My Babywearing Journey

I saw a tweet cross my timeline earlier last week that said this week is International Babywearing Week and it made me think about the journey I've gone on with Daniel and Emma.

When I was pregnant I didn't really have to think about much – we were given a pram and car seat and I pretty much thought that was what I'd do. None of my friends have children and family that have children have always used prams/pushchairs.

Then, during a twitter conversation with another lady with a baby due around the same time I saw there was a conversation about 'babywearing'. I googled it and up came pictures of babies being carried close to their mums in wraps and carriers of various designs and styles.

I had a bit of a chat and Moby wrap came up a few times. Rather naively I went to Amazon and ordered the cheapest Moby I could find – figuring it was a lot of money to spend if it didn't work out. When it arrived rolled up in it's carry bag I was a bit surprised – I guess I thought it was going to be something I just slipped over my head – not a huge long length of material!

I had a look at the instructions and they seemed very complicated, and I sort of resigned myself to maybe having bought something I wouldn’t use.

Daniel in Moby wrap at around a month old

However, Daniel arrived soon after and I soon got fed up of carting a big heavy pram around. Not only that he was so small and tiny (he weighed 5lb 5 at birth and due to being poorly dropped to around 4lb 10) that he seemed lost in the pram. I therefore thought I would give the Moby a try. Armed with the instructions and a few youtube videos I soon got the hang of it, and I very quickly started using the Moby as our primary method of transporting Daniel around. It just seemed right, and he was so much more settled nuzzled into me.

As Daniel grew he became heavier and harder to carry in the Moby. I didn't want to abandon our babywearing and revert to a pushchair but I wasn't sure where to turn to next. I followed a few people on twitter and the Ergo carrier was one that came up again and again as being comfortable to use. I managed to convince my husband that an Ergo was a good investment and at around eight months Daniel graduated into the Ergo – we loved it.

Using the ergo

I carried Daniel until I was around seven months pregnant with Emma, only stopping because he preferred to be on my front but my bump was in the way.

When Emma arrived I didn't even bother with the pushchair. She wanted to be held and the Moby was invaluable for that – she simply wouldn't have slept without it! She was where she wanted to be and it meant that, in those early weeks, I could have her sleeping in the Moby wrap whilst reading to Daniel and engaging with him.

I also tried out a Snugi wrap which worked better for Emma, it's a looser fabric than the Moby and she seemed to enjoy it more. Emma is a wriggly baby though and she was soon wriggling herself around too much in the stretchy wraps so I was keen to get her into the Ergo, but she was too small!

At the same time the team at Rose & Rebellion asked me if I would like to try one of their carriers and it was love! The R&R has become my default carrier with Emma now. I did have her in the Ergo whilst we were away last week but having reverted back to the R&R this week it is so much more comfortable.

Daniel always has enjoyed being carried and would automatically cuddle in to me but he has outgrown the Ergo and has never been a huge fan of the R&R – in part because he sees that as Emma's carrier and the Ergo as his.

We invested in a toddler size connecta for our week away, but I'm not 100% convinced by it. I don't like the front carry position of having the straps crossed over the back and I find the webbing twists easily when tightening it in the back position. Damian wore Daniel for a short while whilst we were away and really struggled. I carried him for a few hours around Penrith and managed it quite comfortably, but I'm not sure it's a carrier I will love.

Daniel in Connecta last week

I'm hoping to try out the R&R in-between sized carrier over the coming weeks (they have some fabnew designs so I need to choose which one I will order!). I haven't come across any other brands that offer this in-between size so I am really tempted by them. I am also hankering after a Tula in the Emma Mai print, largely because I want it to be Emma's carrier as the print is beautiful as well as it being her name.

I never ever thought I would carry my children into toddler hood, never really thought I would physically be able to! But I love the closeness it brings and it sort of feels like the right, and natural thing to do. I struggle with the notion of putting children in compartments away from us; I can't think of other mammals that do that, so for me wearing and carrying my children is a lovely thing to be able to do.

It is, however, less good for my pocket! I currently have two stretchy wraps, two standard carriers and a toddler carrier with the prospect of adding at least another carrier - plus I would love to try a Madame goo goo, a boba 4g, a Sleepy Nico and a Beco Soleil... anything else I should be adding in here to complete our baby wearing journey? I think however my next one will be an inbetwen Rose & rebellion - Daniel has outgrown the standard size and I think we need to upgrade, I'm torn between a few designs though... Animal Crackers, Down the Wood, The Saint and Over the Rainbow.... 

Which would you go for? and do you babywear – did you think you ever would do?