A sudden (serious) illness hit us a few weeks ago and there were several things I was really glad I’d had the forethought (for once!) to have at home, so I’m sharing. It was a very high fever, sudden in onset and it turned my go-getting three year old into an almost unresponsive zombie until we managed to get the fever down. Once it did go down, however, he went back to his usual rambunctious self quickly enough!

These are the items I was really glad to have on hand:

• A reliable thermometer. In my experience as a parent, the “Mum thermometer” (skin to skin contact of some kind) has been invaluable, however there are times when you want to know exactly what’s going on with the numbers. Some people find the digital thermometers more accurate, others prefer the quicker (sometimes less accurate) infra-red ear thermometers. There’s no right choice, just whichever works best for your family.
• Suitable pain and fever relief. The choices vary for each family, but I was glad I had something on hand to give him once the fever spiked. Our particular choice from the pharmacopia proved to be extremely effective.
• Rehydrating fluids. When we were kids, flat lemonade was what we had when sick. That said, there’s a lot of sugar in it and it’s not particularly effective at rehydrating a sick child. Some people prefer a commercial preparation and this was my particular choice. I have some prepared as iceblocks- a child who is too sick to drink may just suck on an iceblock! This had the double effect of helping to bring the fever down. Other people prefer something home made, but when a child is sick and dehydrated, getting fluids into them anyway you can is the best plan.
• A GP I trust. It was a weekend and if we needed medical attention, it would have been a trip to the emergency room, however, we have a GP I trust explicitly. She’s far more mainstream than I am, but she tells it how she sees it and she tells me WHY she sees it that way. It took us a long time to find one as good as her, and if I can help it, we’re going to be frequent fliers at her office for a long, long time to come.
• Breasts. He’s three, he doesn’t breastfeed much any more. But when he was practically unresponsive except to cry miserably, it was nice to have a way to comfort him. And to know that there was at least one way to get some fluids into him. That just so happened to carry antibodies to the very bug he was fighting. Extended breastfeeding has been a difficult enterprise at times. I’ve often wished weaning would arrive YESTERDAY. On this day, I was really glad it hadn’t.
• A sling. Obviously. My three year old opted for couch snuggles, but I was ready just in case I could squeeze some in with the wrap. See Georgie’s post on why babywearing seems to ease a sick child’s discomfort.

The pain relief was effective, the fever went down. By the time his Grandfather walked in the door bearing lunch, he was perked up enough to jump into his arms and then scoff down a large plateful. I was worried for a while there, though, and I’m glad I had these things on hand.

What’s in your medicine chest? What do you keep on hand for sick kids? Are yours sling-kids when sick or do they prefer to snuggle in arms on the couch? Leave a comment and let us know!

Welcome to the Carnival of Breastfeeding! Our theme this month is “Personal Stories” and my story of traveling to one of my favourite places, nursling and wearee in tow, is below. If you’ve arrived here for the first time, you might want to check out our series on breastfeeding hands free. If you’re a regular, make sure you check out the other carnival participants below.

He stirs beneath the mosquito net. He edges closer, still half asleep. I know it must be close to four since the monks are chanting in the grey pre-dawn and the valley is silent but for their hum. He breaks the stillness, demanding my sleepy attention. I roll closer and feed him. He drifts off to sleep and I am left listening to the Buddhist cannon chanted across the valley.

An hour and a half later, the Imam chants the call to prayer and his voice sounds across the town. The Buddhists have finished their praying before the Muslims have begun and my little one has felt the passage of time too. He edges closer, pressing himself into me. As the sun is dawning, I feed him again, listening to the Imam’s prayer, piercing and clear as the day brightens.

By the time the church bells begin to toll, I am out of patience with my nursling. His father has taken him away and I luxuriate in my loneliness beneath the mosquito net listening to the bells ring out from just down the hill.

After the Christians have finished, a new hymn begins. Staccato and impatient, a language all of its own, the car horns signal the beginning of a new phase in this valley’s daily round of devotions: commercial enterprise and the accompanying traffic chaos has begun.

