Babywearing revisited

I've posted on babywearing before, here.

But two Sundays ago I found a Moby wrap on the Exchange Table at church... and so I picked it up and have been doing some babywearing with it over the past week.

Suddenly I understand how people do that, to some extent at least... my major issue--back pain--is not a problem, because the Moby distributes Baby's weight much better. It's a bit more natural, and isn't (quite) as stupid-looking to be wearing without the baby. It doesn't press on all the wrong places (though I could do without the knot at the small of my back; either it's not long enough or I'm not skinny enough to bring it around and tie it in the front.

Some things I've noticed:

Worn babies still fuss for no discernible reason. I'd thought that worn babies in aboriginal societies and such never cry, especially when not tired... well, it happens. Especially if the worn baby is bored.

Not all tasks can be done while wearing an eight month old. For instance, if one tries to wear an eight month old while emptying the dishwasher, he may take bowls away from you and threaten to lob them across the room. Didn't try cooking; smarter than that (after the dishes, anyway).

Given enough time, an eight-month-old can probably unwear himself. He can definitely get his arms out, and seeing as he's almost escaped a stroller once, I'm pretty sure falling asleep wearing him is unwise.

Wearing a baby in a moby is not painless--but the pain is more of an I-exercised pain than an I-did-something-horribly-unnatural-to-my-back pain.

I can actually feel my baby's body language--how cool is that? I can tell if he's tense or relaxing, where he's looking.... maybe if I did more babywearing I could even try some EC.

Do not attempt to catch a 2-year-old coming down a slide while front-wearing an eight-month-old.

All in all, I am very happy to have a Moby and wishing I'd gotten one in May of 2008. But that's a lot to spend after I'd tried quite a few 20-buck carriers and not liked any... I might start buying them for baby showers or something though

Babywearing

Wearing my baby is such a sweet, wonderful, common-sense... theory.

I love the idea--my hands are free to handle household tasks and cuddle older children; baby is snuggled warmly and safely against me; supposedly, with some types of carriers, he can even breastfeed while I move about my daily business.

One of the differences between theory and practice is that in theory, there's no difference between theory and practice.

For me, I can't seem to make it work.

I have tried the breastfeeding-in-sling thing with Firstborn. It might work with practice, but I can't see making it work while in motion, so what's the point?

It kills my back. I've tried three types of carriers and every one is bad for my back. I end up in pain after even a few hours. Granted, carrying the baby around is at least as bad, so Love or I will often wear Peter when we are out and about and that's the easiest way to do things. But wearing Third is not an every-day around-the-house option because of this.

Skin to skin contact is supposed to be one of the best ways to convince a little one to breastfeed, though, so last Saturday I decided I was going to wear Third all day, at least for the day. The back pain was worth it to get him "back to breast." I used a carrier where plenty of skin would be exposed, stripped him to his socks, and buttoned a sweater around him. Not modest, perhaps, but I wasn't planning on going out.

Firstborn was most interested in my "baby shirt" and wanted one herself, so we found her a toy carrier so she could wear a doll--very cute.

Ideally I also would have done nothing but tend to the baby all day--but that wasn't happening. So I tried to do normal things--things like baking and unloading the dishwasher. Saying that I had my hands free would not be quite accurate. I did, yes, but there was also this large baby between them, impeding my vision and range of motion. If I bent over, I had to support him with at least one hand. Everything took twice as long as usual, at least. And anything that would require having something against my chest or stomach--like doing dishes in a sink or carrying something big--would have been an impossibility.

He also was not waking up well that day--maybe because he was too comfy, or maybe because he was getting sick--but I blamed comfiness and by Firstborn's naptime I was just holding him a lot, and putting him down when I had to do so.

I also don't cloth diaper or cosleep. I've tried making my own baby food and bread, but have never done much. (I'm not breastfeeding, either, but that I'm giving my best shot!) I admire all those fun crunchy attachment parenting things... but for various reasons, they don't work for our family.