Wearing Wesley

Even before I had a baby, babywearing just felt “right” to me – I bought a knockoff Moby wrap before Wesley was even born. It took me a few tries to get the tying and the tension right, but I was hooked. When Wesley arrived, we used it for walks, around the house, and on public transit instead of a stroller and it was awesome.

I liked that I could always see what he was doing. If he spit up, I could clean him. If he was making bad faces and wanted a pacifier, I could give one to him without him having to cry for it to get my attention. If he started getting wiggly and restless, I knew I could bounce on my toes to calm him down. It made it easier to attend to his needs and I liked being able to snuggle him while having my hands free to open doors and whatnot.

As well as the Moby, we also have an Ergo Performance carrier in green that I now use practically every day. The Moby was great, but I wanted something that would be quicker to get on and off that wouldn’t drag on the floor in the meantime. We love our Ergo! I especially like that it can fit both Daniel and I with a minimum of adjustments even though he is so much taller than me.

Wesley often falls asleep when he is in a carrier. And why not? It’s cozy and he doesn’t have to work to be upright – he can just snuggle me and hang out.

Adventures in Babywearing has recently posted a call to action regarding babywearing. It seems the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a warning about baby slings, failing to take into account the myriad of safe and varied styles and lumping them in with the “bag-style” slings that can be dangerous to babies. (Common sense, right? You wouldn’t put your newborn in your purse to carry them around, and that’s basically what bag slings amount to. Awkward and weird.)

Refreshers from Adventures in Babywearing:

• 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

The Baby Carrier Industry Alliance has posted a Position Paper outlining their thoughts on the matter. Here is an excerpt:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently issued a warning about the dangers of using baby slings, due to the occurrence of three infant deaths that the agency attributed to baby slings. As parents, we are deeply saddened by these tragedies and extend our heartfelt condolences to the families affected. As educators, we are dismayed that the CPSC has mistakenly lumped all carriers together and inadvertently tainted our industry as a whole. The carrier in question is structurally distinct from baby slings in general and the BCIA is working to clarify this difference. Sling-style carriers have an exceptional safety record. While the death of any baby is tragic, the small number of deaths in sling-style carriers only serve to emphasize the safety of these products.

Next week is National Babywearing Week, so if you wear your baby, know someone who does, or want to wear your future babies, spread the word! Our family loves babywearing and will continue to do so and let people know about how awesome it is!

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Sleepytime

To co-workers discussing their lack of sleep re: their babies’ once-a-night wakeups: HA. AHA. AHAHAHAHAHA.

At six months old, Wesley still does not sleep through the night. This is not abnormal; babies are not really wired to sleep through the night for a long time. However, at six months old, he probably does not need to eat every two hours, all night long. (Right?)

Which brings me to this: I have broken down and purchased sleep books. Not cry-it-out books, as I am uncomfortable with the idea (to put it mildly), but books designed to help you foster healthy sleep habits in your child. Even so, I feel like a total sellout.

Like, is it REALLY that inconvenient? Am I expecting too much from him? Am I actually that tired?

At roughly 12 weeks, we would put him down for the night around 7ish and he would sleep about four hours (sometimes it was two, and ONCE he slept for seven hours) and then would wake up every three or three and a half hours for the rest of the night. This meant feeding at 7pm, 12am, 3am, and 6am. Great!

At 6 months, we put him down around 7 or 7:30 and he wakes to eat at 9pm, 11pm, 1:30am, 3:30am, and 5:45am. This is… not so great, especially since eating at 5:45am means he will be hungry while we are on the bus to daycare and OMG DISASTER. He usually wakes up for the day around 7am.

So. The books.

Why does this make me feel so gross? Is it because I get incredibly irritated at people who post “HELP my 9-week-old is not sleeping through the night” on baby forums and by buying these books I feel like I am turning into them?

Dear readers [with babies], when did your baby start sleeping in longer stretches? Am I a sellout for getting sleep books?

Edited to add: Thank you! After reading your comments, I think I feel weird partly because I don’t actually care if he sleeps through the night or not – I would just prefer less night wakings, like maybe going from six to two or three. So ordering the books (the two you guys mentioned!) feels like I’m saying “I don’t want to parent my baby at night” when it really means “I just want to help him sleep for a bit longer at a time.”

(Also, I am one of those people that can continue to function reasonably normally on less sleep, and Wesley sleeps with us, so I don’t really have to wake up all the way to feed him – I often fall asleep before he’s done eating. So even with six night wakings, I don’t lose THAT much sleep. But it is very disruptive and I feel like he is capable of sleeping for longer, hence the books. I feel less bad about resorting to them now.)

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