Bring on the Babywearing!

             I've admitted it once and I'll admit it again: I have done things a lot differently with baby #2 than I did with baby #1. (Don't we all, though?) While I think most people do this without meaning to, I feel like I've consciously chosen to do things differently. Not necessarily because I thought we did things wrong with Myka, but because we both have a strong inkling that this is likely our last kid. (The very likely possibility of us having three girls if we had another baby scares the crap out of John and me. Can you imagine the teen years? * shudders *)

             It will be interesting to see how different our two daughters turn out. “Neediness-wise” they're quite the opposites already. We had already planned on raising Myka to be independent (not sure that's the right word I want to use, but it's been a long day and I'm tired), so it was kind of a happy coincidence that she seemed to be heading that way from the time she was a very young baby. She didn't really like to snuggle and always wanted to be facing out whenever held so that she could see what was going on.

             Ripley, on the other hand, very much likes to snuggle, which I like because, like I said, she's probably our last and I want to savor the baby times. (Both of our kids have been good sleepers from early on, so I actually enjoy the baby stage. ;) ) I had planned on trying the whole babywearing thing out this time anyways out of functionality, if nothing else, because I figured it would help out a lot with having two kids. So, I let my husband talk me into buying a baby wrap and giving it a try before I even had her. (At this point, I'm assuming you realize that I did not do the whole babywearing thing with Myka.)

             So she gets here and I want to like babywearing, I really do...but nursing turned out to be less than perfect (hello, lip and tongue tie problems) and the whole having to nurse her what felt like constantly thing didn't make for good babywearing conditions. I tried it in the wrap, but she doesn't like to be covered up. (Can you blame her?) Needless to say, it was a giant pain to have to completely take the wrap off every time she wanted to eat. 

I still submit that wraps are a good, inexpensive babywearing option for the newborn stage.

             Besides quickly learning that breastfeeding and baby wraps were not friends (for us, at least), I also found that I didn't really like the wraps. (I liked them alright at the time I reviewed the Wrapy, just for the record.) It was uncomfortable for both of us. She started sagging quicker than I expected. (Read: After not having it on long.) There were hardly ever times where she was content in it. She usually squirmed and acted like she didn't like it. Oh. And on top of all that, we both get SUPER hot with it. It's not as if it's hot out yet and I can strip her down to just a diaper or short-sleeved onesie and she'll still be sweaty.

             But, I still really wanted babywearing to work out for us. One of the coordinators of the moms group I'm in saw my post on the local babywearing Facebook group and is now generously letting me borrow a mei tai carrier her family no longer uses. How awesome is that?! I really didn't know much about them or had any desire to learn more about them until she offered to let me borrow it, but it's not as complicated as I thought. After all, if I could figure out how to tie that godforsaken wrap, I could figure out what is basically a buckle-less soft structured carrier, right? Right!

             We just got it this afternoon and we're both already liking it a lot better. At least I think Ripley was. It may have been the baby Tylenol talking, but I don't think so. With that being said, we got it at an especially good time since she caught her sister's cold. :( (Nothing is more pitiful than a sick baby, amiright?)

             Anyways, she fell asleep in in right away, which never happens with the wrap. She even fell right back asleep when I put her in the car seat and again when I put her back in the carrier when we had another errand to run! She did fight the sleepies while we were checking out my in-law's new house this evening, but she did eventually fall asleep for about an hour...and probably would have slept longer if I hadn't been messing with things on the carrier, trying to work on the fit. Lol

             I'm glad I will finally have something that works for both of us, at least until she gets too heavy to comfortably use it. Nursing will be a lot easier and it's much more airy than the wrap...and easier to tie. ;) I'm still trying to supress the urge to buy a regular soft structured carrier because in all honesty, I really don't need one. The mom who's letting me borrow the mei tai said I can borrow it for as long as I need or want, plus I already have a framed hiking carrier I used with Myka. (Click on the picture below to be taken to the review for that, the Kelty Tour 1.0)

I freaking love this thing!

            While it takes up a lot more space in the car than a ssc and I know I will feel silly at first in front of all the other babywearing mamas around here with their Tulas and Ergobabies, I just need to get over it. If anything, they should be jealous of me because I'll be able to sit baby down (hello! Built-in seat!) and have storage space built in. Plus, it cost just as much, if not more, than most of their soft structured carriers, so I need to just stop trying to “keep up with the Jones'” and feeling like Poor Patsy. (For the record, I have nothing against Tulas, Ergobaby carriers, or any other ssc brand. It just seems like certain ones are a status symbol in the babywearing community around here. Also, if you're wondering why I don't just use it now, she's not big enough. She needs to be able to hold herself up a little better, like around 6 months old.)

             Who knew babywearing could be so complex, right? ha ha Do you like babywearing? Did you plan on it with your kids, or was it just kind of a necessity that you ended up enjoying?