Transcript
Speaker: Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Outnumbered the Podcast. You are listening to episode 119 all about baby wearing. Audrey and I love, love, love babies, and we love wearing our babies, and we're so excited to talk to you guys today about our favorite benefits of baby wearing, some of our favorite wraps, carriers, and holds, some tutorials, some tips, tricks, and troubleshooting if you've tried it and you think it hasn't worked. But we've got solutions for you, and we're excited to share our love of baby wearing with you guys. Let's get to it.
Speaker: Hello and welcome to Outnumbered the Podcast. I'm Audrey. And I'm Bonnie. We are experienced moms to a combined total of 19 children. In our weekly episodes, we explore relatable topics using our perspectives of humor and chaos. Tune in for advice and encouragement to gain more joy in your parenting journey.
Speaker: Welcome back everybody. We are excited to talk to you about baby wearing this week because we are such fans of babies in general, as you might've guessed, and we're huge fans of baby wearing. It's just a really fun topic. If you are out of the baby wearing stages, maybe some of our tips could help you encourage young moms around you. If you are in the stage, hopefully this will also encourage you to do more of wearing babies. Yeah, so we're excited to dive in.
Speaker: Okay. First of all, I have a little something I want to share and it's related to baby wearing in that I wrote it, um, in the week, couple of weeks after my, um, last baby was born. So I wrote a poem and I'm a little nervous to share because I don't seem a little personal like, but okay. Anyway, when haven't I gotten personal in this podcast, right? Totally. Bring it. Okay. So I wrote this poem when I was baby wearing my ninth.
Speaker: The smell of his downy hair, hot moist puffs of breath on my neck, mewling soft sounds expanding my heart. One became two and two become one. A baby and mother are born.
Speaker: Okay, well, you should have warned me for that because me and my postpartum emotions over here. That is so sweet. Oh, I love it. Okay, you need to type that up in a pretty font and hang it in a frame somewhere if you don't already. That's beautiful. And what a fun, especially if you have a long hang it alongside a picture of you wearing him if you have one. Okay, that would be so sweet. Yeah, that would be awesome. I love it. No, there's just something really special about wearing babies. And that is what we are excited to share with you guys today.
Speaker: Yeah, totally. Like I mentioned, baby wearing is one of our favorite things to do. So we're going to talk, we're going to break this episode up into three sections. We're going to talk about the pros of baby wearing, which I'm sure many of you are already familiar with. We're going to talk about our favorite carriers and holds and some troubleshooting. If you have tried in the past or you want to try and things keep cropping up that are causing problems for you, hopefully we can work through some of them. Absolutely.
Speaker: So let's start with the benefits because that's what we just love. Yeah. All right. So there are so many benefits of baby wearing. Babies who get born by their mom or dad or other caregiver, they're calmer, they're happier, they're smarter, they're better bonded to their parent or the person who's wearing them or their family. They breastfeed better and they're overall better adapted to life outside the womb. This isn't just because we say so. There's actual studies out there.
Speaker: One other benefit that I love is that babies who are swaddled and which happens also when you're wearing them, they're mostly arms and legs are wrapped in, they have a better sense of balance when they grow up. Isn't that incredible?
Speaker: So interesting. And I had so much fun doing a little bit of research on the benefits so that I wouldn't forget any. And I am going to include a couple of links in the show notes for some articles you can read or share with spouses or caregivers if you need to because it's just really fascinating.
Speaker: But that being said, I also want to follow up with, if you didn't or couldn't wear your baby when they were babies or currently, this is not meant to invoke guilt. We always have to say that when we're talking about the benefits of one way of doing things, right? Because then people think, oh great, my kid doesn't feel loved because I didn't wear him. No, that's ridiculous.
Speaker: Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. I didn't wear several of my babies of the earlier ones for one reason or another. And I think they turned out just fine. But if you are in that stage of life, I say give it a shot because there are so many wonderful things that can help you and your baby just grow closer together. We love it.
