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5 benefits of babywearing

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!

Carrier overview

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.

4 tips how to best choose a carrier

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.

Babywearing safety

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.

5 helpful tips I give at workshops

Shortly after I started volunteering for my local babywearing library, I also started to hold babywearing talks (mini workshops) at different mums and bubs groups in the region. I love sharing my passion with other new – and not so new – mums, but I’m also aware that lots of mums have been thrown into this whole babywearing thing without or with only very little information.

Besides talking about different styles of carriers and safety guidelines that should be followed, I love to share some tips that I have discovered or learned. Often it is those little tips that are remembered and give new confidence to the mums on their babywearing journey.