Baby Wearing

I was reading a post from Let's Talk Babies yesterday and learned that there is a lot going on in the Baby Wearing world. There has been a  lot of talk over the last year or so about the safety of wearing your baby and safety standards committees being put together and the big THEY out there recommending not wearing your baby until he/she is like 4-6 months old and stuff like that.

So, I personally don't really remember when I decided that I wanted to wear my baby, but well before she was born because I received a Sleepy Time wrap as a baby shower gift. As soon as I got Smug-Baby home I started wearing her all the time. She loved it. She was close to me, listening to my breathing, my voice, my heartbeat and she was warm and felt safe and secure (I am assuming since she didn't actually tell me so). I had a few worries in the back of my mind on if I was wrapping her correctly and safely, but for the most part, I trusted my instincts, as I have done and still do on anything when it comes to parenting.

After a while I started attending a baby wearing support group, which kind of turned into a parenting support group as we talked about baby wearing along with everything else that new mothers feel and are confronted with and it was great support. I purchased a ring sling and a Mei Tei and expanded my carry's so that Smug-Baby was happy as she grew more interested in the world around her and wanted to see what was going on. We own a Baby Bjoen which my husband likes, but causes me back pain and we have a back pack style which is great for hiking trips and I have even warn around the house while cleaning.

My baby wearing experience has been wonderful thus far and I plan on wearing her for a long time in the future. I wear her less now as she really loves crawling around the house and playing with her toys, but she still likes to be in the sling or wrap when we go shopping or for walks and I always wear her when I do my weekly house cleaning since she hates the noise of the vacuum cleaner so much and being close to be seems to ease that for her.

I feel like wearing my baby allows me to function both when she was new and now that she is bigger. I never felt that trapped feeling that some mothers feel because they are tied down at home all the time with a new baby. I carried on with my life much as I had before, I cleaned the house, folded laundry, ran errands and met up with friends, all with my baby happy, safe and secure attached to me. Bottom line, people told me all the horror stories of giving up your whole life once a baby comes along and while my life has changed, because I am able to wear my baby, I still do anything and everything I want to do.

I also feel like wearing helped her become the secure baby that she is now. She has no fear, she explores her home, she does not fear strangers or even loud noises (sometimes). I feel that this is because she knows that her needs will be met, she trusts me and her daddy to take care of her and never put her in harms way or force her into something she doesn't want to do (except the car seat, she doesn't care much for that and lets us know!) It was important to me to raise my baby with great self esteem and great confidence from day one and I feel like baby wearing helped me create that foundation.