Speaker: Yes, yes, we agree. And I think I have carried all of my babies to some extent or another, and my husband has as well. And I just want to back up here and say, if you're not exactly sure what we mean by the term baby wearing, it's just taking a piece of cloth and using it to hold your baby instead of using your arms to hold your baby.
Speaker: using it to hold your baby on your body instead of your arms holding it. So I think that's the biggest benefit really for myself of baby wearing is having my hands free to do anything and everything else. I mean, you know, you can get a lot done with a baby wrapped on you.
Speaker: and a toddler hanging on your leg and you can still cook supper because you've got both hands free. I think one of the biggest benefits that I saw from baby wearing, even above and beyond convenience, was I had two babies now that were extremely colicky and it happened at night. We do have an episode all about
Speaker: babies and crying. So you can go listen to that one too. But what I'm trying to say here is that the only thing that worked while I was figuring out why this baby was crying and Colicky was putting the baby, wrapping the baby on me and going for a walk. So something about skin to skin contact with mom, fresh air and movement.
Speaker: was the only thing that could get the colicky baby to stop. And then one other benefit I want to mention about baby wearing is what it does for me personally. I noticed that, and it took me like, I don't know, baby seven, eight, nine until I was kind of aware of this. But if I go out in public and I have my baby in the car seat because they're sleeping and it's just kind of easier,
Speaker: Um, I have a higher level of anxiety than if I have that baby wrapped on my body and touching me. And I know where it is at all times and I can feel it breathing. And there's, you know, that skin to skin contact that the effect that it has on me is just something that I really, I really don't get from anything else when I have a baby that I'm wearing.
Speaker: Yes, totally. We really do have those mama bear instincts, right? And I feel like I have to constantly be checking on my baby when they're not with me. But when I'm wearing them, yeah, it's like being pregnant again, only you get to kiss your sweet baby's head and you're less uncomfortable. I know. And when they're in a car seat, oftentimes people will ask if they can hold them or the reach up and touch them. But rarely when you're wearing a baby,
Speaker: will somebody say, hey, can I hold them? Because they're like, oh, well. Right. Right. Yeah. Or or even reach out and touch them. It's kind of like a boundary.
Speaker: Yes, you have that personal space, right? Also, I attribute it to your baby's head being right by your breast. They're probably not going to reach out and touch your baby's head. Like personal space people. And if they do, they're going to get slapped. Step off. Oh my gosh. I love that you said that about the colicky baby because, you know, one thing we neglected to mention in the episode about crying babies is that as wonderful it is to go comfort your baby, there are times when your own personal mental health
Speaker: requires that you step away from a crying baby because you can actually harm that baby if you are not in a good headspace. If that happens, baby wearing is often a great solution where you can keep that baby happy and close with you and often calm them down without totally losing it because you're not trying yet another trick to get them to be happy, right?
Speaker: So we have to watch out for our own mental health as well. And baby wearing just kind of helps both mom and baby in as many ways as possible. I really wish that I would have figured out a way to wear my oldest because he was a very colleague baby. And the carrier I had at the time was a gift and it just was not, now looking back with a lot more years of experience of wearing babies, it was not the right thing for a newborn. And so we never really figured it out. And now I'm thinking that would have helped him so much. So, you know,
Speaker: Hindsight's 2020, but if any of you are going through that or you know someone who is, a wonderful wrap that's meant for a new baby can be a lifesaver.
Speaker: Okay. So a couple of my personal benefits that I've seen are that baby's sleep patterns regulate very quickly and they sleep deeper when they're with mom. Okay. So you've probably noticed this when you're holding a baby, like my new babies love to be swaddled real tight and love to lay sleeping on my chest. Well, if, you know, when that time comes that I actually have to get off the couch and start making lunch again, I can simulate the exact same feeling by wrapping them in this wrap real close and tight to my chest.
Speaker: They feel all swaddled up, we're all close and tight, and they sleep so well. It's wonderful. And then the only downside is when you have to shower, trying to transition them into a bed or something, it doesn't work. They wake up and get mad.
