Baby wearing has many benefits for baby in addition to keeping mum’s hands free. My second son basically lived in our frontpack due to his reflux. It kept him happier and helped me spread the distribution of his weight. With my third son, I have delved even deeper into baby wearing. I have tried several now and can recommend a few.
Benefits of baby wearing:
- Helps baby feel secure (my son didn’t even startle when I used the blender when he was sleeping in the wrap)
- Promotes breastfeeding
- Enables baby get more rest
- Babies who are carried cry less
- Aids in bonding between mama and baby
- Can help with colic and reflux
What to look for:
- Holds baby close to your body for optimum comfort
- Keeps baby high to your chest, you should be able to kiss baby’s head
- Keep baby’s face clear
- Protect baby’s hips
- Get help putting it on when you are learning
- Don’t overdress baby as they get super warm all cuddled up
Tips for wearing with fibromyalgia:
- Baby is close to your body
- Check the straps do not sit at high pain points
- Maintain good posture
- Sit when you can
- Try to alternate between carrying and other means of keeping baby happy
- Avoid one-sided carriers
Types of carriers
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Wrap
The stretchy wrap, one long piece of fabric that you tie up was so amazing for our newborn/fourth trimester stage. It seems tricky but after watching a YouTube instruction video twice, I had the hang of it. Plus, you set it up before putting baby in, so it is safer when you are a newbie. It keeps baby close to your body which really helps with back and neck issues. I found this super comfortable to wear.
Semi-Structured
Once the stretchy wrap became a bit too stretchy for his weight, we moved to a semi-structured wrap, like this one. Again, it looks fussy, but one YouTube video and I was a pro. It did take some getting used to as you have to hold baby while tying the wrap up. It keeps baby closer than the below option so is useful for back problems. My picture looks a bit fussier than it needs to be as I wrapped it one last time to tie at the front rather than the back so I could sit down comfortably once he was asleep.
Fully Structured
This is the simplest of all baby carriers I have ever tried and my favourite for bigger babies. You can use it from 3kg and there is no need for an infant insert, which means all of my children were big enough from birth (we carried baby legs in initially). My second son lived in this carrier due to his reflux. It was his happy place. My husband was also happy to use this one. Whereas the others he had no interest in at all. It is as simple as clicking the waist belt, putting baby in and putting your arms in the arm holes and clicking the back belt. It takes about a minute! It doesn’t hold baby as closely as the other two options so it is tricky for me to hold for an entire nap but it is so great to throw on when we are doing the kindy run and I have a four year old, two year old and the baby to wrangle.
I never tried a ring sling as it is too one sided for my shoulders to handle, but it could be worth a try. I didn’t bother with any that weren’t suitable from birth to toddlerhood, but you can get some structured carriers that require infant inserts for the littlest babies.
Did you baby wear? I’d love to hear your favourites.
If you are considering grabbing your baby carrier or any other baby product from Amazon, you might like to sign up for the baby registry – it’s like the world’s most portable registry!
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