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Have you seen the pictures in magazines and wondered why parents are using this method? Maybe you have heard about baby wearing and are wondering what it is? Is it just a fashion or is there some real advantage to carrying your baby which convinces parents to go back to the ancient art of carrying your child?
As well as being a convenient way of transporting your baby, slings also offer numerous benefits to your little one such as providing them with comfort, stimulation and even promoting physical development. Baby wearing has so many benefits for both parent and child that it is easy to see why so many parents are now choosing to carry their youngster in a sling.
Humans have been wearing their babies throughout history. The concept of carrying babies is as old as humanity and is still very much practiced around the world. And, luckily for mummies and babies, it is also on the increase in UK.
Why carry your baby - or babywear as it is now called?
· It is important for babies!
Human babies are the most immature of all mammals at birth. Based on the rate of brain growth in human infants and the size of the average adult brain, It is estimated that human babies are born at least three months early compared to other mammals. They need to complete their gestation on or near their mother. When babies are held close to mother, preferably skin-to-skin, their heartbeat and temperature remain much more stable. Mother's arms and chest continue the task of the uterus: delivering the warmth, offering safety and stability, nurturing with the milk from her breasts. Babies were born to be breastfed and carried.
By babywearing the transition from the womb is much easier. I have often spoken to mums who felt that they need to 'hold' their babies 'all the time' and can not do the simplest of tasks any more, such as making themselves a sandwich.
It is a big shock and a big transition becoming a parent and being responsible for a tiny little baby, whose well-being and survival completely depends on you. What a responsibility! And they cry if they are put down, you cannot do any task with the little one either feeding or sleeping contentedly only in your arms. While it is a hard and intense task, it is also supposed to be this way and it always was.
In times past - and still today in more traditional societies - mothers did not question or even think of these needs of a baby's as something unusual. They were natural and mothers met them before crying even started by simply carrying their baby with them wherever they went. Using a type of a baby carrier enabled them to keep their baby close, feeding him freely and still having hands free to do some chores and look after older siblings. There was little need for a baby to express his needs with a cry. Babywearing and breastfeeding helped mothers to recognize their babies' needs and ways that babies were expressing them. Rooting for a breast is a sure sign that baby needs a feed. And if baby is right there on the mummy then she can respond to this need immediately and effectively. No need to cry! Crying is a late cue that the baby is hungry. These practises are the most natural and effective way of recognising and satisfying the needs of the baby.
It can sound a lot when you think that you have to hold your baby what feels constantly for example 8, 10 or 12 hours a day. But from a newborn's point of view this is an instant - 66%, 58% or 50% respectively- decrease of what he is used to from when he was still in the womb. Babywearing can make this transition easier for your baby and for you - he is still near you and you are still near him - both learning about each other and recognizing non-verbal communication between you. Caring for an infant can become easier.
If you carry your baby you may be surprised to find out that:
· Your baby cries less. Research has shown that babies who are carried for at least three hours more than usually (ie. in addition to holding for feeding, changing, etc.) cry on average 43% less overall and 54% less during the evening hours when the increased fussy periods are most common (1). In cultures where babies are carried almost continuously, babies cry much less than those in non-carrying cultures (2-6).
· Baby is calm
· Baby sleeps peacefully
· They breastfeed well and gain weight well
· Their digestion is great, they bring winds up easier. The continuing motion that is associated with carrying the baby as well as connected frequent feeds can help with better digestion. It can be of benefit to babies with reflux as babies who are carried spit less. Upright positions in carriers can help keep the acid to stay down. Wraps such as Mama Kangaroo or Ellaroo wrap are really great with upright position for small babies. Frequent feeds, associated with babywearing, also help with good weight gain and with establishing a good milk supply.
· Babies learn more because they spend more time in a quiet state of alertness.
· Babies are more organized; parental rhythms (walking, heartbeat, etc.) have balancing and soothing effects on infants.
· Babies socialize earlier; babies are closer to people and can study facial expressions, learn languages faster and be familiar with body language.
· Babywearing can also help promote proper hip development (when a proper carrier is used)
· It can be especially beneficial to premature babies, facilitating so called Kangaroo Care.