Speaker: And then same with you, Audrey. I have loved being hands -free, especially with other kids around. You can actually sit and read a book to a toddler or rock a fussy older kid or go on a walk with another child or spend time with those older kids who might feel a little bit neglected now that there's a new baby around while still having your baby close to you. You don't have to pick and choose which child to comfort. So, especially when we're out and about. Such a wonderful feeling to know a baby is
Speaker: is safe right by you. Yeah, the fourth trimester, it should be an extension of the womb for the baby and kind of for you too when you've got them still right there on you. Just maybe a little higher on your chest instead of on your belly. But it's the best for the baby to allow them to transition to life outside of mom really gently. They've still got your breathing patterns. I think actually there's some, I know we mentioned this in our episode about
Speaker: sleeping with kids, the first one that we did, not baby sleeping, but kids sleeping. I mentioned how when you sleep with them at night and do the whole family bed sleeping thing, that when you exhale out carbon dioxide and they inhale that in, that triggers their brain to take a breath. And so I think there's some of that going on when you're baby wearing too, how you're just kind of sharing air or whatever and it's all this symbiosis you're together.
Speaker: But yeah, just that gentle, gentle transition. I think it makes for happier, more peaceful babies. Yeah, imagine for a baby, I've thought about this so many times, this baby is warm and nestled inside of you, floating in this perfect fluid, and it's dark and cozy, and then they get born into this horrible world. It's like cold and bright, and they're scared and freaked out.
Speaker: And being laid down into a cold cot is kind of like the rudest wake up, right? Snuggled up against mom is like, okay, I can do this. I can get out here. I can adjust to this world. They see what mom sees. They hear what mom sees. They're just a little bit more aware of the world now that they're outside of the belly. So it's just the perfect transition. Yeah. I think they can still hear your heartbeat too when they're snuggled up against your chest like that. Yeah. It's the original white noise, right? Yeah.
Speaker: So older babies love to be worn by mom as well. We're talking a lot about newborns right now, mostly because I have one, but this can help older, more adventuring babies be a little bit more brave and take those appropriate risks that they need to grow because they can come back to home base, right? So they start to learn to roll around and army crawl, regular crawl, and then walk. And inevitably, there's going to be some bumps and bruises, some scrapes, some fear as they navigate this new terrain on their own. But if they can come back and be held by mom when they get a little upset or a little tired,
Speaker: It just gives them more courage to go out there and figure things out. So I have a little bit of experience wearing toddlers, toddlers too. My biggest tip on wearing an older child or wearing a toddler is ease in if it's new. If you haven't worn them for three or four weeks, don't try to wear them all day. Your back is going to die.
Speaker: Yeah. And so just like ease in for, you know, like maybe an hour and you'll feel it when you're done with that. But it's like, you know, training to wear toddlers again. There are different holds or wraps to do with toddlers that you don't do with a newborn. So with a newborn, you
Speaker: My favorite, I think in the show notes we should link, I know there's YouTube videos out there, but our favorite wraps to wrap up babies. Yes, we will link our favorite wraps and tutorials for them. Yeah, that's what I meant, a tutorial, yeah. The favorite way to wrap is what I'm trying to say. But oftentimes with newborns, it's healthiest for them actually if they're kind of curled up in the ball with their knees tucked up. And then I think that I read one time at the beginning of my first baby wearing baby,
Speaker: that that's actually healthier for them because if you wear them in the ones where their legs hang out, it puts too much pressure on the bottom. They're very bottom vertebrae and that's not super healthy for them. Plus they love being in that curled up position just like they were when they came out.
Speaker: Yeah, so that's my favorite way to wear a baby, a newborn, you know, chest to chest and they're facing you and all that. But toddlers, shoot, you try to put them in there like that and their knees and elbows are all bony and you don't want them facing you. So there's definitely different ways to wear toddlers. And one of my favorite ways to wear my toddlers was actually on my back, like a piggyback, but my arms didn't have to be back there holding them.
