Sharing the love with siblings, Tirzah (6) and Noah (1).

Babywearing Aunts get some education and bonding in at the same time while at the Aquarium!

Heather tells us about siblings and babywearing- a fun package for fun times!

As Nadia and Noah demonstrated in an earlier blog post, sibling wearing is another way to use your carrier. Children love to imitate adults, and are naturally interested in playing ‘parent’ to their younger sibling. Sibling wearing strengthens childrens’ bond, gives older siblings an opportunity to practice their “parenting”. Additionally, by allowing your older child to wear the younger, you have a momentary break to do something for yourself or to spend with another child. If you have a blended family, sibling wearing can be a great way to help the older child welcome the new baby into the family. Chances are both children will be amused by the variation.

Some things to consider before encouraging sibling wearing:
• The wearer needs to be substantially older than the wearee; a preschooler is too young
• The wearer needs to be physically capable of wearing a younger sibling
• Choose a carrier that is relatively easy to use with adult help (Mei Tais and Ring Slings are recommended); the adult may need to help the older child put on the carrier and then tie on the wearee
• An adult needs to be close by at all times

Best of all, it’s fun!

 Thanks to models Simon (8) and Gabriel (16 months)!

A quick round-up of recent celebrities seen using slings or baby carriers:

• Joely Fisher - with baby Olivia at age 7 months, using a pouch that looks a bit too big for her.
• Gwen Stefani (aka ring sling fashionista) - with Zuma Nesta Rock at age 7 months, and black ring sling.
• Brooke Burke - with 11 month old Shaya Braven in a pouch.

Makes so much sense for celebrities to want their baby close to them. Especially when there’s paparazzi around.

And I do love seeing pictures of Gwen’s ring sling collection - I swear she has more slings than I do! (And I stopped counting at 20 slings…)

Apart from being fantastic for their babies and their own mental health, celebrity babywearing is the best form of advocacy.

Newborn Abby settles down for a snooze with an extra helping of snuggle!

Here at BCD blog, we’re all very much aware of the important benefits of babywearing for all babies. However, when babies need extra special care, babywearing can take on an extra dimension. Here, Michelle, Mum to Lucca (3) and Chloe (6 months), tells us about how babywearing has impacted her family.

My name is Michelle and we have Lucca (3yo) and Chloe (6Mo). I lived in a ring sling and a Mayan wrap for Lucca up until he was 2. Chloe has Downs Syndrome and I feel wearing is doubly important, particularly for bonding and also in enhancing neural and physical development. In their Baby Book, the Sears recommend wearing special needs bubs (one of their own kids has DS) particularly for attachment and to enhance breastfeeding success.

I currently use a Baby Bjorn a lot – even though I do not like it so much as I have worries about what it is doing to her hips. However having said this I have not come across any studies- does anyone know of any?* Nevertheless the Baby Bjorn does allow me to have Chloe up close, which is my aim. I have tried the Mayan wrap and the ring sling for Chloe but am unhappy with them as she does not sit very straight in either. I am unsure if this is because of her tone (slight ‘floppiness’) or if I am missing something!**

I feel that wearing has really helped me to breastfeed successfully – Lucca until he was 2 and a half, and Chloe so far. I am particularly stoked with feeding Chloe as only about 10% of bubs with Down Syndrom can feed, so I feel very lucky that she has been able to. It has been - and still is - a tough slog, but I have received fantastic support which has helped me enormously.

*BCD editor’s note: To date, BCD is not aware of any peer-reviewed, scientific studies regarding hip dysplasia and Baby Bjorn style carriers. Positioning a baby with knees above their bottom in a carrier such as a mei tai, SSC, ring sling or wrap is considered the most stable position for correct hip development.

**BCD editor’s note: Babies with low tone may benefit from wrapping in a woven wrap. For further information and support for wearing a child with special needs, the following resources may be helpful:

• The BCD forums
• The Babywearer Disabilities, Chronic Illness and Special Needs forum

There are almost as many special needs as there are babies to be worn and each one will be slightly different. The experienced parents on both these forums are happy offer supportive advice and help troubleshooting. Do you have a child with special needs? Do you have special needs yourself? How do you cope from day to day and what babywearing tricks help you?