International Babywearing Week!

Stephanie at Adventures in Babywearing is having a special blogging week to celebrate babywearing. In celebration with International Babywearing week she has teamed up with Nonny & Boo for a contest to win a free sling!

Steph wants us to share a babywearing picture and our favorite things about babywearing.

So, here I go!

Evelyn was a baby who never wanted to be put down (well, I never really wanted to put her down either!) So, I had to come up with a way to still get things done (like eat and do laundry). So, I started babywearing! I started by using a sling from Target. Not so good... I moved onto the Baby Bjorn which was truly a lifesaver. I wore that thing at least once a day for months and would not go anywhere without it. I loved how close I could hold Evelyn but still get things done. I loved how she would fall asleep every time I would blowdry my hair while she was in there.

The problem came when she got a little older and heavier. The Baby Bjorn was really hard on my back and shoulders. I bought a Peanut Shell sling off of eBay but never really got the hang of it. I hope I can use it more when we have another baby - it is super cute! :-) This was actually about the time when I started reading Steph's blog - when I officially declared I was a Babywearer too!

The best thing that ever happened to me in terms of my babywearing was being introduced to the ERGObaby Carrier! I could not have survived life without mine! It is an investment (a $105 one to be exact), but I am still using it almost every day! I can wear the carrier as a front carrier, back carrier, or a side "hip" carrier. I always keep mine on the hip carry setting as I find it is the best for keeping her able to see what is going on and participate in life with me. I admit, now that she is walking she doesn't like to be in it as much, but she still likes it a lot!

I love babywearing and really advocate it now! I found a ring-sling by Nojo (horribly ugly, but oh well) at a garage sale this summer. Brand new and only $2 - what a steal! I know I will get tons of use out of it when we have another baby.

But, I would recommend an ERGObaby Carrier to any and every parent! It distributes the weight of the child on your hips through the waist belt and so it is not hard at all on your back or shoulders. Shameless promotion...I also sell them on my website, Punkerdoops Diapers!

When I decided to sell cloth diapers, I knew I also HAD to carry the ERGObaby carrier because it is probably the first thing I would blurt out if someone asked me what every mom needs.

I realized I do not have many photos of me wearing Evelyn because I am mostly wearing her doing things that aren't frequently photographed (grocery shopping, cleaning, cooking, laundry). But, I did dig out a few pics from the archives!...

Don't mind how dreadful I look...this was the morning after we moved into our house. It was an across the entire state move that had lots of drama at the closing and this mama was T-I-R-E-D. So was Evelyn, as you can see! I wore her on my back during the moving in/UHaul unloading, and wore her on my hip for the box unpacking.

My friend Tia and me at a country music festival this summer. She had to have a carrier just like mine after seeing me use mine every time we got together! We both loved wearing our babies and they loved enjoying the concert right next to us. (Yes, Evelyn is not in my carrier! She was playing with Daddy at the time!)

Happy babywearing everyone!!! Who cares what kind of carrier pr sling you have - use what you've got and just wear that baby!!!