Speaker: And then I had even a backpack carrier. I think that's considered baby wearing too, is carrying them in a backpack carrier around just so you can get supper made and you know they're not climbing up on the hot stove or getting into trouble. One of my babies that I baby wore the longest was a toddler who would eat ladybugs off the floor. And I was just like, oh my goodness, at least I can know they're not eating ladybugs if I've got them on my back while I'm making supper.
Speaker: That kid probably had some really interesting nutrients going through his body. That's funny. So I have always had a new baby as soon as my next oldest baby turns two or so. So I don't have as much experience wearing toddlers, but I agree with everything you've said. And generally I have passed the toddler on to dad to wear when we go places and I wear the newborn, which is really helpful and fun for the toddler to connect with dad while mom's kind of busy with a new baby.
Speaker: But it is so awesome to remind them that they're still your baby, even if you have another baby. Like you said, you really need to make sure that you...
Speaker: ease into it and be prepared with a really good quality carrier. So we can, like I said, link some of our favorites, but the structured carriers are great. Like those backpacks are great, especially if you're going to go on a hike or something a little bit longer distance. It really, really makes a difference for your back. I've had crappy ones and really good quality ones and oh my gosh, the difference is night and day.
Speaker: Yes. Oh yeah. Agreed. I have also done the same, a really cheap backpack carrier and a really nice one. And I love what you said about dad wearing the baby too, because that is super fun to see them connect. And dad, I don't know, my husband just has so much more strength than me. He could carry the baby, the toddler for hours longer than I could. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Okay. So my favorite baby wrap is just
Speaker: basically a huge long piece of fabric. And I have a blog post we can link to in the show notes that is two different ways to make this big long piece of fabric. One is shaped at the ends and the other is just basically a big long piece of fabric.
Speaker: I love to use a gauze fabric to wrap the baby in because I like them really long so that I can do the wraps that I like to do. So that gets several layers of fabric around you and it can get kind of hot in the summer. Anyway, in that blog post I linked my favorite fabrics to use and just a tutorial on how to
Speaker: how to make different baby wraps. So yeah, that's basically just grab a long piece of fabric and wrap the baby on. That's like my one and only favorite. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, the long wrap ones, it took me a couple of kids to figure that one out and I have never looked back. For those who are not inclined to go buy their own fabric, there are plenty of brands out there. The Solly Baby is probably one of the most popular. I've used the Moby as well. That's considerably hotter fabric though, and I live in Phoenix, so not an option for us. I really like the Solly for the thinness.
Speaker: And they are on the pricier side. So if you want to DIY it, that is definitely the way to go. If not, then put it on your baby registry or ask a friend or family member to gift it to you when you have your baby or when your baby turns one or whatever. But they are wonderful. They take a, there's a little bit of a learning curve to learn the wraps. But once you figure them out, they are phenomenal.
Speaker: I've also really enjoyed wearing my babies in a ring sling and those are also very easy to DIY. Lots of tutorials. You can buy the rings just on Etsy or purchase them. I at one point I had one that was made out of like a
Speaker: I can't remember what the fabric was, but it was like a gauze that didn't get waterlogged and it was designed to be worn in the shower or swimming with the baby. Oh, wow. And it was awesome. For the summer here, I just could wear my baby in there while I was splashing around in the pool with my other kids. It was super fun. Your baby got a chance to try out the water without being away from mom and kind of freaked out.
Speaker: So it was really fun. And that one is great for when I'm short on time or I need to get it on and off really quickly. I don't have the whatever 45 seconds to wrap. I can just throw it over my neck like running errands. And then as far as structured carriers go, I really like the ergo baby for the heavier babies or toddlers. That one can be worn on the front or the back. And there are a number of backpack carriers. I can't remember the brand that we have.
