Round Two and I'm Digging Some Babywearing

Howdy folks and Happy International Babywearing Week! I bet you didn't know that was a thing, did you? Yeah, me either.

In spite of my recent ignorance about an entire week dedicated to wearing one's offspring, I decided to write a post this week on that very subject!

Niamh's 1st Notre Dame Game

I received an Ergo carrier from a very dear friend when I was pregnant with Niamh and used it on a pretty regular basis with her. It was just so handy to tuck her in her carrier next to my body while I was out and about grocery shopping, cooking dinner, or even walking the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5k. She seemed so comfy and cozy and almost always fell asleep when I was wearing her.


Now that we're doing Round Two with Baby Ro, I am digging the hell out of wearing that little nugget! While I do some stereotypically "hippie mom" things like cloth diaper and make my own baby food, I certainly don't consider myself to be a full-blown crunchy granola organic natural mama. Babywearing tends to be one of those things that those hippie moms do, as it is one of the principles included in attachment parenting. For me, babywearing is just SO practical and handy that it makes having a baby so much more enjoyable.

Hiking with Baby Ro

 Let's face it, for all the joys a little on brings there are certainly plenty of inconveniences, especially if your nugget is breastfed...frequently. I only nursed Niamh in her carrier a few times and, since I'm fairly discreet about breastfeeding, I often felt like I was missing out on fun things that were going on because I would need to find a quiet corner to sit down and feed her.

This time around, I have worn Rowan everywhere. And, let me tell you, throwing a nursing cover around my neck and dropping that carrier down has allowed me to nurse on the go and not miss a thing. Just this week I have nursed that kid while cooking, shopping at lululemon, picking out a rug, buying groceries, hiking at George Bush Park, and drinking a glass of wine during National Night Out with my neighbors (don't judge). It has been such a liberating feeling this time around to not worry about waking the baby up to feed her before I go out to run errands - I'll just nurse her while I run errands. Let's face it, any time I can multi-task and save a little time I'm a happy camper.

Aside from the selfish reasons that I would encourage any mom to try out babywearing, some studies have indicated that babies who are worn for three hours a day cried 43% less (54% less in the evening hours) than babies who were not worn.

Have any questions about babywearing? Want to share your favorite carrier or babywearing practice? Leave a comment below! Happy Babywearing!