My little baby is not so little anymore - two years old and walking. But I still carry him near busy roads, or when he’s overtired and needs settling down. Problem is that he’s old enough now to know what he wants, strong enough to make it hard to prevent him doing what he wants, but not yet mature enough to understand that sometimes what he wants is not good for him. So I am learning little tricks to get him into a sling quick, before he can struggle away from me and get into serious trouble. He may complain as I tie him on, but it’s better than letting him run onto the road or cry himself to sleep.

First, I choose carriers that I can use quickly. Some people find wraps quick and easy, others get swamped in long pieces of fabric. Some people find an SSC (soft clip-on carrier) simple, others struggle to find the clips and fasten them behind their back. For me, the quickest carrier is a mei tai. There are times when a ring sling or a wrap might be more comfortable for the purpose I’m carrying him, but it’s no good if I can’t get him into it securely while he’s struggling to get down.

Second, make sure there’s lots of fabric behind his upper back, and that the carrier is tied securely. He struggles for a while before settling down to rest, and I don’t want him falling out before then.

Third, be prepared to pass him toys or drink bottles if he’s on my back to avoid danger (rather than for tiredness). If I remember, I tie toys onto carrier straps so I don’t have to pick them off the ground every two minutes. You could also use a dummy clip to attach toys to carrier straps. Making or buying carrier strap covers with little ribbon tags or embroidery on them is another way to keep kids amused and protect straps from sticky fingers/teeth at the same time. I try to avoid giving drink bottles with anything other than water in them, unless I want to wear food in my hair and fruit juice down my back.

Despite the tricks it takes to get a toddler on my back, it’s worth it. It won’t be long and he’ll be long past being carried, and in the meantime babywearing helps me to keep him safe and soothe frayed nerves (his and mine).

I posted a few weeks ago about our short trip to hospital this month and thought you could all use an update. Firstly, the procedure went well and our results were what we were hoping for. Baby girl is on a specific diet and all her symptoms are clearing up. Turns out, babywearing wasn’t the cure for her insanely high needs, but it did help! (OK, so she’s still very intense, but she’s much better now :))

We had some positive and negative experiences at the hospital while babywearing and this information is probably useful, so here’s our experience: I decided to take a short wrap and a pair of slingrings with me for our day trip. I’m very proficient with short wraps, but I do like to breastfeed hands free in a ring sling, so I thought this would cover me well for back, front, hip and breastfeeding carries.

Actually, instead of my streamlined approach, I wish I’d gone a little overboard and brought another carrier. Since A. needed to go under a general anaesthetic for her procedure, she was fasting for an extended period. A fasting baby smooshed up against lactating breasts isn’t conducive to calm behaviour! My intention here was to ruck (under bum or tie in front), but unfortunately, this isn’t the best back carry for a vigorously protesting child (read: tantrum). Short wraps do have some pretty wiggle-proof options like the strap carry and the short cross carry, however the former isn’t great for snuggling and sleeping, while the latter isn’t so quick to tie on a resistant child. What I really wanted was a wrap long enough to SHBC (or a mei tai!). In the end, I had to make do with front and hip carries to avoid a babywearing accident in a back carry and that wasn’t conducive to settling her quickly.

I also found that my no-sew ring sling idea wasn’t the best option under the circumstances. I spent a great deal of time popping my wearee in and out and these kinds of ring slings have a tendency to twist easily. They’re fine once you’ve got them settled, but take longer than a standard ring sling.

Once I got it settled, I found a ring sling (albeit a no-sew variety) was great for settling a child coming out of her anaesthetic. Wrapped up by the nursing staff like a baby burrito, she was popped into a cradle carry and the requisite monitor was easily accomodated. She slept off the drugs, woke up and demanded milk. After that, she woke up some more and demanded food. From that point, it was obvious she was back to her old self in record time.

Although babywearing was ultimately a very positive part of our hospital experience (and well regarded by the staff), I would do things differently next time. I’d accept from the outset that some carriers do different things better than others and that, even though we were only in hospital for a very short time, it wouldn’t have killed me to have another carrier on the day. Or two. Three at the outside

Have you worn your child in hospital? What was your experience? Leave a comment and let us know!

I’ll be posting a quick babywearing tip every Tuesday - today’s is basic mei tai troubleshooting.

First, tie the waist strap on so baby’s weight will be at your belly button or higher. Better for your centre of gravity, and it won’t drag on your shoulders as much as a low-rider.