Speaker: So many out there just start hunting around you can find a great one with good reviews Yes, I used a ring sling exclusively for my first two three babies that I wore and it was Yeah, it worked great I just hadn't discovered like the wraps yet that I loved for the rest of my kids But it totally worked fine the only
Speaker: The only time I used it after I discovered wraps was like you're saying, you know, go just, just quick run into a store to do something real quick and run back out. And you didn't, it just wasn't worth the effort for the two minutes in the store to take right two minutes before I had to wrap them or whatever it took. But yeah. Um, okay. So my favorite stage for baby wearing, Oh, definitely newborn.
Speaker: Yeah, I love it when they're just snuggled up little curled up ball on you and it's just like they're not super heavy and you're already used to having them hang off you anyway and just that you know that they spend most the time in the wrap sleeping and I think just for me like that comfort thing of having them there and that vital skin to skin contact and just Yeah, definitely my favorite stage with a newborn It's also helpful that they're super cuddly and they sleep all the time and they weigh the lightest amount
Speaker: So they're totally my favorite too. Newborns are just my favorite stage of all baby ages. So that's a pretty easy one for me. It's also, though, super rewarding to wear a more independent baby because it gives you extra snuggle time with a baby who may be kind of pulling out of that phase, right? An active one who maybe doesn't cuddle with you as much. Like newborns will always lay on you, but, you know, your two -year -old might not unless he is wrapped on you. So that's kind of a fun benefit to an older baby.
Speaker: And then one thing we forgot to mention, well, I guess we mentioned a little bit, was that baby wearing prolongs the breastfeeding relationship. This has been one of my favorite parts of wearing all stages is that I can breastfeed on the go and pretty...
Speaker: discreetly. So I have breastfed my baby while walking in the park, at the mall, at Disneyland, while going to the bathroom. Yes, I've done that. Any time that I just have to get something done, there's a baby on me. I can do it. And I can nurse while they're doing it too. And nobody even is the wiser. It's pretty phenomenal. Yeah, that is pretty amazing. I just can't say enough good things about baby wearing. Hang on. I had another thought here.
Speaker: Oh, yes. Yeah. My final thought about baby wearing and the benefits is, have you ever noticed that when you go out with a baby wrapped on you, people are so receptive to that? Like they just smile. They're very open to you.
Speaker: Um, if people see me wrapping it on, they kind of stop and watch like, you know, in the Walmart parking lot or whatever you get comments, you get people come up to you. They're like, Oh man, that's really neat. I would, I would like to know where you got that. So I can suggest that to my daughter. She's having trouble with her baby or like, it's just like, I don't know, like a conversation starter or something, but I think also there's something that just sits right with people to see a mom with her baby wrapped on for whatever reason.
Speaker: It just instinctually gets people smiling when they see mom with baby wrapped on. I think you're totally right. I've had the same reaction. Another interesting reaction is many times people don't even notice, especially a small newborn, don't even notice there's a baby in there. I don't know what they think they've got on my chest, but just today I took a couple of kids to get their hair cut and we were there for probably 10 or 15 minutes before the woman at the front desk goes, oh, there's a baby in there.
Speaker: Do you think I had some weird growth on me or I don't know? I like to wear this super cool rappy thing around me. I have worn it into the store without the baby, like maybe there's a big kid in the car and I run in and people look at me like, oh, that's an interesting fashion. Look, I couldn't be bothered to take it off, okay? Trend setting, yes. Trust me, one of these days, everybody's going to be doing it. But yeah, I've seen the same reaction. I think, like you say, it is just kind of instinctual, like how sweet a mother
Speaker: cuddling with her baby. And I love that so many other cultures do this so, so, so well. In fact, some of the research that I'll include linked in the show notes talks about how in
Speaker: other foreign countries, like in the West, it seems to be less popular than others. But those who wear their babies constantly, instead of measuring their crying in like a number of hours, like they do in the West thing, they measure their cries in like the number of minutes, like five minutes total, they cry once and then mom's right there, you know, because they're just on mom all the time. So I really think that we could take a clue from some of these awesome
Speaker: societies that have figured it out. Most of them just don't have paternity leave or maternity leave or they can't stay home and just put their baby down. They have to wear their baby out in the fields or back to work or whatever they're doing. And it is pretty awesome to see how much can get done with the baby onion. Yeah. That is really neat statistic to look at. Yeah. I'm glad you mentioned that. I'm going to have to go look at that now.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. Okay, so we're going to move on to a few tips for troubleshooting. If this is you and you have had a hard time baby wearing or you wanted to and it just didn't work out or you want to pass on some tips to someone you love, hopefully these help. So like I said, my first three babies I didn't wear very much at all. It felt really foreign to me and I didn't have a lot of examples around me that were their babies. And so I would try it a little bit and then it wouldn't work out. And so I didn't do it very much.
