5 reasons to love babywearing

5 reasons to love babywearing
One of the things I knew I wanted to do when I had my second baby was to try babywearing. I didn’t do it with Leo and, knowing what I know now, I wish I had. For those of you who don’t know, babywearing is when you ‘wear’ your baby in a sling, baby carrier or wrap. There is a bit of a misconception that it is a ‘hippy’ thing to do but no one has ever described me as a hippy and I love carrying Alex.

I decided to try babywearing with my second baby as I found the idea of having both hands free to be able to still do house work and play with Leo very appealing. Life with two children is difficult and sometimes I wonder how I would have survived the last 4 months without putting Alex in a sling. For me, babywearing has been a complete parenting game changer and I am so glad I decided to give it a try.

If you are pregnant and are wondering if babywearing is for you, or perhaps you have a newborn and are desperate to get your hands back then here is a list of 5 reasons why I love babywearing. It might be worth giving it a try, you never know you might just fall in love with it too.

5 reasons to love babywearing.

1. Quick way to get baby to sleep The hours I spent rocking, bouncing, pushing and driving Leo to sleep when he was a baby could have easily been saved if I had just used a sling back then. In the newborn days, if Alex was tired and grumpy I would put him in the stretchy wrap and he would fall asleep instantly.  After the initial couple minutes of tying the wrap no time at all would be needed to get Alex off to sleep. He would snuggle up with his soft cheek on my chest, soothed by the sound of my heartbeat and be out like a light before I knew it. Now at 4 months old Alex will still sleep in the sling, since we changed carriers he takes a little while longer to drop off but he will happily sit in there until he gets tired and then he will just cuddle up and have a snooze. Easiest. Naps. Ever.
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2. Easy  burping A baby with wind is not a happy baby and sometimes it can take what feels like hours of back patting while baby is on your shoulder before you can get that damn burp to come out. If Alex is fussy after a feed and I can’t get him to burp I pop him in the sling and then pretty much straight away I will hear a loud belch erupt from my child’s mouth. The quicker you can get that painful trapped wind up the sooner you can have your happy baby back, I think it must be something to do with being sat so upright that makes burping in the sling so easy for baby.
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3. Hands free Having your baby safely held and supported in a sling means you have your hands back to do whatever you want  with – hurrah! You can play with your other children, read stories, get on with housework, make a cup of tea and some food and pretty much do anything you used to need both your hands for before you had a baby demanding to be held all the time. If it were not for the stretchy wrap, Leo would have gone a good six weeks with lunches just consisting of haphazardly made sandwiches with the butter barely spread and bananas broken in half as peeling one with just one hand is impossible. If Alex wasn’t in a sling all those times Leo asked me to play games with him or do crafts or baking I would have had to say no. Just being able to get on with daily life, give your other children the attention they need and still have baby close to you makes investing a baby carrier worth every penny.
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4. No limit to your adventures Have you ever tried pushing a pram through sand? It’s hard work right? What about pushing a buggy over a bumpy footpath in the country or navigating it through trees and roots on a forest walk? It’s not easy. I love babywearing as it means Alex can go wherever I can, we have continued to go on family days out to all the places Leo loves and have not had to worry about the added complication of taking a pram. We love going for adventures in the woods and having day trips to the seaside and having Alex in a sling means we are not limited to pram friendly routes, we can explore everywhere Leo wants to go with ease. Having Alex in the sling, cuddled up close to me, means he doesn’t really get overwhelmed in new surroundings as he feels safe and happy cuddled up close to his Mummy.
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5. Sleepy sling cuddles This is by far my favourite thing about babywearing and is the thing I was least expecting. We all love  a baby cuddle but when your baby is snug and content and resting so close to you it really is such a special feeling. Of course, Leo and I had countless cuddles when he was a baby (we still do) but there is just something a bit different about sling cuddles, I think it’s because you can still do other things if you want  to without feeling trapped under your sleeping baby. Also, it is so clear that baby feels right at home in a wrap, cwtched up tight with the oh so familiar sound of mummy’s heart beating away. Alex sleeps so soundly in the sling and even when he’s awake he is always looking up and smiling and we both love the cuddles and Leo doesn’t miss out either as I have my arms free to give him a cwtch too. Everyone wins.

