Is babywearing for me?
Ever since our first kid, Olivia, was born, my wife’s gone all baby-carrier-wrap-happy, and that started back in 2015. Our second kid, David, spent lots of time in the baby carrier too; and now our third kid, Josh, is the same.
We. Love. Baby. Carrying. Or. Wrapping.
We’d tried them all:
We found out that baby wearing isn’t a new thing or new fad – it’s actually something that was practice years and decades ago that got repopularized recently (or maybe cos we became parents?). It’s convenient and what I really like about it is that not only does it bring my kids close to me, which means more bonding, but it also means more safety cos the baby wont “fall” or slip out…and lastly, BOTH my hands are freed up.
To work. To do cook. To read. To answer calls. Etc.
Yay!
More importantly, baby wearing brings more bonding and closeness between me and my kid.
So much more eye contact, easier to communicate and see what the baby wants or needs.
Some common question that new parents (and potential baby wearers) ask us:
- Why should I carry in a carrier and not just carry in my arms
- Will I get back aches carrying my child?
- Is babywearing good for my child?
- Who can babywear?
Contents
Babywearing is hands-down better than carrying in hands
I’ve actually mentioned it above, and the points stands strong:
- more bonding: baby closer to parent physically
- more defensive / protective: less risk of dropping the baby accidentally…through baby’s weight and size growth
- more convenience #1: if you breastfeed, you CAN breastfeed IN the baby carrier or baby wrapping
- more convenience #2: your hands are free to do whatever needs done be it at work, home etc
The thing about carrying babies in arms will make it slightly quicker and easier to put the baby down, but this makes sense only at home, where baby is possibly gonna be sleeping or resting, with or without mums / dads. If outdoor or moving about, I dont like the idea of potentially easier for baby to get down (read: fall) out of my hands. And that can easily happen if we’re exhausted (yes, parenthood and juggling life can be pretty tiring intense in the first few months at least).
If you choose to carry in your hands, you must remember, babies will grow with time and nutrition. Most start around 3+ kgs or so, but they will grow bigger and bigger. When our kids are small, around 3-5 kg, it’s easy to carry them around without getting tired or losing balance. But when our kids were around 8+ months, they’re around 9-10 kgs (22 pounds), and that can make it much easier to get tired or lose balance with such a heavier weight.
Using baby carriers will disperse the baby’s weight around your body, so it’s much more efficient (not to mention safer) way of bringing your little bundle of joy around with you…rather than carry that entire weight on just one of your arms (or both).
Versatile positioning
With baby wearing, you can actually choose 4 different sides to carry the baby. Most people think it’s mainly the baby right in front of you, but there’s:
- front (baby faces you)
- left side (baby faces side and front)
- right side (baby faces side front) and
- back (baby faces front)
These mean you have more options to change to when you are physically tired of carrying in one position…and baby has more options too on views
This is an important note: it provides you alternatives based on you and the baby’s needs, let me give some examples:
- if you hurt yourself at the left side of your hip, you can choose to babycarry your baby at the right side, so you can keep carrying the baby (yay) and avoid straining the painful spot
- as your baby grows bigger and more alert, he or she may want to see more things and not just see you (a bit sad sometimes for this, but it’s good for baby) – you can put them on the side to see the front and they still can see you if they want to. This allows them to engage and see the world but know also that you’re just next to them.
Safety first
Let me put this upfront: kids can be squirmy as they increase in strength, weight and curiousity of the world.
After all, they ARE new to the world, so sometimes they want to see a lot more, or sometimes they’re just restless…and they can lean all the way to the side or to the back, and this can either
- throw you off balance
- cause you to lose your grip of the kid if you’re hand/arm carrying the baby on one side and they can drop out of your grip or hit something nearby
That’s why I prefer baby carriers: babies are typically safe in there.
Also, one-or-two arm carrying can learn to
- sprains such as back sprain, shoulder pains, ankle sprains and more
- fractures
- or other worse conditions
With babywearing, there would be fabric or a carrier panel that supports the child at the back, as well as protect the parents from injury.
Will baby carrying cause ME back ache?
Yes and no.
Yes, more chances of that if
- you get a baby carrier that dont fit your size, length and build
- your baby carrier isn’t strapped or worn properly
- your baby is too heavy or big already
- you dont exercise and are more sedentary
Most of the time, a properly and well adjusted carrier that fits your build and frame should not cause back aches.
My wife buys and sells baby carriers often since 2015, and no, it’s not as a business; she’s actually trying to find “that one carrier that can carry all babies” lol – I joke, but it’s partly true. Baby carriers can be a hit-or-miss, so we’d recommend you to
- keep active and fit before-during-after pregnancy
- test and try baby carriers
- fit them to you properly before you use them for the whole day
As a general guide, an average healthy parent babycarrying a child less than 8 kgs should not feel any neck aches, shoulder aches or back aches; even if they use the baby carrier for 1-3 hours.
Is baby-wearing good for my kid?
The narrative is that baby-carried or baby-wearing babies get a lot of facetime with the parent who carries them, plus being held securely, both of these leads them to feeling a sense of
- physical security
- emotional security
- trust
- bond
with the parent and themselves. Plus, they may passively and actively engage in adult conversations as well as facial expression, so babies who are baby worn tend to have improved speech patterns and development.
The position of baby carried babies are more upright, so that also can help with gastrointestinal issues, improving or preventing issues such as reflux, colic and air in tummy; as well as develop their upright muscles in their neck, back and hands more; as well as prevent flat-head-baby syndrome which affects babies who are placed in baby cots more.
Who can babywear?
Baby wearing is for anyone and everyone who is healthy and has no mechanical spine, hip or knee injuries or pains, any they include:
- mothers
- fathers
- grandparents
- siblings
- aunties
- carers
- etc
Baby wearing is suitable for a large number of individuals as long they are healthy and safe.
Can new mothers immediately baby carry?
Baby wearing is good for bonding with newborn babies, and most mothers can babywear almost immediately from the beginning, or at least after 5-7 days from delivery.
That being said, pregnancy is taxing on the mother’s body, so they should always be extra careful. Speak to the gynae and maybe have a few rounds of post-delivery women’s health physiotherapy first to be extra cautious.
The reason why we bring this up is because if the mother hadnt fully recovered from the delivery and pregnancy, and still has pregnancy-related women’s health issues such as stress incontinence or SIJ (sacro-iliac joint) pains, babywearing can make the problem more painful because of the load and pressure downwards. Post caesearean wounds may not be able to take the pressure as well, and it can be potentially dangerous if the wound doesnt heal well.
Again, we usually prefer to be safe and ask to defer to the gynae and women’s health physiotherapists to guide and advise.
Does that mean I cant baby wear?
Not necessarily – depends on fitness, body frame, technique and type of baby carrier used.
We’d first go with finding which baby carriers suit your body frame, be it
Best to assess and find out which suits you best…but that being said, moderation and balance is key. If you’re not fit yet or still recovering, it’d be better to ease into baby wearing or rest more during the baby carrying such as taking more rests and sitdowns.
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