Speaker: So I wish that I had known a couple of these things. The first one was just try something different, right? Like I mentioned, I had a kind of a structured carrier for my newborn that didn't really work very well. I wish I had known that there were different options to try. And before spending lots of money on something or taking time to make one,
Speaker: Just borrow one. There are so many different options out there. Put the word out on Facebook, hey, anybody have a long baby wrap that I could borrow for a week? See how my baby likes it, see if I can get used to it, or a different, more structured one, et cetera. You can also get them for pretty cheap secondhand on eBay or at your local consignment shop. That can help you adjust to it and see if it's something you really want to invest in.
Speaker: Yes, that is exactly how I got into baby wearing was my friend saw me wearing my baby in a ring sling and she's like, oh, that's really cool. But you're really gonna, if you love that, you're really gonna love this. And she gave me a wrap to try and I never looked back. Oh, how nice. I kind of feel like we should all be like that, right? Walking around, seeing moms. Oh, your baby's crying in the car seat. Have you tried this? You should try this.
Speaker: All right. Tip number two for troubleshooting is try different kinds of holds so you can wear them in the front. Like I was talking about facing in with a newborn or with an older toddler facing out, or like you're holding them on your hip, except it's a wrap holding them on. You can put them on your back. Some babies need trial and error to figure out the best thing for them and the most comfortable thing for you. And also if you like the, there's a learning curve on, um,
Speaker: unwrapping or wearing your baby. So if you try a wrap and it's not quite tight enough for the way you like it, just unwrap it and try it again. If your baby's, you know, happy, maybe that's the first step is try when your baby's happy. Yeah, totally. Yeah. And then, or sleeping, you know, newborns, they sleep pretty heavy. Just try it again. And I think there's probably maybe been only one or two times where I've put a wrap on and it doesn't,
Speaker: need a little tiny bit of adjusting. So even those of us who are pros at baby wearing, we still gotta adjust and work it out and get it so it feels us and them are in their most comfortable position.
Speaker: Yes, totally. Even to this day, like I said, I almost exclusively wear my younger babies in the long wrap. And I always have to remind myself, send you tight, send you tight, you know, and then you wear it for a while, it'll loosen up, you'll go, oh, didn't do it tight enough. And that's totally okay. Like you said, trial and error, start with a happy baby, start with a baby doll. Seriously, if you want to like really get the hold down, you're kind of nervous about, you know, supporting your baby's weight.
Speaker: Stick a baby doll in there. Walk that around and see how it feels. See if you need to adjust anything and then you can try with your real baby if you're nervous. See if you have a friend nearby that could come show you how. Do you have a friend? Like maybe if you borrow one from a friend, can you come show me how to do it? And until I get really comfortable, that's definitely a good tip.
Speaker: And then number three, I wish I would have known to start early. So I had some babies that I tried to start wearing when they were like nine or 10 months old and they just weren't used to being kind of stuck close to me and they kind of got fidgety and then I gave up really easily. So I love to start wearing my infants when they're like a day old. I get out of the hospital or the birth center or whatever, I start getting out of bed and I slap that baby on me and keep them on me all the time.
Speaker: And sometimes it's the only way I can feed myself breakfast or go to the bathroom before once my husband's gone or something. If your baby is already older, you can still train them to love it, but it just might be a little bit at a time. You might just want to try five minutes here, five minutes there, especially doing something that the baby loves, like going on a walk or going and rocking on a swing outside with the baby stuck to you. But it just might take a little getting used to if it's something that neither of you are familiar with.
