I {heart} babywearing

After I had Makenna I read about babywearing and it intrigued me. I bought a wrap at Target and after wearing her for the first time, I was hooked. Makenna wasn't a very easy baby but every time I had her in the wrap, nice and tight against my body, she was so calm and so happy.

when Makenna was 3 months old I traveled by plane and wore her most of the flights in a wrap


when she got a little older, I started using a pouch sling and wore her sitting on my hip


When she was 10 months old we traveled to Brazil, just the two of us, to visit my family. I wore her for the entire nine hours flight.

I stopped wearing her when my pregnant belly got too big to fit a sling around me.

When Tyler was born I had no doubts I was going to wear him. And probably more so than I did Makenna. So I invested on a ring sling.

I was right. I wear him all the time. For quick runs to the store or for long mornings at the park. I LOVE my ring sling. I wish I had one in every color of the rainbow to match different outfits!

he's about one month old here


Tyler doesn't like his carseat very much so wearing him solves a lot or problems. Including the one of not having to tire my arms holding him in places where strollers are not allowed.

When we were at PlayLand last month I wore him the whole time and was able to go on the rides with the kids.

here we were in line for the merry-go-around


I also feel like just holding him, specially standing up, puts him in such a vulnerable position. I never dropped any of my kids, but I can't deny I came close to a couple times. Probably times when I was trying to carry the baby and other things at the same time. When he inside my sling, he is safe. He cannot fall out. I cannot drop him. And I have my hands to carry things.

peacefully sleeping on mama (it happens almost every time I wear him)


I wrote all this and posted this pictures because a very sad thing is happening. The CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Comission) is going after all soft baby carriers (like ring slings, puch slings, mei tais, etc) because of the recent recall of the Infantino Sling Rider. This is a "bag sling" and, in my opinion, should not be in the same category as ring or pouch slings, wraps and mei tais. I believe it's called a bag sling because that's exactly what it looks like: like your baby is in a bag. One of the rules of babywearing is that you should be able to kiss your baby's head at any time. If you have ever seen anybody wearing a bag sling or pictures of the product, you can see that the person wearing that cannot kiss the baby's head without moving the bag up.

There are some very simple rules to follow when wearing a baby. Stephanie Precourt over at Adventures in Babywearing wrote about them on her post "You cannot recall my arms" (I love that title). I'm just gonna quote her:

- Your baby should be in a position similar to holding them in your arms
- You should be able to kiss the top of their head
- Your chest, back, or sling fabric should not obstruct baby's face
- Do not wear a carrier that is too tight or too loose, or not properly fastened
- Read and follow your carrier's instruction manual
- Be aware of baby's temperature; don't let them get too hot or too cold
- Do not perform any activities that you wouldn't normally do while holding your baby in your arms

Stephanie is also asking all of us babywearing mamas to unite and speak loudly. A call to action. We need to let all the moms know that wearing their baby is not only safe but so beneficial to both mom and baby.

For me, one of the best things about it, is the fact that I can be holding Tyler close to my body while having my hands free to also give Makenna all the love that she needs.

You can find more information on the Baby Carrier Industry Alliance Facebook page. They have an amazing position paper on babywearing with great information.