Confession 1: I’m a babywearing momma.
Hands down, without a
question, the best baby device we ever bought was our Boba (yes, it even beats
out my beloved BumGenius diapers, which I seriously have a crush on). Research proves that babywearing is extremely
beneficial to babies (and parents). From my real life experience there is no
way I would ever consider not doing it.
Babywearing allows my
daughter to be close to me, which helps her regulate her digestion and
breathing. It lets her actually see
people’s faces, as opposed to their kneecaps (which is the view most strollers
offer). She can see how I interact with
others and how I handle different stimuli.
It offers her the chance to bury her head in my chest when she is
overwhelmed or to look around eagerly when she is exposed to a new
setting. It lets me kiss her sweet
little head whenever I want and offers us plenty of chances to
communicate. I’m able to do household
chores, like dishes, laundry and cooking, all with her pressed close to my
heart. Plus, it is so much easier to
throw the Boba on and put her in it then it is to get out a stroller. Since we are a huge outdoor family, it has
allowed us to continue hiking and exploring as most places we go a stroller
wouldn’t. My husband jokes that the Boba
has seen more miles than my car, which honestly might not be all that false.
Confession 2: I’m a co-sleeping momma.
It
makes sense that if I want my daughter close to me during the day, I would want
her close to me at night as well. I love
snuggling with her in bed and the reassurance I get when I wake up in the
middle of the night with her right next to me.
She just recently, within this month actually, began sleeping through
the night. Having her in bed with me
gave me an opportunity to calm her without necessarily having to get out of
bed. Any sleep deprived momma out there
knows even a few extra minutes of sleep is gold. The best bonus out of this is seeing my
husband and daughter cuddle together when I wake up before them.
Although my real life experiences with babywearing and
co-sleeping assure me that both things are the right fit for my family, I have
learned this past year that a lot of individuals are strongly opposed to both
practices. Although I have found a safe haven at Eco Chic Baby, friends, family
and perfect strangers on the street have made it deafeningly clear to me that
my choices aren’t quite the norm. “How
is your daughter ever going to learn to walk if you carry her everywhere?” “You can suffocate your child by sleeping
with them.” “You are damaging your child
by keeping her that close to you.
Parents need their own space.”
Yadda yadda yadda. It seems
everyone has an opinion once you have a child and most aren’t afraid to share
it (even though you would gladly pay them not too). I know some of you out there are shaking your
heads in agreement right now as I honestly think it’s a universal phenomenon
that all new parents encounter.
Confession 3: I’m 28 weeks pregnant.
But, what I didn’t know
was the advice only gets worse with your second pregnancy (I can only imagine
what people say on third, fourth, etc pregnancies). To date this is my favorite statement –
“You’re going to do it differently this time around, right?” I have gotten this same statement, worded a
little differently each time, more times than I can count. 95% of them have come while I was wearing my
daughter in the Boba. My response,
“Why? She’s alive, isn’t she?” Granted, this is probably a bit more snarky than
is considered polite (I know my Grandma would be shaking her head if she ever
heard me say that), and I’m working on showing more grace, but really? What’s a momma suppose to do? In my opinion, you do what you feel is right
for your child and your family.
Confession 4: I’m babywearing and co-sleeping while 28
weeks pregnant.
This
is where most people begin to think I’m a bit nutty and possibly have lost my
marbles. Those who have accepted my
practice of babywearing and co-sleeping even give me a little eye roll when
they see my pregnant self rocking my Boba with my thirteen month in it. For some reason there is a perception that
either one or both of these practices have to end during pregnancy, but
honestly I see no reason to give up either.
My biggest concern about having a second child was making my first child
feel as though we didn’t love her enough or drastically changing her
lifestyle. Thus, when I found out I was
pregnant when my daughter was seven months old (our plan was to always have our
children two years or less apart in age), I knew that I would continue to wear
her as long as I was able to and she would remain in our bed until she decided
it was time for her to move on.
Continuing
to babywear and co-sleep while carrying another growing child in your womb
isn’t always the easiest thing in the world to do, but I’m very happy with my
decision to continue to do so. Here are
some things that I have found that have made pregnant babywearing easier:
1.
Know
your limitations. I
once hiked a two hour, straight up hill trail at Yosemite while carrying my
daughter in the Boba. Frankly, that’s
not going to happen now. I have found
listening to your body is crucial when wearing your baby during pregnancy. Some days I can easily carry her for a couple
of hours, while others half an hour is the max I can handle.
2.
Switch
to a back carry when baby gets too big or heavy. This has been the
hardest for me as I honestly prefer the front carry over the back carry. There is something about being able to look
my daughter in the eyes that keeps her glued to my front. I still carry her there 90% of the time, but
when my body needs a break, the back is a lot less pressure on my tummy. I can foresee a lot more back carries coming
during this last trimester as my stomach is growing.
3.
Don’t
be afraid to adjust, adjust, adjust. I
used to have my Boba dialed in to how I liked it and all I would have to do is
strap it on. Now I fiddle with it every
time I use it. Pregnant bodies feel
different on a daily basis, so don’t be afraid to make the Boba (or any other
wrap) match your body’s changes.
4.
Let
someone else babywear.
My husband has been ecstatic over the fact that he gets to wear our
daughter more. You see we used to
constantly fight over who got to wear her, but I typically won out. Now I let him wear her more when I need a
break or we are out for several hours in a row.
5.
If
your current carrier isn’t working for you, look at different options. So far the Boba has worked perfectly for us,
but if my stomach starts to get too big or it starts to get too uncomfortable,
you can bet your bottom dollar I will be out there finding a better
solution. There are several options with
woven wraps that allow for a hip carry, which would probably work really well
with a bulging gut.
6.
This
is the most important lesson of all: GO TO THE BATHROOM
BEFORE YOU START WEARING. We all know
how sensitive a pregnant woman’s bladder is and having a child pressed up
against it makes it that much worse.
Going to the bathroom right before I put my daughter on has saved me a
lot of discomfort.
Co-sleeping while pregnant hasn’t been nearly as
difficult as babywearing. However, here
are a few ideas for making that easier:
1. Make adjustments as needed. My daughter loves to sleep
on top of me. Literally. Although this wasn’t always the most
comfortable sleeping position for me, I got used to it as time went on. However, when I hit that point in pregnancy
when lying on my back equated death, I knew I needed to make some adjustments. I now lay her down on two stacked pillows
with my arm underneath her. This allows
her the incline she likes and the closeness she desires, while affording me the
comfort of lying on my side. Once she is
asleep, I change my position and she usually moves off the pillows, but that
initial position allowed us both to fall asleep more comfortably.
2. Consider a sidecar. We are already thinking about how we are
going to manage a bed of four. It would
be unsafe to have our toddler sleeping next to our newborn, so we’ve been
playing around with a few ideas. We have
a co sleeper that the newborn could use or we could push a toddler bed up
against our bed for our daughter to sleep in. Right now we are trying out the
second option. So far, she wants nothing
to do with it, but it’s only been out for two weeks. The thing is to try different solutions out
before giving up on something you deeply believe in. We still have a few months to sort things
out, but starting to think about it now ensures we will have a happy full bed
of four in the near distant future.
Confession 5: I’m nothing but proud about it.
I
have learned a lot of things about being a momma and one of them is to stick to
your guns on things you feel strongly about.
For me, that includes babywearing and co-sleeping.
How many of you are babywearing, co-sleeping, pregnant
mommas out there? What advice can you give
to other pregnant mommas?