Speaker: Yeah, those are awesome tips. I'm the same the minute I'm up out of bed.
Speaker: wrap that baby on. Although it's been a little harder with my latest ones because I have so many kids that are older and want to hold the baby. And so I'm like, nope, my turn. That's so cute. All right. Tip number four for troubleshooting. Make sure the baby's comfortable, not just in their position, but like it's kind of hot in there. If you, it can get kind of hot if you've got them wrapped up in layers. So they don't need to be wearing hot outfits or you don't need an extra blanket wrapped around them to put them in there.
Speaker: usually just a onesie or maybe some thin pants, a hat if they're really, you know, if it's really cold temperature is enough to keep them warm, especially in a long wrap that it has several wraps around you because of all the fabric. So then
Speaker: So then make sure they're comfortable with their position as well, like we were talking about. Make sure their arms and legs aren't bent wrong or something's poking them. My babies are so flexible. I can think of times where I wrapped them in and there was like a leg up behind them and I was like, oops, that's not gonna be comfortable after a while. But they weren't complaining, they're so flexible. But then make sure temperature is comfortable too.
Speaker: Yes, totally, totally. In fact, I think this is another benefit we didn't mention is the regulation of new babies' body temperature. It's hard for them to regulate. They get really cold and really hot too easily, but wearing them is a great way to regulate with this because they just stay close to your body, very similar to in the womb, as long as you're not overdressing them, which I've been guilty of, especially when it's...
Speaker: super hot here for sure. And then my final thought is don't forget to get dad involved or like I said any other caregiver if grandma comes over and helps for a few hours or if you had a nanny help out. Babies can bond just as well with another caregiver or another loved one by being worn like you said your kids which is so cute.
Speaker: And the baby's needs will be met sooner, especially if it's a different caregiver. I feel like moms just kind of intrinsically know they can kind of read their baby's cries quicker, especially if you're the one that spends the most time with them. Those other caregivers might have a little bit more of a learning curve to understand what baby needs, but being worn can kind of shorten that. They can figure it out real, real quickly.
Speaker: Yeah, that's, that's a great tip. Um, my final tip is to, if it hurts when you're baby wearing, like if you hurts your neck or your back, your shoulders, maybe try a chiropractor appointment to make sure that you're, you're not out of alignment. And that's the cause of, you know, it's just going to exacerbate it if you have this extra weight on you and wrapped around you. So just make sure you, you are in good condition so that you can have the best baby wearing experience too.
Speaker: Oh, that's a great tip and reminds me of one more I forgot to mention. Really watch out for your core strength. Okay, so after you have a baby, your core is just kind of shot, your muscles don't really know how to function anymore. They're trying to knit themselves back together. So I've talked about this on other episodes, but
Speaker: And taking care of that core and that pelvic floor is really essential to making sure you don't injure yourself, especially right after having a baby. So when I'm wearing my baby or picking up a car seat or really doing anything that requires any effort, I cinch all those muscles in before I make the exertion and to just make sure you're not allowing that belly to pooch out when you're holding your baby because then it puts more strain on your back. Anyway, there's a lot to be mindful of after we have babies and our poor bodies are trying to rehabilitate.
Speaker: staying close to your baby is a good way to do it. Oh yes, so important to make sure you're in good condition to be able to keep that baby on you as long as you can. Like we said at the beginning, we think that the biggest benefit of baby wearing is just how happy the babies are. That's just indicative of what a good experience baby wearing can be. And we want that for you guys too.
Speaker: Yeah, that's right. So we hope some of these tips helped you or a loved one get into baby wearing or try it out if you haven't. If you guys have any questions, feel free to email us. Good luck wearing your babies. Thanks for listening, friends. Click the link in the show notes to subscribe to our email and never miss another episode. Show us some love by leaving a review on iTunes or sharing the podcast with a friend. Thanks for all your support. We'll talk to you next week.
