I’ve invited babywearing expert Hannah Wallace of Wear My Baby to share her top reasons to use a baby carrier. It’s International Babywearing Week (Sept 30th – Oct 6th) so what better time to find out more.
Keeping your baby close to you in a sling or carrier has so many benefits for the whole family.
1. Babies feel happy and settled in a baby carrier. Your baby will feel comforted by being close to you and from the movement of your walking, breathing and heartbeat.
2. It’s incredibly practical. You’ll have your hands free to make lunch, do the laundry, look after other children…the list is endless. Baby carriers take up far less room than buggies, making travelling by public transport heaps easier.
3. Babywearing encourages babies to sleep. Newborns in their ‘4th trimester’ who are still adjusting to life outside the womb often prefer to sleep on someone than in their cot. This is biologically appropriate, not a bad habit and will not last forever!
4. An upright, gently moving position in a baby carrier can help babies with reflux or digestive issues, making them more comfortable.
5. Babywearing supports parent-child bonding and may ease symptoms of postnatal depression. It’s also a great way for other family members or caregivers to build strong, healthy connections with your baby.
6. Breastfeeding is promoted through the continued close contact that babywearing gives you. It is possible to breastfeed or bottle feed in any sling, though the ability to do so depends on a number of factors.
7. Babywearing is good for babies’ physical development. Being carried upright position with the whole body well supported, as if you were holding them in your arms, supports your baby’s physical development, and gives the same benefits as tummy time.
8. It’s good for their cognitive and emotional development. Being in a carrier, your baby can see the world around them and engage with you face to face – and snuggle into you if they want a rest.
9. Sling use can help regulate a newborns’ and premature babies’ temperature and breathing, notably when your baby is carried against their parent or carers skin.
10. Being carried is calming and reassuring even for older babies and toddlers when tired, teething, unwell or upset.
Find out more about babywearing, and get recommendations for the best baby carrier for you and your family, at www.wearmybaby.co.uk
Facebook: facebook.com/wearmybaby.co.uk Instagram: @wearmybaby Twitter: @wearmybaby
So those are Hannah’s top 10 reasons to use a baby carrier. What are yours? This year the theme of International Babywearing Week is #babywearinghas where people share what using a carrier or sling has done for them. What has babywearing done for you and your baby? We’d love to hear.
Jayne Russell has over twenty years of experience as a pre’ and postnatal massage and nutritional therapist and is the founder of Nom Nom – award winning, certified organic pregnancy and baby skincare. Sign up for your free skincare guide “10 Steps to Super Healthy Baby Skin” at nomnomskincare.com