Where nature meets nurture
Q: Why wear your baby?
Why would I choose to carry my baby? This is an easy question, but there's no one-word answer.
My first, and most important point, is how it makes me feel. I enjoyed cuddling my newborn, a lot! There aren't many things that can compare to the joy of casually walking around with your brand new sleeping baby on your front. It's warm, it's cosy, it's so natural. I know my little boy loved it too from day one, he was happy to fall asleep while I was carrying him chest to chest, as babywearing is the easiest and most natural transition for an infant from womb into the real world - it fulfills a baby's need for physical contact, affection, security, stimulation and movement. The nurturing touch stimulates growth-promoting hormones, improves intellectual and motor development, and helps regulate babies' temperature, heart rate, and sleep/wake patterns.
Babies want to be kept close and know they're being looked after, the real world is an unfamiliar and daunting place at first. The babies who receive a nurturing touch will gain weight faster, nurse better, cry less, are calmer, and have better intellectual and motor development. Babywearing will also help you if your child suffers from digestive problems and colic. Babies carried in a sling spend a greater amount of time in the "quiet alert" behavioral state, the optimal state for learning. They are intimately involved in their parent's world, more exposed to and engaged in what is going on around them. It is a great way for the little ones to experience our world together. Recent studies have reported that babies carried in a sling show advanced speech development and enhanced visual and auditory alertness.
Babywearing is genuinely more convenient. I could take spontaneous trips without worrying about interrupting my baby's nap time, as he normally falls asleep within minutes of being on my back. Once i had to fly alone with my then 6 months old baby who happened to be teething at the time. I remember having to walk up and down the confusing maze of an unfamiliar foreign airport while pushing mountains of luggage trying to find out what's happening with my connecting flight, and I couldn't have done it without my trusted Mei Tai! Eventually I was told the whole airport was on strike and all flights delayed or cancelled! We were stuck at the airport for hours and my baby slept through most of it and was happy and calm during the 28 hour trip. Babywearing has definitely helped me to have quiet bonding moments with my son in the midst of stressful time and chaotic surroundings. I honestly don't know how I'd handle those situations if it weren't for babywearing. Now my son is older and walks everywhere, I find it much easier to carry a baby carrier with me in case he gets tired, and still have my hands free to hold his hand.
I also used my baby carrier with my son a lot around the house, to allow me time to prepare dinner, work on my computer, doing the laundry or tidy our house.
Another thing to consider, as everyone seems to ask what I'd do if I slipped, is that I'm considerably better able to catch myself and break a fall if I have my hands free. I often see parents pushing a pushchair with one hand, and holding a tired toddler in the other arm. Now I think that is much more dangerous!!!