Second, you want your baby sitting properly on their bottom. If your little darling is trying to stand up while you put the mei tai on, they probably won’t have their bottom nice and deep in the sling - which means it just won’t feel right when you tie on the shoulder straps.

Third, give a little bounce for back carries as you pull the shoulder straps tight in front of you. This gets baby’s bottom properly into the seat created by the sling, and ensures those shoulder straps are tight so gravity doesn’t drag down on your shoulders and neck. For front carries, I sometimes use one hand to support their weight at the height I want them sitting while I pull the straps tight - for the same reason, I want their bottom staying put while I tie knots and I want those shoulder straps tight.

If in doubt about how tight to tie it, go tighter. My rule is do it up so tight you can’t breathe, then loosen ever so slightly. Loose, low slings are for wusses who only want to babywear for five minutes a day - once you’ve got that slingling tied on, they might want to stay put for a few hours and you need to be comfy!

Here’s a nice new video promoting the upcoming International Babywearing Week:

To see what’s happening around your area to celebrate it, see our IBW09 events page.

In celebration of International Babywearing Week 2009 (IBW09), babywearing groups around Australia and New Zealand are organizing local events to celebrate, promote, and advocate the many benefits of babywearing. Below is a list of local events scheduled at this stage. New events may be added between now and then, so please check back if you don’t see any events in your area. If you are interested in organizing an event in your area, please contact us or join our Forum to find other locals near you. For more information on IBW09, please visit www.babywearingweek.org.

NZ:
Auckland
Hamilton
AU:
Brisbane
Adelaide
Canberra

AUCKLAND

Sunday 26 September, 10am-2pm
‘Slings in the Park’ Free Family Event to support the Kangaroo-care initiative at National Women’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. For more details, please visit Slingbabies’ IBW09 page.

HAMILTON

Wednesday 23 September, 10am
Informal sling meet. Contact Kerry at kmacsmith@clear.net.nz or 07 843 7244 if interested.

BRISBANE

Saturday 19 September, 1-4pm

Back Carry Workshop at Brisbane Sling Meet.
Ever wanted to learn how to carry your newborn/baby/toddler on your back? Learn how to do back carry properly with different carriers including a long piece of fabric, and start enjoying the freedom back carrying brings!
Venue: Indooroopilly Library Meeting Room, 4th floor of Indooroopilly Shopping Centre.

Sunday 20 September, 11:30am-2pm

Babywearing Walk and Picnic (CBD).
Join other local babywearers for a BYO picnic/BBQ at the Roma Street Parklands followed by a Babywearing Walk through Queen Street Mall. Take part in a back carry flash mob during the Walk to apply the skills you learned from the previous day!
Venue: meet at the BBQ/picnic area in Roma St Parklands between 11:30am and 1pm. Bring a plate of food to share. We will start walking to Queen St Mall at 1pm.

ADELAIDE

Monday 21 September, 10am-12:30pm
Combined Babywearing/Elimination Communication meet with the ECers from the OzNappyFree group. More details in the Adelaide sling meet page.

CANBERRA

Thursday 24 September, 10am
Gathering at Floriade. Meet at Kid’s corner, near petting zoo (free maps in the program on entry if you’re not sure where to go)

When  you’re downunder, this is important, for obvious reasons.  In my experience, the only major downside to babywearing is the difficulty in protecting your wearee from the sun and/or heat during extreme weather conditions (such as we get downunder for months on end!). Here are some tips I’ve picked up:

• A hat for each of you is essential.  Sunscreen is also a good option.
• Although the face and head will be your primary concern, don’t forget that arms, legs and feet are also at risk of sunburn and dress the wearee appropriately
• In general, back carries are much more difficult to shade a baby than a front carry
• Elastic straps on baby hats, dummy chain attached to the hat or pinning the hat to the baby’s collar are some ways to make sure you don’t loose a hat, but it doesn’t guarantee said hat will stay on!
• Putting the child in a carrier or wrap carry that they can’t get their hands out of is one (limited) option to keep the hat on
• A really broad brimmed hat and a high back carry for a small wearee will offer some protection for a baby in a back carry
• Some babywearers carry a parasol or umbrella to protect both wearer and wearee (I find as the wearee reaches the important babywearing developmental stage of Being Able To Wiggle Arms Out, this becomes the most foolproof option)
• There are some commercially available pockets designed to fit over carriers and provide sun protection

What are your best sun-protection tips? Leave a comment and let us know!