Nothing comes between me and my baby

My first real experience with babywearing was at a friend’s engagement party last year. Late Enough and her hubby (we’ll call him Hubby S) walked-in with their adorable daughter nestled comfortably in a sling. Even better - her hubby was the babywearer. Husbands wearing babies? SWOON.

Let me clarify something before I go any further: I’ve seen countless moms and dads carrying their babies in a Baby Bjorn (we inherited one of these bad boys – it’s the BMW of front carriers. And I’m sure we will put it to good use!) or in a fancy backpack that looks like it should be on the trails of the Himalayas. I consider those to be more baby carrying, and less baby wearing (okay, these are MY considerations. Wrong or right, they’re mine. Not yours). For me, there’s something more organic about wearing your baby.   Of course, this becomes size prohibitive at some point.

Anywhobe, seeing Hubby S wearing little N Bean nearly caused my heart to explode. I vaguely remember nudging Mr. H and saying something along the lines of, “Awwwwwwwww.” Being the sensitive, baby loving man that he is, Mr. H replied with his own (more manly, of course), “Awwwww.” That’s all it took, I was hooked. Thoughts of “when I have a baby I’m toooootally wearing it 24/7” ran through my head for weeks. Well guess what?! I’m going to have one of those soon, so let the baby wearing commence.

The two babywearing options I’ve seen the most of are the wrap and the sling. You can buy one, make your own, are pay someone to make you one (think etsy.com). The one that interests me the most right now is the wrap (having said that, I want a sling too). I have a crush on the Moss Moby wrap and the Turkish Delight bb wrap (the last color square on the page). The Mody is made out of cotton, while the bb wrap is made from a woven material. I imagine the woven material offers more support, as the fabric has less stretch. But I have ever told you how much I LOVE stretch cotton (refer back to my proclaimed love of the stretch cotton v-neck t-shirt). Maybe we’ll just have to get both. The wrapping looks complicated and confusing, but others have managed to figure it out, so I have faith that we can too. For me, the draw of the sling is it just looks easier. Either way, babies like to be held close and swaddled tightly, so I’m thinking the wrap or the sling will be a hit. Plus, Mr. H and I are big snugglers. With two snuggler parents, L Bean is bound to get the snuggle gene (fingers crossed). 

What do you do when your baby is strapped or wrapped to your chest or back?  The answer is anything you want.  Do the dishes.  Clean.  Snuggle on the couch and take a nap (obvi not if you've back wrapped!).  Grocery shop.  Mall Shop.  Go to an engagement party with your hands free.  Blog.  Walk.  Just be close.  Um, sign me up!