Learning Curves – On Baby Wearing

kate ♦ April 26, 2012 ♦ Leave Your Comment

When people join the military or even med school they are put through training that prepares them to do a multitude of stressful & complex tasks without benefit of sleep.  Parenting pretty much throws you in without any training – although moms who have made it to 9 months pregnant (Or more. 40 weeks = 10 months) aren’t getting as much sleep as they once were, it’s a whole new ball game when the baby arrives.  Despite all the sleep deprivation, you are going to be learning a whole slew of new skills in the crash course of all crash courses – parenting.

In the next few posts I will be writing about some of the new skills I have acquired in the last few weeks.  Hopefully Jeremy will pipe in as well as he is a champ in some of these new activities.

First up on the learning curve list: baby wearing.

Before Oliver was born Jeremy was adamant that he would not be using a stroller for our son (and thus far he has only done so once, and that was mostly for my benefit), stating he would prefer to carry or wear Oliver.  This being the case it made sense for him choose the type of baby carrier we would buy for our little guy.  Jeremy tried on a variety of carriers on our trips to Isis in order to figure out which he would prefer and finally settled on the Ergo (THANK YOU to Kathleen & Mary!).  Unfortunately when you are pregnant it’s a bit tough to try on baby carriers as your body isn’t shaped the way it will be once the baby is born.  For those of you who are pregnant, you may want to wait to choose your carrier or at least get one where you can return it in case you end up not liking your original choice.  The Ergo came highly rated and Jeremy used it within days of bringing Oliver home.  Hopefully Jeremy will write up what he likes about the carrier as he as been the primary user thus far.  Here’s why: In order to use the Ergo with an infant you need a special insert (THANK YOU Beth!) to accommodate babies who cannot yet support their heads and sit with their legs spread apart. This insert has been awesome for Jeremy, allowing him to carry Oliver while we are out and about.  Despite the benefit of early baby carrying, the insert has been a bit of a problem for me, as I am short and short-waisted.  When Oliver is in the Ergo with the insert I have a hard time seeing over his head as it places him at chin height and about 6 inches out from my chest.  I have no doubt that when the insert is no longer needed, I will love the Ergo particularly the built in sun-cover, zipper pockets where we have an extra diaper & the clipped on hand sanitizer (which comes in quite handy at the dog park). So in the mean time, what’s a short mommy to do when she wants to walk with her kid and have hands-free?

While I wait for Oliver to get a little bigger (not too quickly, though!) I have been using a Moby baby wrap.  Our friend Lesley lent me hers one day when we were going for a walk and we forgot the Ergo.  Immediately I knew it was the answer to my problem.  I love that Oliver is lower and closer to my chest.  I use it in the house when I want to get things done and Oliver just wants to be held.  It’s kind of like being pregnant again, but a little higher up and I can take him off any time I want!  The Moby also folds up smaller than the Ergo and the insert so I can stash it in the diaper bag.  (Note:Without the insert they pack differently, but closer in size.)  The downside of the Moby is the learning curve on how to wrap it.  Luckily there are dozens of videos on the Moby site and on YouTube explaining various ways to wrap your little one in a Moby.  I think another downside is I purchased a black Moby (as it was the only one available at Target & I was too impatient to wait for an online order) and it will be quite hot in the summer.  I have found a few blog entries on how to make your own from a variety of fabrics so I may try to do that when I finally get some free time. Ha!

I will try to get some pictures of Oliver in both types of carrier, so check back soon for an updated version of this post!

Kate

Update 2/4/2013: I love our Ergo now.  Once Oliver hit about 5 or 6 months he hit a size that was convenient for me in the Ergo.  My height just made it tough with the infant insert.