Happy World Breastfeeding Week! It’s celebrated internationally from 1 to 7 August 2010. Unlike breastfeeding, which is something normally done by the mother, babywearing can be done by anyone - breastfeeding or not. But one of the many cool things about carrying a baby in a traditional-style sling or carrier is that it can make breastfeeding easier.

You can use your sling or carrier to support baby for hands-free breastfeeding. We’ve blogged here in the past about how best to breastfeed in a long wrap, mei tai, and in a ring sling.  As a retail shop owner, I’ve helped many mums of newborns with getting baby in the right position to breastfeed hands-free, and some of them have come back later to tell me how it helped their posture (reducing back pain from leaning over while breastfeeding) or made it easier to chase a toddler while feeding the baby.

Another benefit of babywearing is that all the skin contact helps get the hormones working properly. Skin contact prompts oxytocin, which prompts milk in the breast to flow, which prompts prolactin to make more milk. A beautiful supply-and-demand cycle.

My second baby also benefited from babywearing to support breastfeeding when being worn by a child-care worker. She was an extreme bottle refuser who would rather starve to death than take liquid from any form of cup or bottle til she was about nine months old. So when she was five months old and I returned to work, I drove from work to the childcare centre to feed her in my lunch break. Sometimes she would be hungry before I arrived, but there was nothing they could do to feed her until I got there. Enter babywearing! Many times I would arrive to feed my baby, expecting to find her distressed and starving, only to see that she was chilled out and happy in the sling that I had left with her carer (a twenty-something rugby-fan bloke). In an ideal world, she wouldn’t have had to wait. But in this imperfect world we live in, keeping her calm made it much easier for her carer to attend to the other babies in the room, and made it easier for me to get her attached for a proper feed when I arrived. Ever tried to get a cranky baby to latch on properly? Not easy! A calm baby is much easier to feed, in my experience.

There have also been times when breastfeeding was a real struggle for me. Being able to carry my babies and keep them close helped soothe the emotional upset for both of us, making it easier for me to stay positive and keep trying. Without that positive influence, the confidence that I am a capable parent, I might have found it easier to just give up on other aspects of parenting that were difficult.

So thankyou babywearing, for making it easier for to breastfeed my babies.

Here’s the official Australian government notice about the Infantino Sling Rider and Wendy Bellissimo slings having been recalled by their Australian distributor.

This follows a US safety warning on slings - read all about it here. The important thing to note here is that the warning applies only to slings that make it difficult to keep a newborn’s airways clear while lying in a cradle hold position, or where it is difficult to monitor a newborn’s position in the sling (ie you can’t see the baby easily in the sling to make sure they’re still in a good position). Babies who are newborn, premature, or have health issues are at higher risk in these carriers.

Ring slings, pouches, and wraps are often used to carry newborns in a cradle carry position, and it’s quite safe to do. In fact, some babies prefer this position when they’re sleeping. It also makes it easy to breastfeed baby in the sling. But it is also important to make sure you use your sling properly. If in doubt, get advice from an experienced babywearer at a sling meet in your local area, use internet forums to find experienced babywearers near you who can give you some help, or drop by a shop that provides a professional fitting/demonstration service for the type of sling you’re using. You can also check out videos on YouTube, or get a copy of the Tummy2Tummy babywearing DVD to get help on newborn positioning, and there’s also a Newborn Correct Positioning article available here.

You might have heard that the US CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published a warning this week about the safety of infant slings. In particular, there have been a number of deaths reported when babies have been carried in bag-style slings where the baby’s face was not visible, or where the baby was able to get into a chin-on-chest position that blocked their airway. The CPSC warning included this useful example of right and wrong ways to position baby in a soft sling:

If you’ve been wondering whether it’s safe to use a baby sling at all with your newborn, don’t panic! Baby slings have been successfully used for thousands of years, in cultures all over the world. Babywearing can help newborn babies (especially premmies) regulate their temperature and breathing, increase milk supply for breastfeeding mothers with low supply, help parents or carers bond with their baby, and help settle babies (especially those with colic or reflux).

What we haven’t had in modern Western society is the knowledge passed on from our mothers and grandmothers about how to use a piece of cloth to carry our babies safely. It’s not enough just to rely on manufacturers to make a sling that is safe to use without instruction.

If you’re looking at getting a sling for your newborn, check out these newborn babywearing videos and instructions to start with; go along to a babywearing meet in your local area; get active on forums like Baby Carriers Downunder, The Babywearer, Intuitive Parenting, or Natural Parenting where there are experienced babywearers to answer your questions; or visit a shop where the staff have been trained in how to position newborns safely in soft slings. Generic Viagra 100 Mg
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It’s probably time for an update on my high needs cherub. As I blogged about awhile ago, I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks wearing her as consistently as possible and as often as practicable. The theory was that it would offer her enough security to help her move through this permanent state of mindblowing neediness stage.  She’s been worn daily, coslept and breastfed on demand since birth, but something told me that perhaps it wasn’t enough physical attachment to me for this child to be fully secure. So I stepped it up.

