In the New World of parenthood, thousands of items are being touted as “essential” to having a baby, but garbage and junk aside, the most essential item is without a doubt a baby sling. The benefits of babywearing cannot be denied. The variety of slings, wraps and carriers available make it near impossible not to find the perfect babywearing device for your situation. I must also mention that once adopted, babywearing becomes addictive. I have 6 baby carriers. Two wraps, one mei tei, one ring sling, and two framed carriers. And yes, I use them all.

So what benefits are we talking about here. According to Dr. Sears, some of these benefits include babies crying less, babies learn more, are smarter, are more organized, and are humanized earlier. While all of these benefits are wonderful, the greatest benefit for me was the functional/practical aspect of wearing my baby. I could nurse (discretely) and live hands-free while doing other things. Not to mention that our son had colics for the first two and half months of his life and the wrap literally saved us. When my son was 4 weeks old, my best friend got married and I was determined to go. I carried my son in a sling almost the whole evening and got more complements about the fabric of the wrap I was wearing than the clothes I was wearing underneath! He slept and nursed all evening while I ate a nice meal, chatted and even danced.

How to start? It first seems mighty overwhelming. There are so many slings, wraps and different types of carriers available. What this means however is that there is the perfect carrier for you. Determine your needs first and remember that some carriers are so versatile they can be used for front, back, side carry as well as for nursing, sleeping and just plain wearing when you are busy and need your two hands. Googling “babywearing” returns hundreds of websites. My favourite by far is this site.

There is nothing more natural and ancient than carrying our babies to give them the comfort, nurturing and love they need. Give it a try, you’ll wonder how you ever did without.

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