This is Kandy, Sri Lanka. There is no other place like it.

These sounds are a morning ritual in Kandy, an  ancient city tucked into a valley in the mountains of central Sri Lanka. Those frequent night-time and early morning feeds were our personal experience of that cultural ritual.

My son is Sri Lankan by descent, though Australian by birth, and in the New Year holiday of 2007-2008, we traveled back to the place of his father’s birth to introduce him to his extended family and his second home.

Travelling in a foreign country with a small child can be a challenge at best. Travelling in a poverty-stricken foreign country can add a new dimension to that challenge. We were lucky enough to take our son at a stage in his life when he was still worn and breastfeeding regularly. All too regularly at night, alas, which is one of the reasons I’m so very familiar with the sounds of Kandy in the early morning!

Breastfeeding helped us negotiate the intricacies of travel in several ways. Firstly, we never had to worry about clean drinking water for him. He drank water when it was safe, but if it wasn’t convenient to find it at any given point, there was a ready-made drink on hand. As a toddler, he ate solid food and was very familiar with the local cuisine, but there were inevitably some changes and differences. Breastfeeding allowed us to make up any nutritional gap. Breastfeeding also provided an important part of our routine that helped him cope with the changes that traveling entails.

Breastfeeding was a way for me to connect with the other mothers in the family. We were vastly different people from vastly different places, but our children were all fed in the same way. In a country where extended nursing is the norm and poverty is rife, it’s obvious that breastfeeding provides an important protection for infants and small children. There was a respect for the process that we shared on both sides of the cultural divide, but at the same time it was just a normal part of mothering.

The other major part of our traveling experience was babywearing. I remember tucking him up into a wrap one tropical night in Negombo and feeding him to sleep as our relatives chatted about us. The mosquitoes were ravenous that evening (and dengue fever was rife), but the wrap mercifully protected most of him from their attention, acted as a light blanket in the tropical weather and screened him from outside distractions as he drifted off to sleep in an unfamiliar place.

 
From his vantage point on our backs, our son was able to experience the full richness of Sri Lanka for himself. Whether it was getting Kozy with the elephants, attending temple for the first time with his father or walking the beaches at sunset, our son experienced all of it.

Like breastfeeding, babywearing was certainly useful from a practical standpoint. Negotiating multiple airports with a toddler who’s not just out of his time zone, but totally out of patience is much easier when you’re not juggling a pram. At our destination, however, babywearing was essential.

As a traveling rule of thumb, any street that’s just as likely to have elephants in the traffic stream as motorbikes is probably not a place where toddlers should roam freely and prams run easily. Another important piece of information for travellers: elephants do not follow road rules. Because when you’re driving an elephant down the main (one way) street of a major city against the traffic, it’s up to the rest of the city to get out of your way.

We are returning to Sri Lanka again this year with our son and our younger child. Another nursling, another wearee. More elephants to avoid and monkeys to fend off. Poverty to attempt to explain, thousands of years of history to observe. There are more memories to be made, more experiences to share. I’m quite certain I’ll be breastfeeding and babywearing on this trip, once again. I don’t know if I’ll be doing those things in tandem, but the unknown is one of the wonderful parts of traveling.

Other Carnival of Breastfeeding participants who are sharing their stories today:

• Breastfeeding Failures and Success at GrudgeMom
• Hannah’s Weaning by Amber at Strocel.com
• Weaning a Toddler at Laura’s Blog
• Life, Death and Nourishment at Stepping off the Spaceship
• Sticking with it: Our Breastfeeding Story by So Fawned.
• How Breastfeeding Changed my Life at the MotherNews Blog
• Flying Breastmilk at All That Sazz
• Ben’s Story at Massachusetts Friends of Midwives
• The “I Told You So” at Breastfeeding 1-2-3
• “They said his latch was fine” at the Motherwear blog
• Breastfeeding is not easy, but it’s certainly best for baby at Chronicles of a Nursing Mom
• Can Early Public Breastfeeding Sightings Shape One’s Future Breastfeeding Practices? at Nursing Moms Unite
• Celebrating My Chest, in Honor of Breastfeeding at Zen Mommy
• Breastfeeding After Reduction Surgery at The Towells
• Breastfeeding in Public at Blacktating
• Breastfeeding Made my the Mother I am at Breastfeeding Mums

Previously, we discussed why sharing the love is a wonderful idea. This post gives you some tips on how to do it.

