10 reasons to Wear Your Babyby Laura Simeon, MA, MLIS
1. Wearing a baby is convenient
2. Wearing a baby promotes physical development.
3. Babies worn in slings are happier.
It can be challenging for new mothers to find time to exercise, but if you carry your baby around with you most of the day or go for a brisk walk with your baby in her sling, you will enjoy the dual benefits of walking and "weightlifting". A long walk in the sling is also an excellent way to help a tired but over-stimulated child fall asleep.
5. Toddlers appreciate the security of the sling.
6. Baby-wearing helps you and your baby to communicate with each other.
Slings are a useful tool for every adult in a baby’s life. It makes me smile when I see a new father going for a walk with his baby in a sling. The baby is becoming used to his voice, heartbeat, movements and facial expressions, and the two are forging a strong attachment of their own. Fathers don’t have the automatic head-start on bonding that comes with gestation, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make up for this once their baby is born. The same goes for babysitters, grandparents and all other caregivers. Cuddling up close in the sling is a wonderful way to get to know the baby in your life, and for the baby to get to know you!
8. Slings are a safe place for a child to be.
Instead of running loose in crowded or dangerous places, a child in a sling is held safe and secure right next to your body. Slings also provide emotional safety when needed, so that children can venture into the world and become independent at their own pace.
9. Slings are economical.
10. Baby-wearing is fun.
Who doesn’t love to cuddle a precious little baby? And when your baby is older, having her in the sling makes conversations easier and allows you to observe her reactions to the wonders of the world around her. It’s also fun for baby, because when she is up at eye level, other adults notice and interact with her more. Your child will feel more a part of your life when she is in her sling, and you will find yourself becoming more and more enchanted with this special little person.
1 | "Current knowledge about skin-to-skin (kangaroo) care for pre-term infants". J Perinatol. 1991 Sep;11(3):216-26. |
2 | Hunziker, U.A. and R.G. Barr (1986). "Increased carrying reduces infant crying: A randomized controlled trial". Pediatrics. 7:641-648. |
3 | Powell, A. "Harvard Researchers Say Children Need Touching and Attention", Harvard Gazette. |
3 REASONS BABYWEARING REDUCES SIDS
By William Sears, MD
If SIDS is basically a disorder of respiratory control and neurological immaturity (and I believe it is), anything that can help a baby's neurological system mature overall will lower the risk of SIDS. That's exactly what babywearing does.
Something good happens to babies who spend a lot of time nestled close to nurturing caregivers. Here's why.
1. Babywearing gives a vestibular connection.
Babywearing exerts a regulatory effect on the baby, primarily through the vestibular system. In the womb, the baby's very sensitive vestibular system is constantly stimulated because a fetus experiences almost continuous motion. Babywearing provides the same kind of three-dimensional stimulation and "reminds" the baby of the motion and balance he enjoyed in the womb. The rhythm of the mother's walk, which baby got so used to in the womb, is experienced again in the "outside womb" during babywearing.
Activities such as rocking and carrying stimulate the baby's vestibular system. Vestibular stimulation is a recently appreciated tool for helping babies breath and grow better, especially premature infants—those at highest risk of SIDS.
Babies themselves recognize that they need vestibular stimulation; infants deprived of adequate vestibular stimulation often attempt to put themselves into motion on their own, with less efficient movements, such as self-rocking. Researchers believe that vestibular stimulation has a regulating effect on an infant's overall physiology and motor development.
2. Motion regulates babies.
3. Carried babies cry less.
Parents in my practice commonly report, "As long as I wear her, she's content!" Parents of fussy babies who try babywearing relate that their baby seems to forget to fuss.
After six weeks, the infants who received supplemental carrying cried and fussed 43 percent less than the non-carried group.
Anthropologists who travel throughout the world studying infant-care practices in other cultures agree that infants in babywearing cultures cry much less. In Western culture we measure a baby's crying in hours per day, but in other cultures, crying is measured in minutes. We have been led to believe that it is "normal" for babies to cry a lot, but in other cultures this is not accepted as the norm. In these cultures, babies are normally "up" in arms and are put down only to sleep—next to the mother. When the parent must attend to her own needs, the baby is in someone else's arms.
In addition to the physiological effects of vestibular stimulation, there appear to be psychological benefits. Sling babies seem to show a feeling of rightness, enabling them to adapt to all that is unfamiliar about the world to which they are now exposed, lessening their anxiety and need to fuss. As baby senses mother's rhythmic breathing while worn tummy-to-tummy and chest-to-chest, the babywearing mother acts as a regulator of her infant's biology.
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• Babies want - and need - to be held A LOT.
• You and I want to have our hands free in order to accomplish all the things we need to do every day.
• Babywearing = Problem Solved!
6 comments:
I would be LOST without my slings, wraps, pouches, structured carriers, and mei teis. Yeah, I'm an addict. But it's so amazingly wonderful!
And as the mother of two sons with Autism, it turns out all those things I did, like babywearing, have helped my sons with social connections and bonding. Yes, attachment parenting tools can make life easier for special needs kids.
Great post!
What a fantastic post!!! Can I link to it?
I'd be honored, Amber!
Anne, I should have said something about babywearing kids with special needs - what a great point!
Hi Melissa,
Sorry I never responded to your email about babywearing. I intend to, but things are a bit crazy right now.
Great articles and post. I love that you added photos of you and your babes with it.
Did you make the mei tai or what kind is it?
elisa
So, Natalie hated the sling when she was little, but now that she's in the clingy phase, I'd love to have help lugging her around when we're out. What would you recommend for her at this stage (9 months- 20 lbs.) and for a bit longer that is comfortable for a trip to the grocery store or mall or something? Do you have any thoughts or recommendations about hiking backpacks?
elisa,
the mei tai is homemade. if I make another one there's a few things I would tweak on it, but it works!!
lisa,
I'll email you some ideas!
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