It’s working. I think.

She’s not a suddenly altered personality, she’s still (very much) a high needs kiddo, but something tells me we’re on the way up. We’ve also been working on helping her trust her Dad to put her (gently) to sleep and she’s turned a corner there too. It may not have anything to do with babywearing,  it may be the natural shift in her development. At least it’s made me feel like I was doing something to help! She’s still anxious if I am around, but not actively engaged with her, but babywearing helps with that one way or another.

She’s 11 months old and the smiles I catch in the mirror as we pass by (or stop and make faces) make me want to wear her forever. I think we’ll keep this up. Just in case.

What worked for your high needs baby? Leave a comment and let us know.

On a babywearing blog, I suppose the argument I’m going to make here isn’t that surprising. It’s the cure, not the cause.

Here’s my story: I have a high needs baby.  She’s mindblowing. There is only one person she wants to hold her (and, sometimes, touch her): me. At 11 months, it’s been a long and draining year so far. At first I wore her because it was the only way she could be comfortable. She can sit independently and move around quite a bit these days, her reflux is largely resolved, so I don’t have to wear her so often and as such haven’t been (see the injured shoulder saga).

But she’s still very, very anxious with other people and is unwilling to let anyone else care for her. Funnily enough, on the days I wear her all day long (she comes to work with me once a week), she’s as happy as a clam.

Here’s my plan: I’m going to wear her. I’m going to wear her every opportunity I get- not just when she asks for it, not just when she needs it. I’m going to actively hold her as much as she’ll permit. If holding my clingy baby is the cause of her anxiety, then her behaviour won’t change. However, if (as is my theory) responding to her need to be near me and embracing it will help her grow through this stage, we should see some improvement soon.

I’ll report back soon and let you know how it’s going. (Wish me luck!)

Do you have a high-needs child? How do you cope? What’s your strategy for dealing with a child who needs you All. The. Time.? Leave a comment and let us know!

 Birth doesn’t always go to plan. Sometimes it does go to plan and that plan involves a caesar. This can present its own babywearing challenges and Rae, who’s been there twice, lets us in on her strategies for babywearing after major surgery. 

“I’ll be back in a minute…” so said my husband, as he popped his brand new baby, all of one hour old, into our nice, clean ring sling. It was new and crispy. I was exhausted and sore, and, well , very high on the drugs from the c-section. Those first days in hospital are truly amazing - the desire to keep our babies close is so overwhelming.

But how, post C section?

In those first days after the birth, the best place for Mum and baby is in bed, snuggled up skin to skin, getting to know each other. On our way out of the hospital, I finally got a chance to use that ring sling:

For the first six weeks or so at home, I remember being just SO sore, as my body slowly healed. The best sling for this period is just a simple ring sling. There are several ring slings commonly sold through baby stores, but they are all too structured for my taste - too much padding- they severely limit the comfort possible for Mum and baby. They are designed for a very loose cradle carry, which will sit just above the stitches - way too low for comfort!

A simple, unstructured ring sling can be worn initially in a cradle hold and also in a tummy to tummy hold. Both positions keep the baby well away from the incision site, and allow the Mum to sit down and rest in a chair whilst snuggling the baby - a definite plus in that hectic time of adjustment! Instructions are available to make your own, perhaps from a sarong or some fabric from Spotlight - a wonderful thing to do prior to the birth of your first baby!

Once the scar had started to heal, it was time to get some exercise… and the next sling we found really helpful was a simple mei tai. A soft structured carrier would be equally as good for this stage, as would a wrap - they each have their advantages. I have and love each of these styles of carrier:

• A mei tai is easy on and easy off, placing the straps comfortably for a front carry post c-section is very easy, a great help with muscles that are easily tired out.
• A wrap can be worn in Front Cross Carry, which was incredibly easy and supportive of those weak tummy muscles!
• Finally, a soft structured carrier is simply wonderful - there are some really comfortable ones out there. These two shouldered carriers are characterised by a lovely fit through the waist straps, and the baby being placed close to Mum’s tummy with very supportive, comfortable shoulder straps. The more structured waist, with some padding, can be a nice help to remind you to pull the tummy muscles in.

When our second baby arrived three months ago, after another c-section, I took out that ring sling and got to wear it all over again! Only this time, I was running around after a busy toddler all too soon..

This time, I really found a wrap worn in a Front Cross Carry was invaluable. It was so handy to be able to pop the baby in and out of the wrap for feeding, whilst being able to spend some time with my daughter.

This particular wrap carry is very fast and easy to learn, and provides lovely back support for those weak muscles! I also left it on all day long - so we could drive to the park or shops, then pop the baby back in, get the toddler out of the car - and enjoy some time together. Here we are at about 3 months post c-section.

Thanks to Rae for her insight into babywearing post-caesar. Have you had a caesar? Did you babywear afterwards? What worked for you? What didn’t? Leave a comment and let us know!