My babywearing story so far….By Dana
While I was pregnant with my daughter I learned about babywearing and it benefits. I got very excited and began purchasing carriers in expectation of her arrival. I got a few pouch slings, a couple of rings slings, a Mei Tai and a Stretchy wrap.
A few days after Natalie was born, I asked my doula to demonstrate how to wear her in the sling and pouch. All of those hours a reasearch came together in a few minutes of hands-on learning. It clicked and for the first months of her life, Natalie lived in a pouch. We used it to soothe her in the house and when we were out walking or shopping. I got the hang of the ring sling by the time she was two months old and we still use them all of the time. I still keep the pouch folded in the very bottom of the diaper bag for emergencies.
The one carrier that did not seem to work was the stretchy wrap. Natalie was born in July and I think the heat worked against my efforts to learn to wrap. I was hot and sweaty and she seemed miserable as well, so I gave on wrapping. Once when Natalie was about 5 months old I decided to use the wrap to try to soothe her while teething. I managed a decent cross carry and it was like magic. My cranky, angry, teething, tired munchkin was snoring within minutes. I was hooked on wrapping after that.
I did some research and decided to get a couple of woven wraps, since they are very supportive and Natalie was already about 19lbs. I got a Didymos and a Storchenweige Leo The Leo is my favorite carrier hands down. I love how supportive it feels. After a month of wrapping I can get my daughter on my back in a ruck easily and she is always happy there. She still fusses sometimes in the ring slings but never on my back. This carry allows my to do household chores like laundry and cooking, even when Natalie won’t let me out of her sight. I use front carries for putting her down for naps and this has been a livesaver for me. The Storch has saved my sanity during this very difficult teething period.