There are so many more reasons why I love babywearing but these are definitely my top 5. If you want to find out even more about using a sling and what babywearing is all about, you might like this interview I did with a lovely mama of 4 I met through Instagram, who is a bit of a babywearing pro in my eyes.

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The wrap I am wearing in the photos in this post is the Kari Me stretchy wrap. The material has a two way stretch which makes it really easy to put on and seriously comfortable for mum and baby. Once you get the hang of it the wrap is really quick and easy to tie and you can leave it on all day if you want and just pop baby in and out when you need to. Alex and I loved the Kari Me and, like I said, it has made these last few months of life with two children so much easier than they would have been.

Unfortunately the wrap is now back at the sling library and we are in the process of finding a new sling that works for us. Before Alex was born I had never even seen a stretchy wrap let alone used one so I can honestly say that the Kari Me is a perfect introduction to babywearing and you don’t need to be a sling expert to use it.

If you are interested in giving babywearing a try then I say just go for it. If you find out it’s not for you then no harm done but, you never know, you might just find a way to make navigating your way through life with a new baby just that bit easier.

What are your thoughts on babywearing, do you use a sling with your baby? If you do babywear, what sling do you use? I am currently saving up for an Ergobaby, I’m hoping it won’t take long as Alex and I are missing our sling cuddles. If you are pregnant and are thinking about babywearing, I hope you have found this post useful.

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5 reasons to love babywearing || Are you wondering if babywearing is right for you and considering purchasing your first ever sling? Here are five reasons I love baywearing and you might just love it to. www.naptimenatter.com

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25 Comments

  1. March 6, 2017 / 7:36 am

    I’ve never been a babywearer but had a BabyBjorn for Pops which was really handy and easier than the pushchair for the school run. I wish in hindsight that I’d got a better carrier but then she was such a sicky baby it could have been messy! Thanks for joining us for #marvmondays
    Fran Back With A Bump recently posted…Marvellous MondaysMy Profile

  2. Claire
    March 6, 2017 / 7:51 am

    I’ll definitely baby wear if and when I have another. I was quite late to using a carrier with Henry but I love it and wish I’d done it sooner! #marvmondays

  3. March 6, 2017 / 8:27 am

    Aww what lovely photos and lovely close time with your baby. I think I’m going to have to look into a sling this time #maternitymondays

  4. March 6, 2017 / 9:13 am

    I love Babywearing too, always great to hear others reasons why #postsfromtheheart

  5. March 6, 2017 / 9:56 am

    I think I left it a little too late to try a sling with my little one, he didn’t like having his arms tucked in and legs restricted, but have to say it was very comfy for the few minutes we did manage! #maternitymondays

  6. March 6, 2017 / 10:02 am

    Baby wearing wasn’t really a thing when I had my daughter 10 years ago but I am definitely going to try it with my next one – and you have given me some great reasons to do it. Thank you 🙂 #MaternityMondays
    Verily Victoria Vocalises recently posted…More Birds! #MySundayPhotoMy Profile

  7. Fiona Cambouropoulos
    March 6, 2017 / 1:26 pm

    Those sound like pretty convincing reasons to me, the only time I could see it being an issue is clothes shopping, and who wants to do that with a baby anyway! #marvmondays
    Fiona Cambouropoulos recently posted…Trash 2 Treasure March 17My Profile

  8. March 6, 2017 / 3:34 pm

    Lovely post! I didn’t babywear with my first either, but have just bought a wrap for this one and am really looking forward to trying it out xx
    Katie recently posted…Bump #2: 39 weeks pregnantMy Profile

  9. March 6, 2017 / 7:46 pm

    I really cannot wait to start baby wearing when baby arrives! We’ve just bought a carrier at the Baby Show 🙂

  10. March 6, 2017 / 7:58 pm

    With my first born I only used a baby carrier ( a baby Bjorn and later an ergo) when we went out and about sometimes. However just about to have my second baby now and my first is still only 14 months so I’ve invested in a baby sling as feel I’m gonna need all the help I can get having hands free to look after both of them, so good to read all the pros for baby wearing in this post thanks. #maternitymondays

