Babywearing Part I

We surely could not function well without our carriers around here! And we have so many that I felt I needed to blog about what works and does not work for us about each of them.

Read about babywearing health benefits here, here, and here. All excellent reasons for why we focus way more on wearing our children

Flashback to Akilah baby - When Akilah was a baby we had the Moby Wrap, the Ergo (for use with and without the infant insert), and the Deuter Kid Comfort. With her I loved the Moby Wrap, but it got to be too hot to wear come summer because too much fabric is involved. I surely did love how snug it kept her, especially for hikes and walks when she was an infant! Here is Akilah in the Moby on her first hike back in 2008. And here she is in it at the Fairie Festival in 2008.

I of course also loved the Ergo, we used it with her until she was well over three years old and would take it with us hiking for when she got too tired to walk. Here she is in the Ergo during a trip to California during the summer of 2008.

I also loved the Deuter, it was the only comfortable frame carrier that I liked, and we sure tested a bunch. It worked especially well on really long hikes and when I took Akilah with me for work as seen here. Friends in CA are borrowing it now. Here are some photos from February 2009 of Akilah in both the Ergo (at one of T's gigs) and in the Deuter on a hike.

Flash forward to NOW!

Moby Wrap - I used the Moby a lot when Kaia was a newborn, probably starting when she was around 2 weeks old. She and I both loved it so much. She would go with me to work, snuggle in, and sleep sleep sleep. I also really appreciated the support it provided her before she was able to hold up her own head. And it kept her super snuggy warm during the winter months. I don't have any photos though (insert frowny face). Then it got to be warmer out and the heat generated by the two of us combined with all that fabric was just too much! Now she weighs what Akilah did when she was one year old, which I find to be less comfy on the back.

Maya Wrap - Because of car seat world (meaning I wasn't about to cart around an infant car seat like we did with Akilah), I went on a quest for a sling that I could easily and quickly get Kaia in and out of when running errands. The Maya Wrap rocks my world. Until Kaia could hold up her own head, I would use my left arm as head support and got really good at performing tasks two handed. This one is by far my favorite for wearing while sitting down, which was key while I was both at work and teaching. It is also really easy to wear her in it while nursing. With all 17.5 pounds of her, wearing it for long periods of time or while walking significant distances is getting to be less comfortable on my back and right shoulder. It is still my go to for short periods of time and especially works really well for visiting friends, gatherings and running quick errands.

Look at the size difference between the first two photos and this one; grow baby grow!! FYI,  I do not actually have her positioned correctly in this photo. After it was taken I went to the WNC Breastfeeding Center for a lesson on how to wear it. It was incredibly helpful thanks to Jordan!

Beco - The Beco carrier Kaia and I are modeling below belongs to a friend. She asked me to test it out for her while she eagerly awaits the arrival of her daughter. It is my least favorite out of all the carriers I have ever tried and I am honestly very glad we do not own one. It hurts my low back and really irritates my upper back and neck. I also find it really challenging to go up steps because I feel like my legs are going to break her little dangling legs as I move. And I cannot sit with her in it. She also appears to not be super comfy and does not sleep well in it. Boooo. And two more crucial downfalls... there is no pocket and no hood flap, both essential features provided by the Ergo.

Now that Kaia can support her own head, I am going to give it back and bust out the Ergo.

To be continued...