Sunday, January 17, 2016

Are woven wraps and other baby carriers worth it??

No preamble, the answer is a huge, resounding YES!!

Note the time. It is currently 3:23am on a Sunday morning that I thought would be a good shot for me to make it to church - on time even. I can't tell you how huge that is for me.

Alas, those prospects have blown out of the water with this:

I kind of ruined things tonight (last night?) - but unintentionally!! I was sooo tired nursing Curtis before bed that when we switched sides, I figured we'd nurse side-lying so I could catch some zzzz's. He eventually fell asleep and then I fell asleep... then he woke up! So I nursed again.. this happened 3 times. No dice on him staying asleep.

I transferred him to the Pack n Play to fall asleep on his own, which he has done before, but I think the sleep he had before gave him enough energy to STAY UP.

That was at 1:10am.

45 mins later, he was not a happy camper. I go up to pick him up, he's ready set to play. Haha.

Let's nurse to sleep again, shall we? Um no. 15 mins later and he's drowsy but going nowhere towards Lala Land. And I have laundry to do. Lots. Like, "let's catch up from the 3x we tried earlier this week" lots.

Enter, Didymos Latte Wool Indio.

I quickly pre-tied a FCC (Forward Cross Carry), my most used carry because I can easily pop Curtis in and out. I unzip the lower half of his sleep sack and pop him in.

He's happy! The squeals start, the squawks pierce, I shush as I gather up the laundry load. All through the loading and my small admin tasks while waiting for the load to finish, he's pretty awake, throwing his head around, observing these basement surroundings like an Asian tourist in Vegas.

That pic above was taken at 3am. I was starting to give up. We swivel a few times while I repeatedly sing my made up song about sleeping* (6/8 time really helps!), tuck his head into one of the cross passes and... he starts to blink more slowly. I begin typing this post. Why not? I need to kill time.

People, he fell asleep by the time I typed "STAY UP" (how ironic!!). And yes, that can happen with a swing or a drive-around or using your arms to jiggle around or rock or carry or whatever. But what I was able to achieve with a wrap is:

1. He felt assured and comforted. In a swing he *may* have felt like a ditched him, which has happened before with my older 2, and then I'd have to find another solution anyway.

2. I could constantly monitor him. I knew how he was doing and could adjust what I was doing to help him get to sleep, or realize it was all futile and continue on with other things, knowing that my walking around would also help calm him down anyway.

3. I could get up and do things. No, it's not the same with a baby strapped to you, but I love that I can monitor him *and* do the laundry at the same time. I don't have to go over and check, run up if he starts crying, or whatever. I can take care of him right away.

4. I was able to keep him in an ergonomic position without concern for his well-being. I know that swings have been used but swings are also NOT to be used as sleep aids.

5. I didn't have to use up gas and drive around, or get out in the cold (or heat, if it were summer). Basically, I could achieve the same thing a drive-around aims to do without the cost of gas and a possible late night crash because I'm tired.

So are baby carriers worth it? Most definitely. And this doesn't even cover how it helps with my sanity during the day.

Babywearing wins, indeed.


*If you really want to know, the lyrics to this song are all in Cantonese and can be used with almost any simple melody that comes out as you say them.  One you could try is "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow", but almost any song with a swing will do. I'll note the lyrics in Cantonese then include an English, uh, translation. Version. That's it, version. In case these may help thousands of other tired parents around the globe.

Cantonese:

Fun gao-gao, fun gao- gao,
Fuuuuun gao-gao,
Fun gao-gao, fun gao-gao,
Fuuuuun gao-gao.

Fun gao-gao, fun gao- gao,
Fuuuuun gao-gaooooo,
Fun gao-gao, fun gao-gao,
Fuuuuun gao-gao.


English:

Sleep baby, sleep baby,
Gooooo to sleep,
Sleep baby, sleep baby,
Gooooo to sleep.


Sleep baby, sleep baby,

Gooooo to sleeeeeeep,
Sleep baby, sleep baby,
Gooooo to sleep.

2 comments:

  1. Debating between buying a shades of blue or mystic petrol. Do you still love your shades of blue? Should I get base + 1 ? Or will the base size last through toddlerhood. currently have a lisca azzurro, storch Leo, and I've tried waves and aurora Indio....

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    Replies
    1. Hello! Thanks for your question! I haven't used Shades of Blue much as I lent it out to a friend, but I've also been using wool more now that the days are getting cold (I should update my list!). I would love either one to keep but Mystic Petrol would eke out as the winner, as Shades of Blue has a stretch with longer carries. It does, however, have the sponginess that Mystic Petrol does not have, but I don't fine it quite makes up for the stretch when baby gets heavier. Again, if I had to live with either as my One And Only, I'd be fine with it. =)

      To last to toddlerhood, especially with multilayer back carries, I would definitely get at least base, or base+1 using newborn sizing as reference, as our base changes as our bodies and our babies' bodies change.

      I hope this answer helps!

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