, etc. Here is a great article that talks about this topic more in depth including pictures. It's kind of fun to look back on these old pictures of women caring for their children! Babywearing slowly declined as the stroller took off as it was the new and exciting invention. Babywearing also started to be viewed as the poor people's way to carry their child and people did not want to be associated with being poor.

Interestingly enough our BWI leaders had a discussion with a local church pastor regarding this topic. She shared with us that babywearing is a common occurrence in her community as they serve a lot of immigrants and lower income community members and it's just a way of life for them. It continues to be the way of life for many countries outside of the US as well with probably the best known group being associated with the entire continent of Africa. Here is a neat pinterest page with pictures from babywearing around the world. The plus to that link is that you don't have to actually read anything.

In my family, we don't have a history of babywearing or so I originally thought. My family does two things when I push the envelope (which I may or may not be known to do). They try to be supportive but they also lean back into what they know and may react with confusion and questioning. I figured that most people would just think I was weird and since I live in Austin with all the hippies and my family is in Michigan with all of the conservatives I'm ok with that. At least I don't have to defend my actions every day like some people I know in the midwest.

My mom and I discussed this topic before I even had Hannah and oddly enough after some discussion she realized that SHE had been a babywearer! I haven't seen a picture that I could share but she made her own backpack like carrier and even had my name embroidered on it. After hearing that she passed it on and had no idea what happened to it I became excited and disappointed and told her SHE could have developed the ergo and we could be millionaires! Yes, my mind went to money and not babywearing, sorry that's just how my mind works. My favorite part of this is that because strollers are such an accepted and normal part of our baby rearing practices here in the US and despite the fact that my mom was a babywearer because it was something that was intuative to her, she still always makes sure there is a stroller ready and waiting for us when we come to visit. We haven't used that stroller yet but I still love her for making sure we are covered.

**One more article that I just came across a few days later and HAD to share! It's pretty awesome and even breaks down babywearing into the cultural aspect!
http://www.parentingwithpresence.net/index.php?pageid=4908

What Have We Been Up To?

Now we need to catch up! Tuesday through Thursday have been pretty light babywearing days. I will note that I typically babywear around the house more than my husband. On Tuesday I worked all day and came home to take over parenting duties so Will could head upstairs and nap before having to go into work for his one night shift a week. Hannah decided she didn't want to wear pants so she was walking around in just a diaper and top. I don't blame her, most of the time I don't want to wear pants either. All this to say that it was actually pretty chilly  here and I needed to take the dogs out before they were put to bed. In my laziness to make her wear pants I just wrapped her up in a carrier and tied a blanket on. We were all happy. So Tuesday, we actually babywore for maybe 10 minutes tops. 

Wednesday was spent putting together Hannah's new toddler bed. It's pretty awesome. Since we knew we would try to have more babies we went with a traditional crib for Hannah. We follow her cues and she has gone all exorcist on us every time we try to put her in her crib lately so we found this toddler bed that turns into a full size bed frame once they grow out of it. AWESOME! Will spent the morning putting it together while we played and did baby things. Then Hannah took a 3 hour nap, yes 3 hours! After she woke up we had to run to the bullseye for supplies and that was the only time on Wednesday that we wore her. So again, very little babywearing on Wednesday. 

Yesterday I was again at work. I will note that Will is having a really hard time getting Hannah to sleep in her bed or take naps. It's pretty frustrating for him and they are going to have to work it out on their own because there is nothing I can do for that situation other than support him in the process. So Hannah refused her nap again yesterday. As we were talking on my drive home he told me that she fell asleep. At first I was in shock thinking she fell asleep on the floor. I'm actually anxiously waiting for this moment to happen. But then he told me he took a picture for me. Yes, I have actually convinced him to participate in this process and he was wearing her and she fell asleep on him. She took a 40 minute nap on his back. He's such a great dad. As soon as I got home she woke up, we ate dinner and then we went to bed! 

Mama's Tired Tonight

So, no history lesson tonight, just fun daily activities. Also, during our video chat, my mother forewarned me she "found" my blog. I told her it's not hard to find since I post it everywhere on facebook ;-) She was not amused. Your welcome mom.

1

I realize that this topic isn't for everyone but I kind of hope someday it's a topic for every parent! It's a whole new world with lingo and mixed feelings about things. Just try going to a babywearing page and asking if you should ride a bike while babywearing then you will know what I'm talking about. Get ready for some backlash though, it can be a scary world! It's been pretty fun to take the time to read old articles or find new ones about a topic that is both fun and beneficial. I used to be obsessed with nice purses and shoes and now it's cloth diapers and babywearing. Same/difference. Every now and then I have to take time to stop and just enjoy the now without thinking about ways to defend this particular part of parenting or educate others about it.

Yesterday I thought we were going to have a no babywearing kind of day. Hannah helped me clean and make soup which she is now eating minus the chickpeas. I call that a win. I also laid down with her in hopes of getting her to take a real nap since one hasn't been had in a long time. Seriously, she's only 16 months and I'm not ready for no naps! I did contemplate putting her in a carrier when she started acting tired but I really wanted to nap too and I can't do that while wearing her. 3 hours later we had a super awesome nap and were both ready to tackle the rest of the day. 

Since it was the Championship game which I could have cared less about we had to go get some game food. We also needed black eyed peas and had not been able to find them anywhere so we went to our last possible option and headed to Walmart. I avoid it there like the plague. Probably because the weirdest things happen there. One time there was an older man with long hair and beard in a wheel chair tooling around at our local Walmart. This sounds pretty standard until you add in the fact that he had a 6 foot boa constrictor wrapped around him and as we walked buy the snake crept out to greet me. Yep, that is not normal and who does that!I digress. So we made it to the dreaded store to do our shopping and hubby takes over the babywearing for the day. 

