The Babywearing Post

I’ve been meaning to write this post forever so here goes!

When it comes to “babywearing” (aka wearing your baby in a wrap, sling or carrier) there are SO MANY OPTIONS. And while I’m no babywearing expert, I have tried tons of different carriers in the past six months. I’ve bought, sold and traded carriers. I’ve been gifted carriers and I have gifted carriers myself.  I truly love babywearing and hope to continue wearing Grayson into toddlerhood.  I wear him, on average, for several hours every day. I wear him when I do chores around the house, when I cook dinner, when we take walks and when he gets fussy. He’s teething right now so I’ve been wearing him more than ever. Wearing him in a woven wrap calms him right down every.single.time. We hardly ever use a stroller anymore! He loves it and I love the attachment it fosters between us. I wouldn’t consider my parenting style to be strict “attachment parenting” but I do love that aspect of the style. I’d rather consider my parenting style to be a blend of several different styles…but that’s a different post for a different day. Maybe. Maybe not. It’s such a touchy subject so I’m not even sure I should go there. Anyway, I digress. This post is meant to be my experience with different carriers. It’s really different for everyone and what I like might not work for you.  And, obviously, please be safe. Don’t wear a baby if you aren’t sure on the proper carry. There are tons of YouTube videos dedicated to that.

So…different types – there’s stretchy wraps, woven wraps, ring slings, mei tais and soft structured carriers (like ergo). Out of all those things, I have tried them all except a mei tai. This post is funny because it’s SO personal on what you like and why you like it. So please keep in that in mind.

So yes, I have tried pretty much everything but my picks are super duper simple.

For a newborn, solly wrap HANDS DOWN. Nothing else comes remotely close to the softness of this thing. I had Grayson in mine pretty much 24/7 when he was a newborn. He would go to sleep immediately in the wrap and it made travel so much easier. Sure, there’s a lot of material and there’s definitely a learning curve but oh, it’s so wonderful. I already can’t wait for my next babe so I can use the solly again. It’s love.

For an older baby, I love woven wraps. Rather, I am absolutely addicted to woven wraps. They are soft, cozy and Grayson just loves being all wrapped up. Woven wraps, unlike solly wraps, are not stretchy at all. They are handwoven and come in different sizes. Most average sized people wear a size 6 woven wrap as a “base size”. I have wraps in sizes four, five and six and they all fit well. I just love woven wraps. My friend Kacia talked me into buying one when Grayson was just a week old, saying it was the “best baby item she ever bought” and it’s true.  There’s so many different ways to wrap up baby in them! And it doesn’t hurt that they are just so darn pretty. I wear Grayson in a forward cross carry every day (like above photo) and have just mastered wearing him on my back as well.

All those other carriers are great but I’m just a wrap girl, plain and simple. It just works for me! The Ergo started to hurt my back once Grayson hit 20 lbs. I don’t know if that’s common or not but every time I wore it, my shoulders would kill after a few minutes. I literally have no pain at all when I’m wearing him in a woven wrap. And Grayson is a big boy, y’all.  I find them much more supportive than soft structured carriers and really do prefer them. They take a few extra minutes to get in and out of, but worth it.

A carrier I thought I would love but didn’t? Ring slings. I had a maya wrap when Grayson was born and I was just too sleep deprived to figure it out. I ended up selling it after it sat in the back of the nursery closet for four months. Then, I bought a Sakura Bloom and ended up selling that, too, after only two weeks. I just couldn’t get as cozy or comfortable of a fit than I could with my wraps. I LOVE the way ring slings look but sad because they just aren’t for me. Now I know!

So, to a pregnant friend I would tell her to invest in a Solly wrap and then a woven wrap once the baby is out of the newborn stage (3 months-ish). A soft structured carrier is awesome to keep in the car to throw on when you run quick errands to the post office and what not…out of the four I have tried (ergo, lillebaby, baby bjorn and lenny lamb) I just love the lenny lamb. It’s actually made out of a woven wrap so it’s incredibly soft. And it doesn’t hurt my shoulders like the ergo did. Plus, it’s reallyyyyy pretty.

For instructions on how to do different carries using woven wraps, I really love Babywearing Faith’s videos on YouTube. I finally, after weeks of failed attempts, got Grayson on my back by watching her videos.

And for more information on babywearing, check out Babywearing International! They have chapters all over the world and provide awesome support and instruction for safe and proper babywearing. 🙂

‘Cause there’s nothing cuter than a new squish all wrapped up on mama (or daddy)