Green Mom - Happy Mom

There are multiple styles of baby carriers to choose from, like choosing a type of cloth diaper, it is a matter of lifestyle and personal preference that will determine the direction you take. I am a big fan of the Ergo Baby carrier but I have used every type there is with the exception of the more commercial Baby Bjorn style carrier. The basics styles are:

• Ring Slings
• Pouches
• Mei Tai’s
• Wraps
• Soft Structured

A ring sling consists of a long piece of fabric that goes over your shoulder and around the opposite side of your waist. You can adjust the length by using the two rings, similar to a canvas style belt. Some are made with padding at the shoulder and/or along the rails. The rings can be made of metal, nylon, plastic or wood but I would recommend metal or nylon. Ring slings have a smaller learning curve compared to some other styles of carriers, but once you get the hang of them they really easy to use. Slings are a more affordable way to go or, if you are so inclined, are a carrier that you can make yourself.

A pouch is a piece of fabric folded in half lengthwise to create a pocket. They are worn over one shoulder and around your waist like a ring sling. You can find several pouches made of all sorts of fabrics such as organic cotton, fleece, silk and solarveil. Some are made to be adjustable with the use of Velcro or snaps in order to be worn be several people and to accommodate a growing baby. Essentially no learning curve, basically wear and go.

Mei Tai’s are a two shoulder, unstructured soft carrier consisting of a square piece of fabric with straps at each corner. The two bottom straps tie around the wearer’s waist and the other two straps go over the wearer’s shoulders, under the arms, and tie around the baby’s back or to the carrier itself, depending on the manufacturer. These tend to be a little pricey, there is a little more to them, but will last you well into toddlerhood. I would recommend this style for someone with any back issues as the weight is evenly distributed.

Wrap style carriers consists of a long piece of fabric that is you can wrap around your body in a number of ways. The most common wrap method is to find the center point of the fabric and place this point around your belly or waist. You then cross the fabric across your back and take the two ends up around your shoulders. At this point you have created a pocket for the baby to rest in, you then take the tails and can either cross and tie them around the baby’s bottom or back around your waist again. I know this may sound complicated, but once mastered you can get quite creative to find the position that you like the best. Most manufacturers provide detailed instructions to help you through the tying techniques. This another style of carrier you can make yourself, you basically need 3-7 yards of hemmed fabric, that is all there is to it.

Soft structured carriers have two straps that go over both of your shoulders to hold the baby against your chest/stomach or back and a substantial waist strap to support the baby’s weight. The baby is supported by across their entire bottom and the back of their legs. Some can be modified to accommodate a hip carry as well. This style, like the Mei Tai’s, can be a bit more pricey than some of the other carriers but can carry a child up to 35-40lbs.

As I mentioned initially, I have personally tried or own all of the above mentioned carriers and have used them all at different points of my daughter’s growth. The slings and pouches are great during the newborn phase up until 6 months or so. I have back problems and the off position of the weight became too much as Evalee got older. Around 6 months or so that I started using my wrap more often if I was going to be wearing her for an extended period of time. I didn’t discover Mei Tai’s or the soft structured style until Evalee was 10 months or so. Honestly, if I had found my Ergo Baby sooner, I probably would have stopped there. I absolutely love it and still use it regularly. But, to each his/her own.

Look for retailers who offer 30 day return options as long as the carriers are still in new/sellable condition. Some even allow longer if you received it as baby shower gift or purchased it while pregnant. All in all, wearing your baby is a wonderful experience that I enjoy thoroughly.

There many benefits to wearing your baby and practicing attachment parenting. These are just some of the reasons to try baby wearing:

1. Babies cry less. Studies have shown that babies who are worn approximately 3 hours a day cry 43% less than babies who are not.
2. Mom gets more done. Most baby carriers, be it a sling, wrap, pouch or soft-structured carrier, allow mom to be hands free. This means being able to do household chores, run errands or tend to your toddler.
3. Improved mental development in your baby. Babies who are worn spend more time in a quiet-alert state, all the while at eye level with the rest of the world, allowing the mind to absorb what it sees and hears.
4. NO LUGGING AROUND A BULKY CAR SEAT
5. Baby feels more secure, resulting in a well adjusted and “calm” toddler later to become an independent child.
6. Helps moms deal with the Baby Blues. The contact with your baby fosters bonding and helps regulate hormonal peaks and valleys in the early weeks after birth.
7. Babies sleep better at night. Due to the prolonged contact during the day, baby is more willing and able to be “apart” from mom at night.
8. Babies who are worn in infancy tend to talk earlier as a toddler. By spending more time at eye level, babies observe and absorb language skills.
9. Allows mom to breastfeed hands free. This takes some practice, but once mastered can be a great tool in a pinch.
10. Helps reduce infant acid reflux. When worn tummy to tummy babies are less likely to have fluid rise into the esophagus after eating.

I enjoy the closeness and bonding that comes from wearing my daughter, even now at 20 months old. I know she enjoys it too, she brings me our Ergo Baby to go for a ride everyday!

This is quite possibly one of the most challenging aspects of parenting. If your child is not sleeping that means you are not sleeping, this is a very slippery slope that I have had some first hand experience with. My daughter is not a “sleeper”. The first few weeks were okay, she managed to get her days and nights organized quickly, but when she was around 8 weeks or so her sleep pattern (or lack there of) started to show itself.

I spoke with my pediatrician who basically said that there wasn’t a whole lot we could do except ride it out as this too shall pass. Boy, was he wrong. By the time she was 9 months old I was completely exhausted, on the verge of crying all the time, and she was just as tired. I should mention here that I was breastfeeding exclusivly (she had little or no interest in solid foods) and co sleeping. Neither of us were sleeping more than 1-2 hours at a time. A good night maybe had a 5 hour stretch, but those were few and far between.

I started digging on line for “infant sleep solutions”. I came across some “sleep training” e-books, but most of them were a take on letting a baby “cry it out” which I wanted no parts of. At the time I was part of forum from using Hypnobabies for my birth, so I posted a plea for advice on my situation as I knew most of these moms were like minded about infant sleep. 8 different moms told me to buy and read The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. What wonderful advice!

Pantley gives you 3 basic principles to work with. One is to understand how infant sleep patterns develop and what that means for a realistic night sleep for you and your baby. Two is to incorporate a “lovey” or comfort item. Three is to develop positive sleep associations which in time will allow your baby to learn how to self sooth and fall back to sleep with out you.

It took about two weeks of applying the principles from The No Cry Sleep Solution before we started to see some results. During the process I tried putting her in her crib instead of in our bed and that made a difference almost immediately. I think she just wanted her own space and didn’t need me as much as I thought she did. By the time she was 10 months we were down to 2-3 night wakings, by 12-13 months we were down to 1 and by this past Thanksgiving she started sleeping through the night.

We still have the occasional bad night when she is cutting teeth or has had an overstimulated day with her Grandparents, but all in all lack of sleep is a thing of the past.