We did have this super sweet guy walk and talk with us. He told us how cute our little girl was and talked about how much he missed that stage. I asked him how old his daughter was and he said she is 12 and he's just not as cool to her anymore. He talked about how she used to think everything he did was cool and they used to do everything together. Now she doesn't want to hang around him anymore and it makes him sad. I assured him that it gets better. Now, I might not know this from my own children but I told him I'm sure I was the same way with my dad and that I completely adore my dad now. Probably even more so that I have a daughter who he is ridiculously in love with and it's so cute. 

There are Actual Babywearing Benefits

For serious, this isn't just a hobby! I have WAY too many friends who rely on actual evidence for pretty much anything. Well guess what, babywearing isn't just a granola crunchy hippy parent random act of parenting. There are actual benefits to babywearing that have been researched and I'm here to help you find that research :-) What you won't find in this post is an article worthy of being published in a well known journal. What you will find is links to awesome information that has already been written. I don't like reinventing the wheel. It's just a waste of time unless I can make it better or prettier.

Since I am a Volunteer Babywearing Educator with Babywearing International of Greater Austin. Lets start at the BWI page which is a great source for babywearing information. They list many benefits of babywearing including happy and healthy babies, confident and loving caregivers, and comfort and convenience. Want to read more about what they have to say, head over to the page here.

If you are more cerebral and want something with lots of data, there is this article that makes my eyes blur over with boredom but about halfway down there is a section regarding child rearing practices for peace or violence. The author states the following:  For all of the above reasons, I have concluded that the single most important child rearing practice to be adopted for the development of emotional and social healthy infants and children is to carry the newborn/infant on the body of the mother/caretaker all day long where the continuous "backpacking" of newborns/infants on the body of the mother/caretaker becomes the best "behavioral vaccine" against depression, social alienation, violence and drug/alcohol abuse and addiction later in life. Does this intrigue you? Want to read more then you are welcome to head over to this page.

I like things a little less intense when reading so a few other article include this nice short and sweet version that a friend recently posted on facebook, this article about the benefits of babywearing vs. carseat carrying, this one from the well known Dr. Sears, and this one from baby k'tan. 

In general what we know is that babies who are worn cry less, become independent and well attached children (eventually), and have enhanced developmental and social abilities. Parents who wear are less prone to things like post partum depression or anxiety, are more confident as parents, and have the ability to maintain contact with your child while also remaining hands free for activities or to interact with your other children!

Mostly, babywearing is awesome and has lots of benefits. A big plus side is that...it's FUN!

So What Did We Do Yesterday?

Well, yesterday was quite a doozy. Hannah was pretty needy and wanted lots of attention. The whole no napping and not sleeping well thing doesn't help. I just keep telling myself that it's just a milestone and it will pass. Somehow when I accept this, I become a much less uptight and angry parent and life is better for all of us. Will was back to work so Hannah and I got a lot of time to hang together. We woke up pretty late so have a super small breakfast and got right to working on lunch and a crock pot dinner. In the process of cooking (again) Hannah decided it was time for snuggles.

So I wrapped her up tight and she quieted right down. She stayed up for about an hour and luckily I was prepared this time and choose a nice supportive wrap. I got all my cooking done plus cleaned up some of the Christmas decorations finally. I actually thought she was going to fall asleep but she didn't so we moved on to actually eating lunch. Then I did my prenatal workout which Hannah joined in on and rolled around on the floor while I stood, squatted and did strange things on all fours. Keep you mind clean people. Then we tried for a nap which very much didn't happen so once daddy got home I took a nice long bath and let him take over for a while. 

Then it was time to get out of the house. Hannah and I took a trip to Target because there really isn't much else around that I can browse for an hour in case she fell asleep. On the way to Target I had a conversation with my dad. Oddly enough he made a comment about how we should start letting her walk around the store instead of carrying her. When these comments come up I just make some random acknowledgement and move on. I move on because I know that 1. clearly he doesn't remember this stage of toddlerhood. You know, the one where your baby can't walk a straight line because there is SO MUCH STUFF to be distracted by and pull off the shelves. I also have one of those babies that doesn't listen to me at all so I can say "Hannah, come back" all I want but she just keeps going. 2. I'm not going to fight with him about what I do with my child. He has the best of intentions but dangit, if I can get her to nap right now I sure as heck am going to try because he doesn't have to be the one staying up with her all day and night. So, I wrapped her up tight while in the parking lot and proceeded to target with a short stop at the starbucks to pick myself up a chai tea latte, YUM! We didn't even make it to the shoe section before she had passed out. Sweet sweet baby Jesus I was so right. I slowly walked the store and every isle to waste time. Hannah woke up and I headed to the checkout with my very few items I had selectively picked up along the way because we are still on the Dave Ramsey, you have no money plan. There was a woman at the registered in front of me and she turned and asked how hard "that" is to do. Since I had a woven wrap I was honest and told her that the particular style I was using required some practice but once you had it down it was super fast and easy. I also shared with her that there are many other types of carriers out there that have much less of a learning curve and are considered easier

and faster to master. Her response "Well, I have six kids so I think I'll just stick to making my oldest carry the baby around, that's much easier for me". To be honest, I had a few things walk through my head at that moment, some of them not nice BUT this is where I will say, to each his own. Do what works for your family and I will do what works for mine.