One amazing grandmother and a very happy newborn!

If your wearer is using a carrier for the first time, it’s important to keep it simple. A double hammock tandem carry is probably not a good idea. On the other hand, a front carry in a ring sling, mei tai, SSC or a pre-tied wrap may work very well. Often, people who have only worn a baby a few times feel more comfortable with front carries. Unless you’re my sister, who spontaneously hip-scooted our toddler onto her back for the first time in a carpark one day just because she could. She’s brave like that.

Adjustability is important, but you don’t want to fiddle too much with the carrier because it tends to make a new wearer nervous. A simple carry that can be put on and off with ease is ideal. Be prepared to help the first few times and then stand back and let the new wearer at it. One new-to-babywearing family friend put it like this, “I had only seen some clips on the web of the different techniques of baby wearing and really enjoyed taking I. for a walk - we were both really comfortable and he felt really secure on my back. I am really looking forward to another visit when we can go for a walk again and give some different configurations a go.” If you introduce the carrier with some forthought, then your new babywearer will be more comfortable during the process.

Toddler I. and his “Fairly Odd Parent”!

Pick a time when your baby is comfortable and happy. Even though you may be desperate for a break, if your teething baby with an ear infection is tied onto grandma when she’s also desperately hungry, it’s unlikely to be a pleasant experience for anyone and, more to the point, unlikely to be repeated. Stick to times when your baby is likely to enjoy the experience. Once the wearee is in the carrier, suggest a brisk walk. Babies and toddlers who do not like to be worn in the relative quiet of the indoors often settle once they’re outside with plenty of things to look at. A calm baby will allow the wearer to enjoy the closeness of the time together without worrying that he or she is “doing it wrong”. Conversion to the babywearing cause will surely follow.

Hopefully this post provides you with a few tips to get your baby’s loved ones started. Once they’re borrowing your stash or ringing you excitedly to tell you about the new wrap releases of a Friday morning, you’ll know you’ve got them hooked. More to the point, you’ll know that they’re enjoying these precious moments of your child’s babyhood along with you. Memories to keep forever.

Why would other people want to wear your baby or toddler? It’s simple, really, because they love them too.

One of the world’s wonderful grandmothers

Babywearing is a wonderful way for grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, devoted daycarers and friends to bond with your child. It helps the child understand that this person in their life is someone to be trusted and who can be relied upon. It gives the wearer a special time with child that they will treasure forever. Take photos!

For those who are caring for your child, it not only has all the benefits it does for parents, but it may help a baby transition into the caring environment more comfortably. A sure-fire hands-free nap solution for a stressed out babysitter is always a bonus!

Misgivings. You may have them, your baby’s loved one may have them. If you’re not comfortable with having someone else wear your child, that’s OK. It’s a big bond of trust and the intimacy of it may be beyond your comfort level. Likewise, your loved one may have their own misgivings, whether it’s concern over their physical ability to wear the child or a general antipathy towards slings and a belief in a strong set of arms. For example, although my mother in law enjoys wearing our children, my mother, who loves them just as much, would rather not. It’s important to respect the desires of the wearer as well.

However, if your views align and it’s something you’re comfortable with, it may be worthwhile sharing the babywearing love. Look out for further posts this month with personal stories, tips and photos.

Have you worn someone else’s child? Has someone else worn yours? What were the circumstances? How did it work? How did the wearer and wearees feel? Leave a comment and let us know!