My babywearing journey began while I was still pregnant. A friend was wearing a Close Caboo and I thought it looked cosy, but also freed up her hands (she was putting up Christmas decorations at the time). When chatting to a friend I discovered that there was this huge network of babywearing in Sheffield and there were libraries and meets.
I talked to my husband about it and we decided to go to one in Worksop on a Sunday whilst I was still pregnant so we were ready for when our little squish arrived. Little did we know what we were getting into. We left the session with a Je Porte Mon Bebe basic stretchy wrap.
Well our little one eventually came (2 weeks late!) and after 3 days we came home. The first thing we did was pop him in the stretchy on my husband (pic)
We were hooked. For the first 3 months this was the only way that Adam could calm him. During the dark hours of the first few weeks when feeding was going badly and he would not be put down, the sling was literally a life-saver.
Benjamin had a tongue tie so we had screaming fits over feeding (all three of us I think!) but the couple of hours sleep I was able to get while he was in the sling with Adam are how I coped. Once the feeding got better we got into the habit of using the sling every evening. Adam could even play on his PlayStation! Everyone was happy. The first time I left the house on my own was to go to a 4th Trimester sling meeting and buy my own stretchy.
I started regularly attending meetings in both Sheffield and Rotherham, and tried several other slings. I have attended several workshops to gain the confidence especially with the woven wrap, and back carrying.
I love carrying and find that there are different slings for different purposes. I don’t often reach for my stretchy now but love my custom Sleepy Nico, Oscha ring sling and Firespiral woven wrap.
I wanted to give something back to the community that helped me, so I started to volunteer at the meetings and have now trained as a peer supporter. I love that I help to get other parents’ babywearing journeys started. Benjamin is only 7 months old, so I hope I have many years of carrying left. I know there are loads more wraps and carries to try. And I am sure many more friends to make!
