newborn

5 benefits of babywearing

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I LOVE babywearing! This is a pretty strong statement. But it is true. I fell in love with babywearing even before my girl was born. I was shown how to use a stretchy wrap at my antenatal class. It was so soft and comfortable! I knew right away that I wanted to use it to carry my tiny baby. And the rest is history…

You are probably thinking: Well, great for her! She is writing a blog about babywearing. It would be weird if she didn’t like what she is talking about.

But here is the thing. Even though I love to carry my girl and I still do so occasionally (even though she now weighs more than 15kg) my babywearing days are nearly over (for now anyway). I still love babywearing. I love to see another mum or dad carrying their child when I’m out on a walk. I love to see pictures of my friends who wear their child, so they have their hands free for their other children. I love to hear from other parents how much babywearing is helping them. And I love to help YOU along your babywearing journey!

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Carrier overview

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When you first start looking at babywearing and the options of carriers you have, it can feel rather overwhelming! I get that. And I’m here to help you narrow down your options and give you confidence in your choice of carrier.

You may have been told about a specific carrier or even been gifted one. This is great! But you may not be quite sure if this is the right type of carrier for you. Only because a family member or friend have found one type of carrier to be great, it doesn’t mean that this will also be the perfect carrier for you and your little family. And that’s ok.

After I’ve been busy the past weeks writing in-depth articles about each type of carrier. I think it is about time I write an overview for those who just want to quickly see the difference between each type of carrier to help decide which carrier might be best for YOU.

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5 benefits for babywearing dads

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I feel like I am incredibly lucky that I have a husband who has been onboard with babywearing right from the start! We were shown how to use a stretchy wrap at our antenatal class and used it both to carry our daughter. He then went on and carried her in a meh dai, a soft structured carrier and now an onbuhimo. Pretty awesome if you ask me!

But why was he so keen to carry our daughter in a carrier? Well, here are 5 reasons or benefits why babywearing is great for dads:

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4 tips how to best choose a carrier

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These last few weeks have been crazy for my little family and me and I’m guessing that it is not much different for you! In the last three weeks we were in Spain (to visit friends), spent our last days in Germany and decided short notice to fly back to New Zealand before borders were being closed. Once back in New Zealand we went straight into self-isolation and watched New Zealand moving swiftly into lockdown within a week.

And here we are now. Lockdown for 4 weeks or possibly longer. And even though this time may seem a little tricky with a three-year-old, I think it is nothing compared to becoming a new parent. Because this is the time when you would need support from family and friends the most. Someone, who just comes around and drops off some pre-cooked dinner or someone, who answers your countless questions.

I have been wondering how I may be able to help those of you out there who are pregnant, have a newborn or a baby. Are you thinking about buying a carrier (once this is possible again), and are simply overwhelmed by the number of different carriers that are on the market? You are not the only one!

Usually, my first reaction would be to advise you to find a local babywearing group or library or a babywearing consultant where you can try different types of carriers, before you buy one. But right now, this isn’t possible. And in fact, for lots of parents who live rurally this will never really be an option. Therefore, I have written down a few tips that may hopefully help you in finding a great carrier.

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Does babywearing make babies clingy?

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The short answer for me to this question certainly is a big and fat NO!

But then, I don’t believe in anything that makes babies “clingy”. In fact, I don’t like the word in itself. For me, it has a negative feel to it. As if your baby wanting to be close to you is a bad thing and should be discouraged because how on earth will your baby ever become independent?

Well, my own little girl loved to be close to me from day 1 (and hasn’t changed one little bit in the last 3 1/2 years). In the early days she only fell asleep while being held or carried and only stayed asleep in this position too. She still needs me now with 3 ½ years to cuddle her to sleep. And while this can be exhausting at times, I know that soon enough she won’t need me anymore and I will miss those sleepy cuddles.

Me and my husband have carried her most of the time when she was little, but when she started crawling and walking, she became more and more independent. I was sad, when she didn’t want to be carried anymore. Luckily, our current travels in Canada and Germany have allowed me to carry my not so little girl again. Reminding me of those early days of her life – just adding another 12kg to the initial 3kg.

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Babywearing safety

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If you are a mum like I am, I’m sure your baby’s safety is pretty high up on your priority list. It is something that is very hard to imagine, when you are pregnant with your first child: how your whole universe will all of a sudden evolve around this tiny human being and how you would do basically anything to keep it safe from harm.

Most mums (and dads of course) use a carrier to keep their little one close, without needing to use both hands all the time to hold baby. For this, carriers are amazing. Suddenly you can go for a walk, chase after your toddler, play with your older children or even get some of that housework done.

But even the best carrier is only as good as the caregiver who knows how to safely use it. You will find lots of “rules” for safe babywearing in the world of babywearing. However, I prefer to use guidelines as rules can’t cover all possibilities and may not work for some situations.

Because sometimes it is nice to have a visual reminder (hello early foggy babybrain days) I have created a simple PDF, which you can download for FREE at the end of this post.

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Meh Dai

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A meh dai was the second carrier I have used with my daughter after I stopped using the stretchy wrap. I remember that my husband and I went to a meeting from our local babywearing library and tried a couple of different carriers. We both liked that the meh dai had some structure to it but was also flexible for different caregivers because of the wrapping.

This was our main carrier for at least half a year, before our daughter got too big and heavy for this particular meh dai that we bought. But meh dais can be used for a long time and I’m currently contemplating getting a toddler meh dai to carry my 3 ½ year old daughter.

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Woven Wraps

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Woven wraps are quite often seen as the type of carrier that only caregivers with a lot of babywearing experience and knowledge use. However, I don’t think that this needs to be true. A woven wrap can be an ideal carrier to start with right away if the caregiver isn’t afraid of a little learning in the beginning. A woven wrap can also be an ideal follow on wrap from a stretchy wrap. If the caregiver has enjoyed the benefits of a stretchy wrap it is not such a big step to learn how to wrap with a woven wrap.

I personally started using a woven wrap when my daughter was about 10 months old and my aunt gave me her woven wrap, which she had first used more then 18 years ago with my cousin and which had been used with countless other babies in between.

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Ring Slings

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When I was pregnant with my daughter, I went to a friends’ house. She showed me a ring sling that she had used with her children made from a beautiful light fabric and asked me if I wanted it. At the time I wasn’t quite sure how and if I would use it, but I couldn’t resist this gorgeous carrier.

A few months later after my little girl was born, I gave the ring sling a go, but couldn’t quite work it out how to use it properly. So off I went to my first babywearing meeting and the lovely volunteers there helped me to position my baby correctly. However, for some reason it felt uncomfortable and I put the ring sling to the side.

Then Summer came and my stretchy wrap was getting too hot to wear. I reached for the ring sling again and luckily this time I was able to position it comfortably. From then on, this ring sling became my favourite carrier to use for quick carries and in particular around the house.

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Stretchy Wraps

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Stretchy wraps usually get mentioned first when you ask people which carrier they can recommend as one to start with when your baby is little. But why? What makes them so special for newborns and young babies? And why are there also lots of people who stay very clear of them?

I will be answering all those questions and more in this in-depth post about stretchy wraps.

I am one of those mums who started their babywearing journey with a stretchy wrap. I was lucky enough to be shown how to use one during my antenatal class and I loved the ease and the feel of it for the first 5 months of my daughters’ life!

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