July 27, 2012
I am a childbirth educator. I am a doula. I am a babywearing, make that toddlerwearing, mama of a 3 ½ year old little boy...
Since I began working in the birth field in 2004, I have theoretically known and talked to many about the benefits of babywearing. I love the idea that keeping a baby close and snug in a sling or carrier can actually help the baby's growth, benefit the breastfeeding relationship, and calm the baby all at once. There are many, many ways in which physical human connection benefits babies and parents, and babywearing is one way that we can keep that physical connection close while we go about our daily lives. Because of the way humans have evolved, we birth our babies when they are physically helpless, whereas other species' babies are more adept at body control very quickly after birth. It takes human babies nine months gestation in utero and another nine months to a year “gestation” out of utero to be physically capable and generally mobile. Human babies need physical closeness as they journey and grow as new human beings, particularly in the first nine months of their lives in our world. Many studies have been able to confirm that close physical contact can help initiate baby growth, regulate breathing and heart rate, and instill calm security in the baby. I teach these benefits of babywearing to new and expectant parents, and I love seeing the look on their faces when they realize that they can actually maintain closeness with their new baby with benefits for all AND have a hand or two free!!!
While the theoretical knowledge of the benefits of babywearing have been with me for me for a long time, it took until my son was born in 2008 to understand the profound emotional impact babywearing would have on my life. For me personally, as soon as my son was born, I knew that I wanted to be as close to this human being as was humanly possible. To smell his skin, nuzzle his head, and hold his little body in my arms was true bliss. I know not everyone feels this way, but I sure did. And, for me, babywearing was an immediate solution to staying close, having baby in-arms, and still getting to do adult tasks like making meals, cleaning the home, going for a walk, or writing emails. I felt that my son benefitted greatly as a young baby in a carrier. He was able to exist in the adult world from a safe vantage point. He could hear my heartbeat, my breath and my voice. He could, eventually, nurse on-command with little adjustment. My Ergo became “the tool” for my life as a connected, conscious mama and I revel in the memories of my tiny baby nestled in close, asleep in the Ergo while I participated in both parenting and “life at-large.”
I remember the first time I tried my new Ergobaby carrier. My son looked like a little taco all wrapped up and snug. Now, 3.5 years later, I am still wearing my son. We have transitioned over time, as his independence has grown, to spending less and less time daily in the carrier. At 3 ½, deep into toddlerhood, we can go days without using the Ergo. Yet, there are still days where I notice how cranky and crabby he is and what do I do? Stick him on my back in the Ergo. There are days where I have a lot to do around the house and my son wants all my attention. What do I do? I put him on my back in the Ergo. We play games, sing, and dance, all while he rides in the Ergo, close to my body, safe and secure. And, if I am lucky, sometimes he sleeps.
As an educator, I want to share the connection that is possible between parent and infant, as well as the ease, of using a carrier. I often tell my clients that if I were on a deserted island and could only have one parenting tool, it would be my Ergo!
This post was submitted by reader Gina Forbes. Gina Forbes is a toLabor trained doula and childbirth educator. She is the Workshop Coordinator for toLabor and she is co-founder of Milestones Birth and Family Wellness Center. She lives with her husband and son in Mid-Coast Maine where you might spot her with her son in the Ergo on her back! Feel free to contact her at gina.forbes@gmail.com .