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Saturday 12 February 2011

Babywearing at 1 year

It's been wonderful carrying Leon around with me tucked up like he was still a little baby - but he's not anymore he's turning into a little boy. Oh and he weighs 12kg (2 stone!). It's very useful for short periods but now he is too heavy! Granted I should be carrying him on my back in a rucksack fashion - but find that I cannot stand up straight and he falls down slightly each time I do. Time to go to another Sling Meet I think. A real confidence booster if you need reassurance with sling ties.

I can't help but carry him on my front in a Front wrap cross carry. I like to see him and talk to him. It's easier to get around than the pram and I feel liberated oddly enough, to walk pram free, darting in and out of pedestrians like before. But he's so heavy and my back gets tired (the cross over should be in the centre and not too high up). I regretted hauling in my pram to The National Portrait Gallery as there was so much space -  perfect to let babies out and crawl together. Conversely, I took the sling to the Saatchi Gallery for a mums meetup but there were floor level pieces and I wasn't as comfortable letting him crawl around. Shame on Saatchi's lack of benches on the Ground floor. What if you're waiting for people and need a seat! Pramless parents, pregnant ladies, elderly and tired need a place to sit.
Anyhow, they did manage a crawling session from the peruvian crematorium into the hall! The Gallery Mess restaurant was lovely - so accommodating to babies and could choose for babies from kids menu also. Leon had a delicious sausage and mash with sweetcorn as well as a few bits of food I'd brought along for him also. My, does he have an appetite.

The sling is a long cotton wrap and been a wonderful asset for transporting him since newborn in a hammock tie - but to be honest, I started using the wrap more when he was about 4 months on the front, in a simple front cross carry. He really enjoyed being at face-level with people and enjoyed the interactions in the street and I like that he's not all the way down there with those stinky car fumes. It's very convenient and means I try and pack minimal stuff in my big bag when going places. Restaurants and buses love it as you don't take up much space. If he's tired he can easily fall asleep against me and if I'm lucky I can put him down on the side of wherever we are while I have lunch.
And, nothing beats being so close to your baby. Well - being close to a small baby is wonderful. When you can't see over their head it's time they were hauled onto your back!

This website's very good for showing how to wrap your baby. The lady Diana is so strong to throw them up on her back like that! Oh yes - if you decide on a back wrap - best to wait for Summer or move to sunny Florida like Diana. The humpback look that you'll achieve wearing a coat over this wrap is rather unsightly.
Wrap Your Baby - rucksack instructions

I'm pleased that I gained the confidence early on in wrapping my baby - although I still use the pram a lot in gives me a brilliant alternative. For the next sproutlet I think I'll wrap them in the sling quite often as it's so comfortable and so easy when they're tiny - but I like that Leon is very independent and enjoys the pram. I didn't carry him around the house on my back like I thought I might. Only once did he wants to to be carried and I need to get on with cooking/washing up etc he entertained himself watching what's happening from behind my head and then fell asleep immediately afterwards.

It would be lovely to hear from other people that enjoy carrying their babies/toddlers and I wonder if you shopped around a bit to find the right one for you and if the wraparound babycarriers seemed to tricky? Would you be willing to try it out? I know several Sling Meet groups have a Sling library so you can borrow them! What a great idea :D

5 comments:

  1. Hi, found you via the Blog Horn. I still wear Aaron and he's 8 months old. We use a Moby Wrap.
    Liska x

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  2. Get a babywearing coat to avoid the unslightly bump. There used to not be so many to pick from, but I've seen many more on the market lately! I have a Suse's Kinder one which lets you do both back and front carries. Love it!

    I wore Bean right up until I got pregnant with Bug (17 months) and then it just killed me! Back carries were definitely the way to go for the last few months there. I did do some shopping around and I found I really liked a ring sling for the first couple months, after which I moved to a mei tai.

    After Bug was born, I found she didn't take to babywearing as easily as Bean did. Even now (4 months) she prefers the pram but will tolerate being worn. I've tried several carriers and she just doesn't seem keen on it at all! It's so strange after how much Bean loved it. I put her in the mei tai sometimes at home, but I almost never wear her when we're out. Bean (2.5) still gets too tired to walk full time, so it's just as well, as I'd need something for her anyway. I definitely can't wear both! So I have a pram with a standing platform. I miss the snuggliness of wearing, though.

    (via MLM's blog horn)

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  3. I have been contemplating getting a sling for the Boy, but as he is 6 months old, I worry how much use I will get from it...I have a baby bjorn but find it cumbersome

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  4. Hi Liksa - good to know stretchy Moby wrap's can be used even at 8 months. I assumed it was only when they're little - but just looked it up and it says up to 15kg!!They look really easy to use as you can pull it out to put in the baby.

    Lorry - gosh you're a pro! So impressed that you carried while preggers. How funny that Bean loved being carried and Bug doesn't! Thanks for the tip on Susie Kinder coats - they look useful and love that you can use all types of carries including hip carry with it! However it costs around £100 and isn't really to my taste... (Is that a snobbish remark?!)

    Mrs Scruff: I think you could still get a fair amount of use from a sling - 6 months is a good age as he'd enjoy looking around and watching your conversations up close. I think you're in the London area and could always pop along to a Sling Meet and try out a few different styles to see if it suits you both. Woven wraps aren't cumbersome at all - after all it's just a big piece of fabric that you can use for many other things (picnic mat, blanket, beach wrap...) Hope you try some out and let us know!

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  5. Interesting! This is what Nigerian mums do - and I'm sure other African countries do this too. My mum used to carry me like this so she could get on with being a housewife while I slept!

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