And from a parent's point of view:
· It is just something warm, rewarding and fulfilling to carry your baby with you
· It helps you meet your baby's needs as they arise
· It can help with breastfeeding and your milk supply
· It helps with bonding, also for dads!
· It allows you to go about your daily tasks while baby sleeps happily in the baby carrier or sling
· You have free hands to look after older children
· You do not have to navigate big strollers through shop doors and alleys, trying to buy grocery without a shopping trolley as you are already pushing a stroller
· Easy to travel with
· Baby carrier or a sling take much less storage space
· And much cheaper than stroller as well
· They come in different styles, materials and colours - they can also be quite a fashion statement.
BREASTFED BABIES ARE VERY 'PORTABLE'
Going out and about with your baby can be a very enjoyable experience: you have your precious little baby with you and you can relax in the knowledge that he is safe and content. And to babies it is most important that they are with their mothers. They are not embarrassed about feeding in public or sleeping. They are next to the most important person in their lives and all is well.
Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world. Yet, when it comes to feeding in public, mothers still face raised eyebrows or even hostile comments.
Some mothers are worried about reaction from others; other mothers feel embarrassed themselves and are worried about revealing too much. In western culture breasts are widely perceived as sexual object and it is because of this view that breastfeeding in public presents such an issue.
FEEDING 'DISCREETLY'
I will use this word as I can't come up with a better one at this moment. But I would like to make it clear that I feel that mothers do not need to go to extreme lengths to hide away, turn backs, cover babies, etc. when feeding in public, just to keep everyone around comfortable. Breastfeeding is not an act where a woman would deliberately be exposing herself. In fact, many fashionable clothes today with cleavage, flimsy straps, see through materials, etc. often allow for more exposure than breastfeeding does.
Breastfed babies, whose need for nursing is satisfied there and then, are happy, content and do not fuss. Running around to find suitable places, fiddling with scarves, pieces of clothes, etc. to prevent prying eyes to be offended, delays the satisfying of your baby's need and he will let you know that. And a baby, crying for his food, would draw more attention to you than a quick lift of the T-shirt and pulling your baby close.
Breastfeeding can be easily done in public and this does not mean it needs to be 'public' at all. So you really do not need to go in extreme lengths to do it. And no one has a right to ask you to feed you baby in bathrooms or toilets! I am sure they wouldn't like eating their lunch there either.
However, it is also natural to feel shy and uncomfortable at the thought of feeding in public. And it is easy to feel intimidated by hostile remarks. Only you know what you feel comfortable with and what steps you would like to take to minimize this.
SOME WAYS OF 'NON PUBLIC' BREASTFEEDING
Some mothers are more comfortable if they first try and see how very 'non' public breastfeeding really can be. You don't need special nursing clothes - a simple T-shirt will suffice! You can lift it up just enough to latch on your baby and the T-shirt will be hiding the top of your breasts while baby's head will shield the rest. A person would have to be very nosey and come very close to actually see anything.
In my pregnancy days I bought a breastfeeding shirt with the buttons, as it was suggested in many magazines I read. My pregnancy nightie, that was supposed to double as a breastfeeding nightie, had a row of three buttons from top to mid belly. Not very discreet as you have to unbutton it, then bare your breast to attach the baby and do not have much left to cover the top of the breast. Utterly unpractical! And shamelessy expensive.
If you are wearing a blouse or a shirt, it works much better to unbutton it from bottom up, with the top few buttons left fastened. You can then lift it up a bit easier and latch on the baby. This way, you will be covered much better.
Some mothers find it helpful to try feeding in front of the mirror first, just to make sure how much they are revealing. If you are still worried, there are special breastfeeding clothes available or, if you are handy with a needle or know someone who is, you can buy lovely patterns online and make the nursing clothes yourself from materials you like and in colours you like.
Slings, wraps and baby carriers can also offer some covering. Babies and even toddlers love to be close to mommy and carrying them in the sling can be a satisfying experience for both of you. Some slings are more suitable for breastfeeding than others, but much depends on your personal preference. Babies can be carried in the pouch lying down, completely hidden from by-passers, feeding and sleeping happily. I have done this many times: walking through the shops, down the high street, at the airport, etc.
A plus with the baby carriers is also, that many more things are accessible to you. You do not need to navigate shop doors or look for elevators.
Give it a try! You may find that it changes the way you parent your baby as well!