Have a baby, keep your life - babywearing benefit #2

Stay at home mom. Work outside the home mom.
Whichever one you are, you work.

Summer 2005. Zoë was 7 weeks old and I returned to work. Fortunately, she was able to accompany me and we worked together for the next 4 months of her life. In the beginning, I had no clue about babywearing, so every day I would drive in to work and unload all my gear, carrying it into the building and up the elevator to my office. Most days that meant lugging the baby bucket, Boppy nursing pillow, my purse, my work bag, my lunch bag, a blanket or two, and the diaper bag (stuffed with every other thing I thought I needed that wouldn't fit in my other bags). Other times I would exchange the car seat for our Jeep Liberty All-terrain stroller and pile all my stuff into the stroller's junk hold. But, taking the stroller to work was in itself a huge pain because it was too big to fit in my tiny car without having to disassemble and reassemble it at each leg of the trip.

Hot and sweaty, I made my way up to the office with little baby Zoë and all of our stuff. Once at my desk, I placed the Boppy in my lap, situated Zoë just so, and sat. No, of course she wouldn't sleep or hang out in her bucket. If I tried, she cried. She would spend a few fleeting moments having her tummy time on the floor but then it was right back up in mama's lap. I could work that way easily but when she fell asleep, I was stuck. If I put her down, she'd wake up. If I had to eat or take a potty break, well, I just had to wait.

Babywearing benefit #2: You can have a baby and a life!

Fast forward a few weeks and you would find me sporting one of a couple different baby carriers, a mei tai and a ring sling. Not yet having the hang of it, what I would have given for someone knowledgeable to show me how to properly carry her in a snuggle hold. In any case, getting work done was made soooooooo much easier! Not only could I get into my office without breaking (as much of) a sweat, I could sit at my desk with Zoë nestled snugly against me and work.

Now that I work from home and have since she was 6 months old, I find my slings invaluable tools to help me get my stuff done while providing Zoë the closeness and interaction she wants and needs. As an infant, she was content to ride alongside me as I went about my daily activities, eager to see everything I was doing. She would very happily snuggle against me for her naps and I could be more efficient and effective because she slept longer and more peacefully in the sling.

Babywearing also made it much easier to get out of the house every now and then to socialize with friends and family. Zoë was never ever content to sit in her car seat unless it was in the car and then, only if the car was moving which made it difficult to go out to eat. Before learning to use my sling, my husband and I would take turns eating and holding her. And nursing was no longer this big event of pulling out the blankets and nursing covers and sitting in just the right way so as not to flash anyone who wasn't ready for Breastfeeding 101. I could just nurse her in the sling and no one would ever know.

And as she got older and bigger, I found many other things were made simpler by having an assortment of baby carriers. Home tours, shopping, festivals, working, traveling... Easy. Easy. Easy!

For more on the benefits of babywearing, click here.