  11. March 6, 2017 / 8:18 pm

    Aww such a lovely post – I’m currently expecting my second baby and am really keen to do more babywearing this time around 🙂 #MarvMondays

    Helen x

  12. March 7, 2017 / 12:25 pm

    Love this post, it is all so true. I absolutely adore babywearing, and really miss it now we don’t do it so much as Alfie just wants to walk everywhere! I am really looking forward to the day with have baby no.2 so I can try out even more baby carriers – I’d love to learn to wrap next time! We’ve been using a Connecta since Alfie was 5 months old and I’d highly recommend – really good value and you get some amazing prints. #DreamTeam

  13. March 8, 2017 / 5:53 am

    I wore my little one for the first time in ages again yesterday and I remembered how much I and her like it!!
    Great post!
    Lx
    http://workingmumy.blogspot.com
    #DreamTeam

  14. Become Mum
    March 8, 2017 / 9:53 am

    Baby wearing is great! Need to be careful of compressing the breast tissue for some women (like me) as it increases risk of mastitis. We wore our then 14 month old when overseas and was a dream for sleep, manoeuvring small spaces etc. Thanks for sharing #bestandworst

  15. March 8, 2017 / 2:58 pm

    I never really got on with baby wearing. I was bought a beautiful baby carrier but it hurt my shoulder so I wrote it off pretty much straight away. I’ve now learned that I should have tried a few other designs and probably gone with a sling. I love the idea behind baby wearing and it definitely seems like a brilliant idea – especially with your second little one! I do regret not giving it a proper go! Thanks for sharing with #DreamTeam lovely x
    Rhyming with Wine recently posted…#DreamTeam Linky Week 45My Profile

  16. March 8, 2017 / 8:42 pm

    I love the look of babywearing and really want to do it! I have a snugiwrap I bought when I was pregnant, but I just can’t get the hang of it! 🙁 #postsfromtheheart
    Laura @ Autumn’s Mummy recently posted…The Sunshine Blogger QuizMy Profile

  17. March 9, 2017 / 7:19 pm

    Love baby wearing, so handy at times and made it possible for me to take my 20 month to all her classes when I had a newborn! I think everyone should try it #MaternityMondays

  18. March 10, 2017 / 1:02 pm

    Love this! I was the same as you and didn’t wear Rhys at all, but absolutely loved it with Nerys. We used a stretchy wrap for a while then moved on to ring sling. I still use the ring sling from time to time now, I really love carrying her close to me even though she’s a big 3 year old now! x #TheListLinky
    Madeline (This Glorious Life) recently posted…3 reasons you should print and display your photos at homeMy Profile

  19. Sarah
    March 10, 2017 / 2:36 pm

    I only really got into carriers once Matilda was a bit older, but if we have another I’ll be wearing them all the time.And I’m definitely not a hippy!!!! #thelistlinky

  20. March 12, 2017 / 9:21 pm

    I used slings with both of mine and even more so with Charley as i needed to hold Harry’s hand across roads and in town. I still carry Charley now as my carrier turns into a backpack. Thanks for linking up with #TodaysMomentInTime
    Becci – The UnNatural Mother recently posted…Posts From The Heart #9My Profile

  21. March 12, 2017 / 10:16 pm

    I had a Tomy carrier for my boy which I used around the garden so I could take him out with me. But I wish I’d had something more appropriate for when he was a new born. Although he was a big baby and I’m not sure how my back would have handled the extra weight. If I have another I think I’d like to give it a try. #TheListLinky

  22. March 16, 2017 / 8:34 pm

    I have an Ergobaby carrier and I love it, but the only thing is I do find baby wearing for too long makes my already bad back worse… so true about easy burping too! #thelistlinky
    Crummy Mummy recently posted…Fun ways to get kids to eat more veg #adMy Profile

  23. July 11, 2017 / 8:56 pm

    I would love to have carried on baby wearing but I didn’t get on well with it. I had a clingy baby so thought it would be perfect but I struggled with back and neck pain and found it too hot. Glad that you enjoyed your babywearing journey #TheListLinky